Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've heard that you should follow your passion, and I've also read that you should stay away from passion. I've always felt like I should chase my passion for music by attempting to work on the business side of music, but after attempting for the past couple of years, it's starting to dawn on me that maybe I should follow another career path. I love listening to music, but working 7 days a week and virtually all day is very unappealing, plus there are many aspects such as marketing and public relations that don't interest me. Those are some of the aspects of being a manager, which is what I thought I had wanted to do.
Wondering what others think about staying away from your passion? And if you have any stories, that would be great too.
This has been discussed quite a bit before and most of the time the conclusion is that you should do something you enjoy that can give you a comfortable life but save your spare time to pursue your passions. My husband and I have a friend who is a very good guitarist. He was pumped up at an early age to believe he would make it big. He did background for a moderately-popular band for awhile but never got his big break (frankly he does not have the physical attributes either to be famous but I digress). He is now 38, married, and rather frustrated and almost bitter on how his life has not turned out. He and his wife would love to buy a house and start a family but they have little money. Sometimes following your passion can actually take the joy out of it and lead you to burnout especially if there is more stress due to lack of income.
Follow your heart, but take your head along with you.
I know a lot of 40- and 50ish accountants and lawyers who absolutely despise what they do every day. All because they went to school for career training rather than to develop their minds.
It's not all about the money, guys. Yeah, you need to make a decent living. But if money is your only yardstick in life, you're going to have a miserable existence.
I'm lucky that I do something I truly enjoy and make a good living doing it. But I did have to pay my dues early on in terms of fewer opportunities and lower pay. So I cultivated the ability to sell myself and became much better compensated as a result.
Find a middle ground. Find a job that won't make you consider suicide, but probably isn't something you're fascinated by or always dreamed about doing. Use the money you earn and your spare time to do what you love. Maybe one day after enough time has passed you'll be in a position to really pursue what you love.
This has been discussed quite a bit before and most of the time the conclusion is that you should do something you enjoy that can give you a comfortable life but save your spare time to pursue your passions. My husband and I have a friend who is a very good guitarist. He was pumped up at an early age to believe he would make it big. He did background for a moderately-popular band for awhile but never got his big break (frankly he does not have the physical attributes either to be famous but I digress). He is now 38, married, and rather frustrated and almost bitter on how his life has not turned out. He and his wife would love to buy a house and start a family but they have little money. Sometimes following your passion can actually take the joy out of it and lead you to burnout especially if there is more stress due to lack of income.
Enjoying something as a hobby is entirely different than trying to make a living from it. For some, there's no quicker way to kill their passion for something than to try to make a living at it.
Trying to turn your passion into your career can turn out great depending on your passion and how you choose to apply it. Someone who has a passion for building/designing things can turn into a carpenter or engineer or architect and potentially make a very good living at it. But if your passion is something like acting consider how many thousands of aspiring actors are there running around Hollywood at any given time who will never get anything more than a couple of bit parts in their life.
People should definitely do something for a career that they are able to enjoy and not just get into something only for the money. But anyone who doesn't want to be broke their entire life also needs to consider the realities of how difficult it might be to make money if they choose a career exclusively based on their passion.
Enjoying something as a hobby is entirely different than trying to make a living from it. For some, there's no quicker way to kill their passion for something than to try to make a living at it.
Trying to turn your passion into your career can turn out great depending on your passion and how you choose to apply it. Someone who has a passion for building/designing things can turn into a carpenter or engineer or architect and potentially make a very good living at it. But if your passion is something like acting consider how many thousands of aspiring actors are there running around Hollywood at any given time who will never get anything more than a couple of bit parts in their life.
People should definitely do something for a career that they are able to enjoy and not just get into something only for the money. But anyone who doesn't want to be broke their entire life also needs to consider the realities of how difficult it might be to make money if they choose a career exclusively based on their passion.
The thing is, you can always go back and do that though.
I know 2 women who worked retail and odd front desk jobs for many years and then graduated undergrad with practical degrees in their mid 30s. Both of them are already making almost as much as I am.
The smarter thing to do is maybe get a degree in something ... say Biology and then follow your passion for as many years as possible. If you think the money isn't good enough for you, then shlep a day job later.
As far as the bold, would you rather be an actress getting bit parts and doing something you love and making 50-60K a year, or would you rather be an accountant, disliking what you do and you make 80K a year. Because that is the difference more often than not.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
