There are two basic schools of thought of thought when it comes to looking for a career: 1) Choose something you’re passionate about or 2) Choose a career that will make you money. I tend to include a third category, myself: Choose a career you’re passionate about that will also earn you a living. At the end of the day, you need to be able to do a job that you’re proud to put your name on; here are a few more reasons why you should actively pursue a career you’re passionate about.
It shouldn’t be all about the money.
You can’t put a price on happiness in life. If you’re working a job where you’re making great money but you absolutely hate the work you’re doing, it’s not as though the paycheck can make up for the 40+ hours a week you need to work to earn it. The misery you feel doing the job will seep into your personal life and cause you unnecessary stress and resentment towards your occupation. That being said, money needs to be of at least some concern: if your passion in life isn’t something anyone is willing to pay for, you can work from sun up till sundown and not be able to put food on the table or a roof over your head. Find yourself a job that gives you both the money that you need to survive as well as the satisfaction necessary to do the job day in and day out. Give yourself the best of both worlds to the best of your ability.
You’ll be a better worker if you care about your work.
If you’re working for a business whose core mission statement is at odds with everything that defines you as a person, you’re likely going to put in the bare minimum amount of work each day that you’re there; it’s difficult to work hard for a cause you don’t believe in. This means that you aren’t being best utilized for your abilities and will also likely be passed over for a promotion or pay raise because you aren’t committing your full self to the work that you’re doing.
Obstacles will become beatable.
If you’re working at a job you hate, any little roadblock is going to feel like a massive mountain you need to summit, and chances are that you’ll either give up too quickly or not try hard enough in the first place to overcome these challenges. However, if you love the work you’re doing, these challenges will feel less daunting and more exciting since overcoming them feels like solving a difficult puzzle rather than a task you’ve been forced to complete. You’ll gain more self-confidence with every problem you overcome in a way that you couldn’t if you were simply working because you had to.