Passion versus Paying Bills: Which is more important in your career?
Do I Pick a Career that is my Passion or Pays the Bills?
Ideally, you’d be able to find a career that satisfies both of those checkboxes. In reality, I know that isn’t the case for most of the workforce out there. Depending on the research you use, somewhere between 49% and 65% of the US population report being happy in their careers, with only 20% indicating that their career is their passion. While that is over a 15% swing in the numbers of people being satisfied, the research is pretty clear that even if you are satisfied, you are likely not passionate about your career field.
As a career counselor, that makes me pretty sad. I work with clients every day to help them figure out their passions and turn that into a career with which they can support themselves. Yes, sometimes this involves adjusting expectations, but isn’t that part of every aspect of life. We would all love to have our cake and eat it too, but that typically isn’t reality. For example, I know that I will likely never make a 7 figure salary, it’s unlikely that I’m going to find someone who wants to pay me a salary to just travel the world and see all its wonders, and that the house I purchased will likely not triple in value while I own it- I’ve had to set more realistic expectations and adjust some along the way. However, I do still want people to be happy in their careers and to find what they are passionate about and pursue that. I also want people to make enough money to support themselves. Such is the dilemma that I face, but it doesn’t have to be a dilemma- there is a way to do what you love and make enough money to support yourself.
I’ll say it again- there is a way to do what you love and to make enough money to support yourself. It just may not be how you thought it would look like in the first place.
Why are people unsatisfied in their careers?
Well, that is a great question and ultimately, for most, it comes down to finances. Those who reported the greatest dissatisfaction were those whose wages made it difficult to support themselves.
So what do you do if you make enough money in your career to support yourself, but still aren’t happy in your career?
Case Study
One of my clients had this exact concern- he has a professional degree, a great job, makes a fantastic 400K+ living a year, but still is not happy. Why? His career isn’t his passion, it isn’t even something that he likes. In his particular case, he followed the family tradition and chose his career based on that. Maybe it was the expectation that he simply would do what his family thought was best for him or maybe he thought the career would be different when he started in it, but either way, it is something that he truly dislikes. He finds himself in that small percent of Americans (only 9% of the population with at least a bachelor’s degree), that is unhappy.
What Research Says
Research indicates that there are certain career fields that have a much higher rate of dissatisfaction than others. So, accordingly, it’s probably best to stay away from these fields unless you truly have a passion for them. The fields with this highest percent of dissatisfied workers are as follows:
Parking Lot Attendants
Printing Machine Operators
Fast Food Cooks
Motorboat Mechanics
Dishwashers
Cafeteria Attendants
Laundry / Dry Cleaning Workers
Roofers
Bartenders
Cashiers
Waiters
Expediters
Home Furnishing Salespersons
The common denominator in all of these positions is that most do not make enough to support themselves or their families. The take away from the research is to find a career that supports you, your needs and your family.
While I appreciate how cut and dry this sounds, I still don’t think the reality is that simple. Everyone has different passions and skills and there are various levels of access to these passions. Further, a person’s situation may stipulate whether entering a given career field is even possible. In short, there are too many personal factors to say that avoiding certain career fields is the answer for everyone.
Case Study Follow Up/Results
As in the case of my client, sometimes we realize much too late that a particular field is not going to make us happy. We need to figure out what we do then. If we cannot support our passions with our career then we must find another way to foster our passions and have a career that supports us financially so we can pursue our passions in our free time.
My client took my advice. He turned what he always secretly wanted to do- firefighting, into a volunteer opportunity. He will admit that he’d still love to be a full time firefighter and wishes that he had that opportunity, but has found that he is fulfilled by his passion through volunteering and has the financial means to enjoy his life in other ways as well. That’s what I call a win-win!
How do you apply this to you?
Well, quite simply.
Figure out what you are passionate about.
Figure out what salary range you need to live comfortably in your area.
Research the average salary in your area for someone who has a career in the field you are passionate about.
Do the math. If you can support yourself, then great. If you can’t, we need to move on to the next steps.
Determine how you can pursue your passions through other opportunities (volunteering, part-time work, hobby, etc.).
Pursue that passion through your other means.
Find a closely related career or a career that sounds engaging and is something you would enjoy and then pursue that.
See, that wasn’t so bad, now was it. The planning part is never the hard part though. Get ready for some challenges and bumps along the way, but know that it’s possible. For example, another client was highly dissatisfied in his career. His passion was flying airplanes, but he was an accountant (an accountant who couldn’t stand working in an office setting). So, he quit his job to pursue other positions that allowed him to work outside. He got into the wine making business as a field manager, tasting room manager, and then vineyard manager, etc. He enjoys the work but it still isn’t what he loves. He loves flying. So, he saves his money (he doesn’t make a lot) and buys flying lessons when he can. Eventually, he will have his private pilot's license and then can take others out flying or just go flying when he feels like it.
There is always a way to pursue your passion and still make a living, even if you don’t do the two simultaneously.
I hope you’ve found this article helpful and enlightening. If you are looking for more information, please visit my website- Higher & Hire. If I can be of assistance to you, please reach out to me here.
Many Thanks!
Valerie Palmer - Career and College Admissions Expert
