Make your Passion as your profession-The truth and derailer….An Introspection

Are you the person in your circle of friends that is known as “the animal girl” because you always know all about pet dietary requirements, grooming and animal health care?

Do you find yourself spending more time than you have to managing your family finances because it’s actually quite relaxing for you?

Or are you the person in your family that everyone goes to as “the computer guy” for advice with technology?

 Veterinary nursing, bookkeeping and information technology are all great careers that can start with online learning that results in industry-recognised certification.By matching what you already love doing with a career in that field, you are setting yourself up for a more engaging job that will keep your interest for longer.

We all had dreams when we were kids. Rock star, Supermodel, Fireman, Growing up makes us change our view of life to something more realistic. But there are ways to match those seemingly unrealistic passions with real-world careers!

Those who dreamed of traveling the world reviewing hotels and attractions can get a similar rush from a career in writing for travel blogs and magazines.

Likewise, the sports nut who never quite made it to the Olympics could find a whole new direction for all that energy writing for news publications and media outlets.

People who love their work also tend to love talking about their work. After all, they too once followed the same path as you are about to follow! So ask them how they managed to make their passion their profession. And get a real insider’s perspective on the ups and downs of their work.

Steve Jobs famously said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do” Steve himself was the most lively example of taking the his technical passion into a profession which let the world see the evolution of Top IT and Telecom brand “Apple”.

Richard Branson said “There is no greater thing you can do with your life and your work than follow your passions in a way that serves the world and you.” The passion that this gentleman pursued, helped him to build the empire named ”Virgin” group.   

 â€œChoose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life,” which is often attributed to Confucius.

The emergence of Career Counsellor organizations has emerged with evidence-based career advice tools says : Yes, employees who are passionate about what they do will be both happier and more productive at work. Their passion stems from caring deeply about what they do or where they work and being personally invested in and motivated by its mission.

These days there are multiple test available with excellent tool that assesses the kinds of things you think you would enjoy and matches it to areas of personality, ranking your responses against work areas that are mostly Practical, Technical, Creative, Administrative, People-Oriented or Helping. You can try the short quiz yourself at here.

This can narrow down those areas of study that you may need to undertake to make a career change or to take a sustainable decision about your future based on your capacity to absorb change, rather than a sudden emotional shift that can occur after a bad day at work or a rousing motivational seminar.

How these organizations discover your Passion and inclinations are stated below.

1. What is your personality type. 

2. What is your Capability type.

3. Which Occupational theme fits you.

In nutshell we may express it as,

“What kind of person are you?”

The great thing about people is that we are as varied in personality as we are in what we look like. No two people are ever exactly the same. This can make the tasks of choosing a career quite difficult, as we are never quite sure what it is that we would be good at.

We are fortunate to live in a time where there are more career options than ever before. And that means there are also more study options to get you there than ever before. But the first step is always yours. What do you love? What are you good at? What do others have to say? What will it take to get you there? And finally, do you dare to take that first step towards making your own dreams come true?

Often People claim to have discovered their passion without a scientific test and act as if they are on the way to their prosperity by following their passion.

Here lies the fact that the alchemy of passion is a mystery until proven or tested scientifically.

Often, people mistake a hobby for a passion. For example, just because you like to read books or watch cricket doesn’t mean you should be a writer or work in the field of sports. In the professional context, passion is not just an interest area. You have to picture yourself working immersively. You know you are passionate about an area of work when you are willing to easily say no to other interesting options. For example, both of us, at different stages of our lives, of course, have chosen to work in higher education. It’s what we feel passionate about, and we have said no to other entrepreneurial opportunities, or consulting assignments, to pursue our passion.

When it comes to getting to this point, the journey will be different for everyone.

There are those who know their passion, and begin their careers accordingly. That is a rare (and fortunate) group. Even then, there are many ways to think about that passion. Say, you are passionate about music and are good at it. Should you become professional musician? Or, you are passionate about music, but not so good at it yourself. Should you work in, or start, a music-related business to match your passion?

Some might stumble upon their passion, mid-career. That brings its own dilemmas. Should you stay in a career or a profession that has worked for you, or chase a passion itch? How should you negotiate stability vis-à-vis risk in such cases?

There is more than one right answer. Most crucially, it is a function of your stage in life and what matters most at the time: money, stability, desire to learn. These and other compulsions usually decide if you can take the road less traveled now or later.

There are, of course, those who don’t know what their passion is. In fact, this talk of passion can be stressful—and annoying—for them. How do you figure out what you are passionate about? You can’t script it, and there is no one place you can go looking for it. You usually discover it: either by running into it, or by your passion finding you.

Well, trying out different things is a good way to start, if you can afford some career detours, and can live with the discomfort of not following a linear career path.

