Genogram & Narrative Interpretation

When doing my genogram, I realized both sides of my families had similarities and differences in their career paths. I also realized that although only two family members directly affected me with their career path, everyone taught me something that indirectly influenced my career choice. When conducting my genogram and the narrative, I realized there was one important part that should be considered in the genogram and the narrative which is education. Without education or the drive to pursue higher education one may not be able to have a career that they enjoy.

Some similarities I seen on both my mother’s side and my father’s side were graduating high school. Nearly everyone on my mother’s side graduated high school which was rare for that time. On my father’s side majority of the people obtained a high school diploma. Another commonality is the military. After being in the military, one person on each side of my family kept that connection to the military by seeking employment especially for veterans. On both sides, they also picked careers that were enjoyable like being a mechanic, a chef, or art.

Something I found interesting was that my great aunt was the only person to complete college in my family on both sides which was not a common thing for that time. A difference I found was that my father’s side did not have any common careers, but my mother’s side had a common career history of housewives and restaurant chefs and owners.

Regardless of the similarities and differences among career choices and educations, I think my family indirectly influenced my career decision by dedication and a strong work ethic. Regardless of where majority of my family members worked, they were dedicated to their jobs and their companies. This is something that still resonates with me today in my career development and current employment. They have taught me the importance of being reliable and diligent in my work.

The two people that directly affected me are my mother and maternal grandmother. My mother works at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for adolescences and I would sometimes get to visit and sit in on group counseling sessions. She works on the administrative side so she does not directly counsel the clients, but both the counselors and clients report back to her for a lot of things. I also found out that my grandmother was a psychiatric aide in a hospital setting. Although the education needed was minimal at the time, she still recalls having to learn a lot of information to help treat the mentally ill patients.

I think all of these variables are important in my career decision and where I hope to be in the future. Majority of my family has indirectly and directly influenced my career decision.