It was a great post ! Indeed nowadays we tend to be blinded by money or wealth in the short term and forget that there’s still many other things more than that (Think happiness and life)

It’s very important that one couldn’t let go of their dream career no matter where you are right now. Most of the comment have said it – It’s never too late !

I get a lot of inspiration from this title “Finding works that matters – Mark Albion”. In this title, he talks about how he let go of the prestigious Professor post and become a speaker. There’s question that you may ask yourself and only yourself will know the answer.

In conclusion, there’s only a limited advice that someone can give to you but at the end of the day, it’s your life. You know the most. You need to make the decision. Whether it’s money or happiness… the decision is in your hands :)

i have some things to add.

regarding income versus how good the job generally pays: my experience is, that by doing something i was passionate about for years (and for quite a low pay) i have became an expert in the field, so i got to get various well-paid freelance stints, and now am in the process of deciding between next possible moves, some of which are quite well paid (but less attractive in other ways-this will require some more thinking). so that i am convinced that actually choosing a job that does not generally pay well might be useful financially in the long run. also having such a job is such a very important thing, that having a big salary sometimes does not outweigh this.

another thing i would like to say – as the world is changing so rapidly, we cannot be possibly sure about how well paid a job will be in, say, 10 years time. of course, being a lawyer or a very good doctor will quite surely be a well paid position, but there are so many careers out there that i would not say we can be sure about all of them – also, many people change careers several times during their lifetime and i perceive this to be a thing that happens more and more often – also because, as others have said, ones pasions change during their life.

so generally i would say betting on ones passion and choosing somethink that one wants to do very much, and therefore might excel in, could be a better choice for many reasons, and can bring contentment AND good money

I’ve met several aspiring professional comedians. They were all among the least funny people I’ve ever known. I didn’t know them well enough to ask their back stories, but I suspect that they were once passionate about “natural” comedy, making their friends laugh and such. (Why else would anyone want to be a professional comedian?) But having to make audiences of strangers laugh over and over again sucked the joy of it right out of them. I could easily see that happening.

I think it helps to be realistic. In any job, whether built on a passion or not, there are going to be times when you have to do things that you just plain don’t feel like doing. Part of it is because there are lots of things in the world that need to get done that aren’t very exciting. Part of it is because, for those of us with creative-type jobs, it’s rare that we’re given absolute free rein on how we express ourselves. And part of it may be that for some people, even if their job is their most passionate passion, sometimes they’d just rather be doing something else.

One of my loves is writing, mainly fiction. When I was younger, I wanted to be a writer, and it was something I was very good at. I didn’t end up doing that, though. Somewhere along the way, I ended up getting a technical diploma in accounting. I hated math in high school, but when I was obtaining my degree, I found that I liked the detailed oriented aspects and working through problems and solving them that’s involved in accounting.

After doing this soul searching about returning to school, and thinking about pursuing the writing as my career, I decided against it. The joy that I get from writing is the freedom to take what’s in my head and put it into words and to tell a story when and how I want to tell it. To pursue it as a career, for me, would be a mistake. Deadlines, the business aspect of it, focus groups and things like that would take the joy out of writing for me. If I ever reached a point where it felt like I was churning out things just to keep people happy would also take a lot of the joy and passion out of something I love. So I decided that it would be best to keep writing as a hobby. (I mainly write fiction. That’s my passion.) If it turns out that I end up making money from my hobby, it will only be as a side venture. I’m very much open to the idea of self publishing my work.

I will pursue another accounting degree to build upon the one I already have, because accounting also fulfills my love of picking things apart and thinking analytically and problem solving. Crunching numbers isn’t my passion. But I don’t believe that I’m settling for the safe route, either. I have both creative and analytical needs to fulfill and I feel it’s in my best interest to keep the creative side as a hobby and have the analytical side as my career.

And I agree with Kevin. Don’t be afraid to change careers. Don’t be afraid to entertain the thought of changing careers. If you’re unhappy with what you’re doing, by all means, take the time to do some soul searching and allow yourself to be open to change if that’s what you ultimately want to do.

Thanks Trent. You’re a lucky dude.

Thanks Trent.

Obviously, I’m not saying that you should decide what you want to do when you’re 14 and be stuck with it for the rest of your life. What I’m saying is, a smart, engaged 14-year-old with supportive parents can find amazing opportunities in a variety of fields so that she can explore her passions and skills before she has to worry about paying rent or tuition, supporting a family, or combating years of negative self-perceptions and bad advice. So start talking to the children in your life about these choices sooner rather than later – I bet they will stun you with how readily they understand and apply your guidance!

Good post, though, other than that point it’s dead on.

Steve

So I switched to dispatch and make $15/hr, a 50% increase. Still in the same line of work, but I’d rather be back on the ambulance.