Learn Hardcore Greek: Σκέφτομαι την καριέρα μου και θέλω να δουλεύω σε κάτι που αγαπάω. - I think about my career and I want to work in something I love.

In modern Greek, the verb σκέφτομαι (I think, I am thinking) is deponent, meaning it only appears in the middle/passive form but has an active meaning.

There is no active form σκέφτω in modern standard Greek with the meaning I think.
You always use σκέφτομαι for:
- I think (about something) → Σκέφτομαι κάτι.
- I’m thinking about my career. → Σκέφτομαι την καριέρα μου.

So, even though English uses an active verb (I think), Greek uses this middle form σκέφτομαι with active meaning.

Why is it την καριέρα μου and not something like η καριέρα μου after σκέφτομαι?

After the verb σκέφτομαι, the thing you think about is a direct object, so it must be in the accusative case.

Nominative (subject): η καριέρα – the career (as subject)
Accusative (direct object): την καριέρα – the career (as object)

In the sentence:

Σκέφτομαι την καριέρα μου.
- Σκέφτομαι – I think / I am thinking
- την καριέρα – the career (object, accusative)
- μου – my

So την is required because καριέρα is the object of σκέφτομαι, not the subject of the sentence.

Why is μου placed after the noun (καριέρα) instead of before it like in English (my career)?

Greek usually puts possessive pronouns after the noun:

η καριέρα μου – my career
το σπίτι μου – my house
ο φίλος μου – my friend

μου is a weak/stressed pronoun in the genitive case, and it behaves more like a clitic than a full word. It attaches to the noun phrase:

την καριέρα μου
literally: the career of-me → my career

You can technically say η δικιά μου καριέρα (my own career), but that adds emphasis and sounds different. The neutral, normal way is η καριέρα μου.

Why is θέλω να δουλεύω used here, and not θέλω να δουλέψω? What is the difference?

Greek aspect makes an important distinction:

θέλω να δουλεύω – I want to be working / I want to work (in general, continuously, regularly)
- δουλεύω = imperfective aspect: ongoing, repeated, or habitual action.
θέλω να δουλέψω – I want to work (once / at some point / for a particular occasion)
- δουλέψω = perfective aspect: a single, complete event.

In the sentence:

θέλω να δουλεύω σε κάτι που αγαπάω.

The speaker is talking about their career in general, a long-term ongoing activity, so the imperfective δουλεύω is the natural choice.

If they said:

θέλω να δουλέψω σε κάτι που αγαπάω

it would sound more like: I want to do some work (on some occasion) in something I love, which doesn’t fit as well with the idea of a career.

Why is the preposition σε used in δουλεύω σε κάτι? Can I say δουλεύω κάτι instead?

In this context, δουλεύω σε κάτι means:

I work in something / I work in a field / I work on something (as a job)

You normally use:

δουλεύω σε εταιρεία – I work in/at a company
δουλεύω σε γραφείο – I work in an office
δουλεύω σε κάτι που αγαπάω – I work in something I love

δουλεύω κάτι without σε is used in different meanings, more like I work on something (as a project, piece of music, etc.) and sounds more concrete and specific:

Δουλεύω ένα καινούριο τραγούδι. – I’m working on a new song.

For a career choice / type of job, the natural structure is δουλεύω σε κάτι.

What exactly does κάτι mean here? Is it literally something, or more like something (as a field/job)?

Literally, κάτι means something (indefinite, unspecified).

In this sentence:

θέλω να δουλεύω σε κάτι που αγαπάω

it implies:

I want to work in *something that I love → *in some kind of job/field/work that I love.

So κάτι is vague and general, but the context of δουλεύω σε κάτι makes it clear that it refers to some kind of work / profession / activity.

What is the role of που in σε κάτι που αγαπάω? How is it different from ότι?

Here, που is a relative pronoun, equivalent to English that/which.

σε κάτι που αγαπάω
→ in something *that I love*

So που introduces a relative clause describing κάτι.

Difference from ότι:

που = that/which in relative clauses:
- το βιβλίο που διάβασα – the book that I read
ότι = that introducing reported speech (like that after say/think):
- είπε ότι θα έρθει – he said that he will come

In your sentence, you must use που, not ότι, because it refers back to κάτι (something that I love).

Why is it αγαπάω and not αγαπώ? Is there a difference?

Both αγαπάω and αγαπώ are correct forms of the same verb: to love.

αγαπάω – more common in everyday spoken Greek, especially in many dialects and informal speech.
αγαπώ – slightly more formal or neutral; often found in writing, songs, literature.

Meaning and grammar are the same. In this sentence, you could say either:

σε κάτι που αγαπάω
σε κάτι που αγαπώ

Both mean: in something that I love. The version with -άω just feels a bit more colloquial in many contexts.

Why are both verbs in the present tense (σκέφτομαι, θέλω, δουλεύω, αγαπάω) when in English we might say I am thinking but I want to work?

Greek present tense generally covers both English simple present and present continuous, depending on context and aspect.

Σκέφτομαι = I think / I am thinking
θέλω = I want
να δουλεύω (imperfective) = to be working / to work (as a general ongoing activity)
αγαπάω = I love

Greek doesn’t have a separate continuous tense form like English (am thinking, am working). Instead, it uses:

tense + aspect + context to show whether something is ongoing, habitual, or general.

Here, the combination naturally corresponds to:

I am thinking about my career and I want to work in something I love.

Could the word order be changed, e.g. Θέλω να δουλεύω σε κάτι που αγαπάω και σκέφτομαι την καριέρα μου? How flexible is the word order?

Greek word order is more flexible than English, but not all orders sound equally natural.

Your original sentence:

Σκέφτομαι την καριέρα μου και θέλω να δουλεύω σε κάτι που αγαπάω.

is perfectly natural and probably the most neutral.

You can say:

Θέλω να δουλεύω σε κάτι που αγαπάω και σκέφτομαι την καριέρα μου.

Grammatically this is fine, but the emphasis changes:

Original: first highlights that you’re thinking about your career, then states what you want.
Reordered: first emphasizes what you want (to work in something you love), and then adds that you’re thinking about your career.

So, reordering is allowed, but it slightly shifts the focus and flow of the sentence.

Is there any difference in meaning or nuance between καριέρα and επάγγελμα in this kind of sentence?

Yes, there is a nuance:

καριέρα – career
- Emphasizes progress, status, ambition, long-term development in a field.
επάγγελμα – profession / occupation
- More neutral; simply what you do for a living.

Compare:

Σκέφτομαι την καριέρα μου – I’m thinking about my career (future path, growth, direction).
Σκέφτομαι το επάγγελμά μου – I’m thinking about my profession (the job itself; could be more neutral or practical).

In your sentence, καριέρα fits very well, because it suggests the speaker is thinking about their overall career path, not just any job.