For example, many people think they are passionate about teaching. Test that urge. Try and become a visiting faculty member in a college, even as you continue to work where you are, and allow yourself the opportunity to find out if the experience is what you imagined it would be.

Sometimes, by allowing yourself different experiences, you will discover what you really enjoy. Focus on that, and shape your life to work in that area.

Don’t fret too much about not having found your passion. It’s not easy for any of us. Keep looking though, because finding it definitely lives up to the hype, or conduct the scientific test which will take you closure to what may have perceived by you to pursuable but you have not explored it yet. 

To avoid losing motivation to get your dream career up and running, it’s best to do some detailed market research before you get started.

There are some factors which may derail you from your idea of pursuing a passion and leading a life of prosperity if you don’t do the necessary research related to the passion that you want to pursue.

It is necessary to research to get more and more information on the following aspects to apprise your passion if can be pursued.

1. The career that matches your passion is in demand ?

You might like to think that if you are passionate about a particular subject or task, the demand for it will automatically be created. But that is far from the truth.

In fact, some of our passions might have a low demand in the market and be unemployable. For example, you may be great at collecting coins but it does not mean that someone will pay you to do that.

So, if you are planning to get into a passion-driven career, make sure that it has ample demand. A little bit of time spent researching about market demand, on different job portals (LinkedIn Jobs, Naukri.com, Shine, Updazz, Times Jobs are a few good ones) and using platforms like LinkedIn or Quora to connect to people like an organization like” @Prosperity” could give you the right guidance on the viability of a particular career choice.

2. Is the Career charming ?

Even our most passionate interests can seem tiring when they have to be done over and over again. It is one thing to do an activity when you feel like it, and another when someone else is asking you to do it. They work may feel start feeling like a compulsion, since there would be a certain set of responsibilities associated with it and would no longer be a choice.

Let us take an example. I counselled a student who was a trained magician and often performed magic shows for small audiences. He enjoyed learning and performing magic tricks, and was brilliant at it too. However, during the course of our discussions, he found that he couldn’t see himself performing magic every day for a living, and felt that it might lose its charm over time. Thus, we decided that turning that hobby into his career should not be his priority. 

3. The career pays well ?

We expect that when we acquire a skill and really love indulging in it, it’s going to pay us really well somehow. And why not, we EXCEL at it! Unfortunately, things do not always work that way, especially in the job market.

All careers are not financially lucrative. It may be that the field doesn’t pay very well in general, or it may take many years to get established before the money starts coming in. You might also not be aware of how to turn your skill/talent into a financially-rewarding career.

A passion may seem very attractive to you, but it may not be so in terms of monetary prospects.

I once had a session with a student who was an excellent guitar player. He wanted to explore teaching guitar. Since he was really passionate for it, I recommended him to try it out first by joining a local institute, and see how it goes. In a few months, he realized that the money he earned was not that great; yet the effort required to teach that skill was tremendous. This led him to start disliking his passion for playing the guitar a little, and he decided not to go ahead with it full time.

Thus, it is very important to get the entire picture of your chosen field, market demand and monetary prospects included. You may still choose to enter the field if you are driven more by passion than money in your career. Nonetheless, you would be fully aware of what you are getting into.

4. The career may create increased expectations are you fit to maintain it ?

When you pursue a career out of passion, you and the people around you have increased expectations about what you can achieve. One reason is that you chose this career because of your love for it, and another is that you chose it on your own.

For example, an individual who loves history of art and is really passionate about making a career as an art conservationist might face increased pressure to get a good job and earn well.

Because it’s an offbeat career, parents might be more anxious about settling down in a job, which again means high expectations. S/he might not realize this while taking up the career, but once they enter it, their expectations from themselves and the pressure they feel are bound to increase. It might also lead to a feeling of dissatisfaction with their work if the kind of work or money they get is not what they had imagined.

The best way to cope with such pressure in case it occurs, is to be really sure about the path you wish to tread on. Make sure you have done ample research on the career path and the future opportunities, and are realistic about your prospects. This will help avoid any disappointments later on.

5. Would the career create value and skill ?

Everyone gets into a profession with the intention of creating some value for him/herself. You work to excel and grow over time.

At the end of the day, a career where you cannot contribute and grow to the best of your ability is not going to add value to your life, however much passion you may have for it. This is where skills and aptitude come into the picture. Our modern day culture places too much emphasis on passion, yet not enough focus on skills and being adept at things.

Passion might fade, but skills remain ingrained within you. And that is why aptitude trumps passion any day in the quest for finding work you’ll love for a long period of time.

The right set of aptitudes and skills, coupled with interest (if not passion) is the best formula for success in a particular field. This is how you ensure that you grow, excel and earn money from your profession.

Goutoam Ghosh

The Author is the Director of “At Prosperty” an organization for the Executive Coaching  and Career  Counselling  Based at Navi Mumbai.