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| Monday, November 28, 2005 |
| Pursue your dream career? Only if you can afford it |
I am sure this will be an unpopular post - but after reading Consumerism Commentary's post Are You Pursuing Your Passion? I felt I had to respond.
So often while growing up I would hear "pursue your dream job" or "love what you do and do what you love" and everything would just magically work out. Somehow by finding personal fulfillment in your 9 - 5 occupation you did not have to worry about financial stability. I always thought the "dream job" was some fantasy working stiffs like to daydream about while slogging away in their cubicle.
Don't get me wrong, if you do manage to find a well paying job that you also find personally fulfilling - wonderful! I just believe it is a rare thing. Work by its very nature is - well, Work! I feel that I wasted a lot of time agonizing over work in my 20's. Trying to "find myself" in my work. Guess what? All I found was if I had a choice I would not work. Unfortunately that is not an option. So instead I concentrated on finding work that pays enough so I can pay off debt, invest, save, and buy a house. Work that provides health care, disability insurance, pension plan, and 401(k). Work that allows for continued career advancement and salary increases. Once I found all of that I became happier. I now find my passion outside of work and that is fine.
I have a close friend who pursued her dream of becoming a concert pianist. She went to Oberlin and graduated with a degree in music. She then continued her education at the New England Conservatory of Music. In high school she was in the honor society and I always referred to her as my "smart friend". She could have gone into any career and been successful and kept music as a personal passion. But instead she chose to try to become a concert pianist. What she found was that while she was very, very good she was not good enough. She spent years trying out and getting rejected from various orchestras in the US and abroad. She finally became so discouraged she just gave up. She is now married and a full time mother. She does not even have a piano in her home. She says that if her children take up music she will encourage them to take up a different string instrument - an orchestra has only one piano but many violins or cellos. But then her kids will probably have to take out loans to go to college and as this Boston Globe article - Debts end music for some students - reports, it is tough to make a living as a professional musician.
If you can afford to pursue your dream career - great! Otherwise be practical and establish a firm financial footing. You can always pursue your dream when retired but you can't just dream-up security - for that you have to work in a well compensated field. |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 12:00 PM *
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| 8 Comments: |
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I agree with you, to a point. In my early twenties I made a clear decision to get a practical graduate degree (a masters in library science). I had a terribly impractical undergrad degree in literature from a small, unknown, barely accredited school.
I really wanted to get an MFA in creative writing, but I couldn't stomach owing a bunch of student loans without significantly increasing my earning potential.
However, I sort of regret not getting the fun degree. Yeah, library science is okay, but it's not a very cushy paycheck. If I was going to do something for the money, I should have gotten a degree in accounting or something.
Plus, now I'm blessed/saddled with a house, a kid, a car, a spouse, and all the attendent bills. It is very very hard to imagine being able to get that MFA. I've never given up the idea, but I no longer have the freedom to do things like that.
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If you become financially independent, you can do whatever job you like. Further, if your "dream job" does not pay the bills... it could not be a dream job for long. You have to have balance. Find something that you can live with doing, and gives you a reasonable compensation, and has opportunity for growth. Manage your finances, become financially independent, and then pursue your dreams.
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Wow, Claire, we have a lot in common - MLS with a totally useless lit degree behind it. Oh, how I wish I'd studied math!
Like boston gal's friend the pianist, I will try to encourage my future kid to pick something practical, and stay away from poets! ;)
However, I do like the hours at my job. It's nice to have that day off during the week to get errands done, and at the branch I'm at now I get every other weekend off.
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I agree with you. I wanted to become an artist and my dad, a doctor who came from an extremely poor family convinced me to get a practical education instead. So I took up Computer Science which pays pretty well. He asked me recently why I never became a doctor and I told him it was because he never suggested it me and it never occurred to me!!!
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I love that a blogger in India linked to this post. It just goes to show you how universal this issue is.
See Link below...
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I agree,I think it's all a balancing act. The dream can be pursued along with a job which pays the bills.
The dream changes as we go along too, so that the dream job of 5 years ago can be obsolete. Life's too short not to try it all out. The average person changes careers 5 to 7 times in a lifetime. Our passion can go hand in hand with a bill paying job.
Just my 2 cents.
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The key is keeping options open - pursue something you love as well as a way to make money. I studied geography and economics as an undergrad. Originally economics was the more practical option. Now I ended up as an economics professor at a good university which for many people would be a dream job (relative freedom, creativity and decent money).... I think though it is a bad idea to pursue a career direction just because it makes money. If it isn't something you like it probably isn't going to be something you excel at.
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my dream job since high school was to become a writer. the kind of writer who makes an impact, changes the world and etc etc. a bit idealistic and worldly.
and though i had a number of internships, some nicely paid and others unpaid, i realized the real world of being a full time writer was going to be tough. it would require low pay, tough working conditions, and living in not so desirable locations where in some cases you're the only minority.
i was making $14/hour at my first writing gig. this is in california too. even though i didnt have loans or credit card debt, the job required me to use my car to go out and do assignments. the job wasn't paying me enough to keep my car maintained, pay bills, eat and live a decent life. and i had to work many OT hours unpaid.
i didn't make my six month probation which is possibly the best thing that ever happened to me. i looked for jobs that paid better in better locations and negotiated more money at my current job.
instead of writing full time im pursuing it on a freelance basis or just doing it for fun. it doesn't have the same impact or gratification but it's just as good.
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I agree with you, to a point. In my early twenties I made a clear decision to get a practical graduate degree (a masters in library science). I had a terribly impractical undergrad degree in literature from a small, unknown, barely accredited school.
I really wanted to get an MFA in creative writing, but I couldn't stomach owing a bunch of student loans without significantly increasing my earning potential.
However, I sort of regret not getting the fun degree. Yeah, library science is okay, but it's not a very cushy paycheck. If I was going to do something for the money, I should have gotten a degree in accounting or something.
Plus, now I'm blessed/saddled with a house, a kid, a car, a spouse, and all the attendent bills. It is very very hard to imagine being able to get that MFA. I've never given up the idea, but I no longer have the freedom to do things like that.