Life in the Swim Lane- Pisces and Career

 I am an avid reader- I always have been.

I am the oldest child in a family with 4 kids. Personal space and privacy didn’t exist and Pisces, as you probably know, needs at least a little of both- we are like a porous membrane and absorb all emotions around us. The result is usually a jangle of noise that can be extremely overwhelming. Books took me away to my own quiet space.

It was perhaps natural that I wanted to write the sort of books that transported me out of my every day.

Sure I wanted to be a journalist too- one of those that travel the world bringing back stories of war and hardship, or one of those that travel the world reporting back on political issues, or one of those that travel the world filing copy on Australia’s latest sporting victory. There is a common theme here. I wanted to write and I wanted to travel the world.

A very typical Piscean career choice.

So what did I do? Instead of following my heart, I followed my head. An Economics degree (the sort you do when you really don’t like Economics ie the sort that majors in political science, the economics of development and agricultural economics- yep, you read that right- I know my charolais from my Hereford…cows, that is) was followed by 12 years in a bank. In those 12 years I did everything from front counter service to loan approvals to credit writing to debt recovery to branch management.

In those 12 years I rose through the ranks to middle management. It was accidental. Even though I could never say that I enjoyed what I did, or believed in management, I attached emotionally to my results, to what I did.

I have spent the last 12 years doing the same thing for another company, this time starting in project management and expanding into change management, risk management, facility management. Again it was accidental. Again I did well- not because of any loyalty to the mother ship, but because I attached emotionally.

And for a Pisces, that is the deal breaker. Not matter what it is that we do, in order to achieve, we must be able to attach emotionally- whether that is to the job, the results, our goals, colleagues or the company. We have to attach.

If we don’t, we become unhappy, frustrated and bored. We become depressed, we become our shadow and we become useless.

As the last sign in the zodiac, Pisces has a little of every other sign in them, and she can also be a little of every other sign when she needs to. It also means that she has problems deciding what to do with her life. She has the dreams, she can imagine the highs, but she has no idea how to get there- the practicalities can seem beyond her. You want to save the world or make a difference, but you quite simply have no idea where to start.

This is also the case if you have Pisces on the cusp of the 10^th house. Neptune and Jupiter co-rule your career, so there absolutely is a tendency to deceive yourself or over-reach yourself. It also means that you may be suited to careers where a little deception or risk taking can be a good thing.

So, careers for Pisces?

Think about the deception angle: actor, advertising, secret agent (how cool would that be?), magician/illusionist, costume designer, make-up artist, story-teller.

Think about the Neptune angle: brewer, wine merchant, chemist, social worker, spiritualist, charity worker

Think about the Jupiter angle: clergy, religious leader, justice system, anything in travel

Think about the artistic angle: writer, artist, designer, illustrator

Pisces rules the feet, so consider: shoe maker, podiatrist, dancer.

…or anything else that you are able to convince yourself to attach emotionally to, or that you can convince yourself that could possibly fall into one of the above categories…

Alternatively, you can choose to opt out completely and spend your life as a victim blaming someone else for why you aren’t doing what you are convinced you were put on this world to do. Pisces is good at that too.