Do What You Love Or What Pays?

Excuse us for signaling cliched, but in my opinion everyone should have the prospect to get the career they want. Everybody has a passion in life, something they’ve continually wanted to do, but numerous of us get held up in the daily grind, and find ourselves slipping further away from our ambitions.

A career has a natural progression with which we build up skills, and will be promoted to greater levels within a company. On the other hand, a job is rather which pays the rent, and might not necessarily be pleasing or fascinating. Above all, we have ALL been there! Most of us will have to take jobs which we  don’t want, and don’t relish. So try and stay positive, there is a way out. It really is never too late to start a new career, and fulfill your dreams.

While making a career decision, ‘follow your passion’ is usually a  heard advice. Reality said, it can actually be a tad misleading, at least going by research. If you have been somebody fervent about becoming a designer or blogger or singer since your childhood and still pursued the dream till you got your dreamed job, you are certainly a fortunate person.

A well written quote which I like a lot says:

“LEARN TO BALANCE A DREAM AND A JOB, UNTIL YOUR DREAM BECOMES YOUR JOB”

Unquestionably the truth is all of us need a source of income, indeed a stable one to live our lives. This is one thing we are constantly reminded of, since our childhood. Somewhere amongst choosing the right course to study and finding the right job, we overlook what we call as ‘inner calling’. We are so dedicated about the stability and monetary aspects of life that we overlook our passion. Most people, settle for a job and never even try to build a career in the first place.

I feel personally that our ultimatum must be about feeling contented and happy, on every single day of our life with whatever we choose to do. People have jobs paying lucratively, but stress is all they carry back home along with their six or seven digit paycheck, whereas, there are others, who live a middle class, but come back home with a big  smile and an eagerness to pick their work the next from where they left it. This zeal only comes with the sense of fulfillment and gladness in your work is giving you. Basically, I believe this kind work is what all of us have to choose and build a career in.

Wise people say that money is not everything, but on the other hand you’d be more contented in a sedan than a bus. Truly, money can’t buy happiness. But in the world we live today, we need money to do the things we love. Therefore, we have to have a career or job that provides us with that paycheck. But the genuine key to happiness is, doing what you love to earn money. Only a lucky few in this world gets to have it that way. But surely, you can find something that you are passionate about in what you do to earn a living. If not? By all means, you need a career change. After all, that’s what I did.

Chasing your dreams and taking risks to do what you love, is never easy. But I’ve learnt that, at the end of the day, it’s worth it. Life is not about how fat your paycheck is. It’s about how fulfilled you feel at the end of a working day.

Ms. Sakshi Chhabra

Assistant Professor

Department of Management Studies