Is Following Your Passion To Choose Your Career A Good Advice?

When you ask someone for advice about your career, the standard advice you may get is that you must follow your passion while making your choice. Experts have now come to the conclusion that this can be the worst career advice because it may not work.

Do you know why this standard advice fails very often? The main reason is you may have interest in many things but none of them may stand out. Likewise, you may have capabilities in many things but none of them may be worth mentioning. Other reasons may be you may have a notion that you do not possess any abilities or it is not possible for you to identify a career that blends your skills, values and interests. Contrary to this, you may identify a number of careers that may involve your interests, skills and values. The last reason may be the skills and interests you have are so common that you may want a highly popular career.

Ironically, even if you identify a career that fulfills all these aspects and you land in a job in that particular career, there is no guarantee that you will have career contentment. Even if you are paid well, you may not be treated properly. So, you may have landed in your 'dream' career but still you may be an unhappy person. Therefore, following your passion may not be a cool advice.

What is the solution?

For having career contentment, people in general look for certain non-negotiables. Some of them are the job you land in is not very hard and at the same time, is not very easy also, the company where you choose to work makes you feel worthy as well as ethical, the boss of the organization treats you properly, you are able to get on well with your coworkers and more importantly, the organization provides you with many good opportunities for learning. Further, the work hours, the pay and the benefits of the job should be reasonably good. Above all, you must have job security and the commute to the workplace must not be very harsh.

You may have many jobs that fulfill all these non-negotiables. It is better you choose one of these jobs instead of looking for a job in which you have passion and interest. It is not that you have to give up your passions or dreams. You can pursue them as hobbies.

In short, status, pursuing passion and coolness seem to be the enemies of career contentment. But it is certain non-negotiables are the best friends of career contentment.