“Hamilton” and the Career Advice You Didn’t Know You Needed

*This post was originally created by Rachel Beauchamp, our Faculty Careers Coach, and shared on LinkedIn on the 16th July 2025.* 

 

The idea for this post came to me while driving home a couple of weeks ago from a challenging day at work, one of those days where every conversation felt a bit too heavy, and every answer a little out of reach. I put on the Hamilton soundtrack and found myself singing along, loudly (and maybe a bit emotionally) to lyrics I’ve heard dozens of times before.

But this time, they hit differently.

Somewhere between My Shot and Burn, I realised just how much Hamilton speaks to the kinds of themes I wrestle with every day as a careers professional: ambition, failure, reinvention, self-doubt, legacy. I couldn’t help but think, maybe Lin-Manuel Miranda accidentally wrote one of the best career development guides of our time.

So, here it is, a selection of quotes from Hamilton, and the lessons they offer for anyone navigating the winding road of career decision-making.

“I am the one thing in life I can control.”

Burr sings this line as he watches Hamilton rise with reckless speed. While Hamilton barrels forward, Burr hesitates, waiting for the “right” moment. But this lyric is Burr’s turning point – realising that his power lies not in controlling outcomes, but in managing himself.

You can’t control the job market, or who replies to your application. But you can control your effort, your mindset, and how you respond to those setbacks. Career paths are rarely predictable – but owning your attitude, building your skills, and taking intentional steps? That’s where you can hold your power.

“Every action’s an act of creation.”

This line is Hamilton’s quiet reminder that progress is made through doing. In context, he’s defending his political decisions – but the line applies just as well to a student agonising over whether to hit “send” on a speculative email.

Your career isn’t just something you find, it’s something you build. That email, that conversation, that CV you’re unsure about – they’re acts of creation. They add up. Doing something imperfectly often beats doing nothing perfectly.

“What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.”

This is Hamilton’s voice, moments before his duel. It’s a reflection not on achievement, but impact. He is acknowledging that true legacy may be invisible to us but it can still exist as a seed planted in someone else’s future.

Many of our most meaningful contributions aren’t headline-worthy. Maybe it’s mentoring a colleague. Volunteering time. Helping someone believe they can do something they never thought possible. Your legacy may unfold quietly, and years later- but it still matters.

“And when my prayers to God were met with indifference / I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance.”

This moment follows Hamilton’s fall from grace, as he contemplates whether to let the scandal destroy him – or own the narrative. He chooses action. Not safe action, but decisive, risky self-authorship.

There will be moments in your career when you feel stuck. Rejected. Forgotten. This lyric is a reminder: sometimes, no one is coming to pick you. You have to make the next move, start the project, change course, build your own opportunity. It’s scary, but powerful.

“You got skin in the game / You stay in the game / But you don’t get a win / Unless you play in the game.”

A chorus of caution and ambition, this line echoes the risks and costs of showing up. It’s the realisation that waiting for certainty gets you nowhere.

You won’t get every job. But you definitely won’t get the ones you don’t apply for. Career success is often less about being the most brilliant, and more about being willing to show up, try, learn, and try again. If you’re afraid of rejection, know this: rejection is a sign you’re in the game.

“We dream of a brand new start / But we dream in the dark for the most part.”

This line acknowledges the truth no one likes to say: we often don’t know what we’re doing. Burr envies those making moves behind closed doors but recognises that even dreamers stumble through uncertainty.

Most people are figuring things out as they go. Don’t wait for perfect clarity. Start with curiosity, take small steps, and adjust as you learn. A fulfilling career is rarely mapped out from day one  it’s created by moving forward.

“Oceans rise, empires fall.”

Sung with a smirk by a disgruntled monarch, this lyric captures the inevitability of change. Empires crumble, regimes shift and so do jobs, sectors, technologies, even your own ambitions.

No role is forever. No closed door is the end. The career you imagined at 21 might not suit you at 31 and that’s not failure, it’s evolution. Keep adapting. The tide will turn.

What Hamilton reminds us is that careers aren’t neat. They’re messy, brave, winding, and full of improvisation. Your story doesn’t have to be linear. It just has to be yours.

So whether you’re a student dreaming of a creative career, a graduate navigating uncertainty, or someone quietly wondering “what’s next?” – take inspiration from Hamilton: pick up the pen. Write your own deliverance.

And in the midst of all the striving, the planning, the job applications and feedback loops -don’t forget Eliza’s gentle reminder:

“Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now.”

It’s okay to pause. To take stock. To be grateful for the journey, even if you don’t know exactly where it’s going. Because career success isn’t just about arrival – it’s about how you move, who you become, and how you show up along the way.

If you need a careers coach with a Spotify playlist full of musical theatre bangers, you know where to find me!

p.s. If you’re wondering why “I’m not throwing away my shot” isn’t on this list… you’re right, it’s a classic. But like many overachievers it gets a lot of airtime. I wanted to spotlight some of the quieter, less-quoted gems from the show, the lines that slip in when you’re stuck in traffic, belting into the steering wheel, and suddenly thinking, “Wait… that’s actually great advice.”

(No shade to My Shot. It’s iconic. Just… give the other numbers some love too.)