Eight qualities that make a happy work life Control How much control will you have over what you do all day? Can you decide what should be done next? Intrinsic Reward Are there opportunities for creativity and for completing lasting work? Variety How much variety is there and do you value knowing about the work? Contribution to Others How does the work help others? Recognition Is there sufficient recognition to sustain long-term efforts? Family Connection Is there a family connection that does not aim to control everyday and long-term choices? Camaraderie Is there a chance to select work arrangements that allow for camaraderie and cooperation? Security Are you prepared to insure your security by continuing to learn throughout your life about how your work life will serve others?

Last week, parents of two budding harpists came into The Folk Traditions Store in Savannah's historic district. The first parent was looking for lessons. His daughter had taken for a few years but needed a teacher to continue. He was hoping that playing the harp would be a far better way to earn money in college than working in a fast-food restaurant.

The second was a couple interested in small travel harps. Their daughter had taken harp lessons for years, is in college and charges $150 per hour for playing at weddings and other special occasions. Her parents heartily agreed that the harp was more rewarding for their daughter in many ways than bussing tables.

Helping your child discover rewarding ways to earn a living is one of parenthood's most important tasks. As many parents find out to their surprise, it is also a task that neither begins nor ends with college enrollment.

The average person spends 100,000 hours working. They are not always happily spent hours. During the last two months The Folk Traditions Store has hosted a group discussion of Studs Terkel's masterpiece "Working: What Do People Do All Day and What They Feel About What They Do." It documents in meticulous detail more than 100 work stories.

We soon learned that people often became trapped in careers they began almost by accident. Not only were less than 20 percent of the stories happy, but college educations were not a sure road to well being. During our concluding discussion, the participants made a list of the qualities that make a happy work life. This list deserves to be on the mirror of every teenager (or, for that matter, of any adult considering a career change).

How much control will you have over what you do all day? The CEO of a large corporation, who responded to 1,300 letters every day, did not seem happy. Neither did the neighborhood storeowner whose customers demanded such long hours that the owners could only manage a few hours sleep at night. Despite a good salary, a professional hockey player felt like property of the team's owner. The owner of a bakery cooperative, a piano tuner/repairer, a stonemason and a priest, on the other hand, expressed much more satisfaction with their work. Busy as they were, there was not someone hanging over their every action telling them what to do next.

What, if any, are the intrinsic rewards? In laboratory studies of college students, more creativity occurs when people are not paid for their contributions. This should not be generalized to the workplace. One seldom can sustain a complex, long-term creative effort without pay. But it does underscore the importance of intrinsic rewards. Creativity adds variety to life and variety is necessary for healthy brains and bodies. Many of the people Terkel interviewed expressed satisfaction in completing tasks. In addition to opportunities for creativity, seeing something finished and knowing that it will last are great internal rewards.

How much variety is there within and between days? The devastating monotony of factory work is well known but the fascination of stonecutting is not. Variety depends partly on perception. The more you know about a subject, the more you see in it. But some subjects are more worth knowing than others.

Is there an opportunity to contribute to others? Saving lives and teaching are obvious contributions to others. A carpenter found special satisfaction in filling a need and a gravedigger had no doubts about the value of his work. If you are going to be satisfied in your work, you need to know how it contributes to others and you need to value that contribution.

What, if any, are the intrinsic rewards? Often you know your actions will benefit others in the long run, but you experience angry reactions from these same others today. Parents are especially aware of this phenomenon. But in general, it is the nature of the human condition that many activities bring pleasure in the moment but pain in the long run - overeating, smoking, promiscuity, and expressing anger are a few examples. Long-term creative efforts are the opposite - they often bring pain in the short run and deep gratification in the end. Therefore, when people are involved in long-term creative efforts, it becomes especially valuable to receive recognition for milestones achieved.

Is there a family connection? For nearly all of us, our first teachers are our parents. Early learning is powerful. The great Japanese violin teacher Shinichi Suzuki began instruction by having mothers play classical music to their infants in the womb. This does not say that late learning is ineffective. People with good educations experience only a gradual decline in learning speed that occurs throughout life and permits faster learning among senior citizens than among poorly educated children. Early learning does mean that a family connection will give a good start. Besides the early learning benefit, family connections give opportunities for recognition. Also, families who have known unrewarding work help by encouraging their children to look elsewhere. As long as families do not try to control one's career (violating the first quality of a happy work life), a family connection will help.

Is there a chance for camaraderie? It's easy to overlook how important shared goals can be. A police officer, who faced violent opposition on a daily basis, was afraid that the daily experience of horror would dull him into not caring. A jazz musician could not stand leading his own band, because his friends in the band never bothered to show up on time for practice. But when he found a cooperative band that allowed him to feel like he worked for himself, he loved it.

Is there security? There is less security today than there was in 1970 when "Working" was first published. Innovation in every human endeavor is occurring at such a fast rate that there will be even less security tomorrow. But there are enduring needs of humanity. A rewarding career will be less based on a type of occupation than on the type of need it fulfills. This means that security relies on your ability to learn. Those who have the tools to acquire knowledge have a security far deeper than any career can provide.

Few would doubt that harp playing makes a better part time job than fast-food serving. It may not have the same benefits as a full time career. In any case, parents who help their children discover rewarding ways to earn a living create happier lives for their children and for themselves.

David Dirlam, Ph.D., is a cultural psychologist and proprietor of The Folk Traditions Store in Savannah's Historic District.