Follow Your Passion
Some folks pondering a career path receive only the following advice:
“Follow your dream!” or “Follow your passion!”
What does this mean? What should it mean?
Does it mean: Don’t be concerned about whether your career interest can earn enough to finance basic living expenses: roof overhead, food, clothing, transportation, health care and retirement savings to name a few of the basics?
Does it mean: Don’t consider pursuing education beyond high school, just get started on that dream and everything will work out for the best?
If you believe that “Follow your dream” means “Don’t have any concerns about earning a living since your passion will automatically find a career path to pay for all your living expenses”, then at least be here advised that all experienced guidance and career counselors plus non-counselor adults would strongly disagree.
A BETTER PLAN
Folks with broad career experiences advise that “Follow Your Passion” should mean “Keep your dream or passion in mind while you consider….
* the potential benefits of extending your formal education for a few more years (it’s okay that many of the trades do not require education beyond high school but some do require short term course certifications to earn a license)
* your honest assessment of your interests (your passion may be one of them)
* your self-assessment of your mental abilities (e.g. you may have mastered the math multiplication tables but did you have great difficulty with algebra or trigonometry?)
* your self-assessment of your physical abilities (e.g. can you now lift heavy boards or dig a deep hole? If you enjoy manual labor now, will you still be able to do all the bending, climbing and lifting in your 50s and 60s?)
* what is your earning potential (A) at the outset and during the learning stage of your proposed career and (B) after you have some experience so you can perform all your job duties independent of supervision?
* will your earning potential ultimately provide enough dollars income beyond basic living expenses, to save toward your retirement?
* can you function in your chosen job without guidance to get started or will you need a training program?
* once you learn the basics of your career, will you need to keep learning and if not, will you become bored doing the same repetitive tasks every day?
* are you interested in moving beyond doing your own job to managing others and eventually owning your own business?
* would it be a safer course to pursue your passion as a hobby while you pursue a career with more realistic training and eventually, longer lasting career satisfaction (including financial earnings) and eventually transition your passion from a part-time activity to a full-time, second career?
AN EXAMPLE STORY – AFTER HER FIRST CAREER, SHE PURSUED HER PASSION
See the career story of a female who retired after a long career as an attorney; she had saved enough money to afford not needing to continue earning a salary so, motivated by wanting to help others deal with serious disease as she had witnessed with both her mother and son, she helped to create a foundation to research the potential benefits of stem cell therapy: HUMAN SERVICES – STEM CELL ADVOCATE
