Career vs. Passion: How to Deal with It

Many people find it difficult to answer this question because following your passion doesn’t always bring food to the table. For some people, their passion has the potential to be hugely profitable; let’s say your passion is Artificial Intelligence. Therefore, the chances of you landing a high-paying job that aligns with your passion are quite high. On the other hand, many people aren’t able to turn their passions, such as teaching, music, or acting into lucrative sources of income.
How many times have we heard about the job market is unstable and saturated, especially for recent graduates? This makes us wonder about our career path.
Having money in today’s world is a superpower. You have the resources to turn your dreams into reality and live your best life. However, this particular mentality leads people to pursue their careers by following the paper trail. It leads people into believing they need to wait until 40 to have a breakthrough.
Finding your passion is important, and someone passionate about their professional work is happier and more satisfied than someone who’s stuck doing a job they hate. Many people find themselves in this uncertain situation. Read on to learn how to deal with the dilemma of choosing a passion or career. The best way to conclude any dilemma is to weigh up the pros and cons.
Choosing a job that you’re good at
Many people are stuck with careers that don’t provide job contentment. They have to complete 8 hours of work a day, 5 days a week, Monday through Friday, stressing themselves with deadlines and timelines. The only reason many people are stuck with corporate 9 to 5 is that they’re being paid well.
When you’re passionate about the professional work you’re doing, you don’t have to work a day in your life because you’re truly enjoying it. Monetary constraints force you to settle with boring jobs. But finding and turning your passion into a career only motivates you to do better. Let’s look at specific factors that affect your decision to follow your passion.
* Your skills
Being good at something gives you a confidence boost. With a solid skill set, you can face new challenges and obstacles with ease. As you focus on and improve specific skills, or diversify your skill set, you often start to earn more.
However, no matter how great you are producing effective results, there comes a time when you reach saturation point. This is where you simply keep reproducing the same results, which leaves little room for exploring your capabilities. It’s important to remember that passion drives success only until you’re motivated to learn and experiment.
* Financial advances
Everyone likes money. Imagine being so great at something that you get paid for doing it in your sleep. When you have the right skill set and motivation, reaching your goal isn’t a challenge. Finding the right place to invest your time, effort, and money is important. Learn what your strong skillset is, perfect it, and put it to use.
Passion can take longer to produce a profitable outcome. Apart from your skills and talents, earning well depends on your luck too.
* Longevity
Being highly skilled in a specific field can definitely lead you to stay longer in a certain job or career. The longer you stay, the better your reputation and professional standing is likely to be. Your superiors would value you, and your exposure to more interesting projects consequently increases.
But consequently, over time, boredom and dullness can cause you to lose interest gradually.
Choosing a job you actually want to do
A stable career equals money. This mindset has led many people to stick with high-paying jobs and less freedom. Building your career is not easy. We often face confusion when choosing between passion and career because many people don’t believe that pursuing a passion will lead to long-term financial satisfaction.  
* Career satisfaction
Your dedication towards your job directly impacts your career satisfaction. The gratification you achieve after doing a certain task is a result of your devotion and interest in doing that job. The sense of satisfaction makes up for other missing factors.
Being under certain obligations such as family upbringing and studies can cause you to look at your career from a whole different perspective if you’re facing job discontentment
* A new start
Career change is good, and it’s inevitable. No matter how amazing you were at your previous job, landing a new job can refresh your enthusiasm and energy towards your career. Every job requires devotion and dedication right from the beginning. Pursuing a different career or a new career isn’t an easy decision to make. Make sure you make an informed, calculated decision before moving ahead in your professional life.
* Motivation Boost
Doing what you want motivates you to do a better job. The sense of accomplishment you feel after finishing certain tasks encourages you to take control and move to the top of the ladder quickly.
Committing yourself to do the same thing every day of the week is harder than you think. Staying motivated is the toughest part. Being under a lot of obligations can turn your job into a survival pack for you and your family. Apart from obligations, deadlines, bosses, and clients ruin the fun of it.
Many people dream of following their passion while others dream of building a perfect career. What you choose depends entirely on your priorities. If you need a job to survive, then follow your passion on the sidelines. If your job is ruining your peace, adapt to living a simpler lifestyle, and follow your passion with an open heart.