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Passion versus stability in career search
How do you find a career path that balances the things you're genuinely passionate about with one that provides you with the lifestyle you want?
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7 answers
Updated
Sasha’s Answer
This is such a personal question, and the answer will look different for everyone. My dad always told me, “Find a job you’re passionate about, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” But my own path didn’t quite unfold that way. I ended up in an industry and at a company I never would have imagined. Am I wildly passionate about the product we sell? Not really. But I am deeply passionate about solving problems, connecting with people, and the fact that I’ve continued to grow in my role over time. Early in my career, I thought I had to be in an industry I loved or selling something I was truly excited about. But what I’ve learned is that finding a career that balances passion with the lifestyle you want takes time, reflection, and a willingness to evolve. I started noticing what brought me joy at work, and it wasn’t necessarily tied to the product—it was the growth, the learning, the problem-solving, and the financial security the job provided. Those were the things that mattered most to me. I made a promise to myself: if I ever stopped learning or growing, I’d look for something new. Nine years later, I’m still here because that hasn’t changed. If you’re not sure where to start, reflect on what truly energizes you—what comes naturally, what lights you up—and be honest about the kind of life you want outside of work, whether that’s flexibility, stability, creativity, or time with family. There will be tradeoffs sometimes, and that’s okay. Try different roles, projects, or side gigs that align with different aspects of your values and pay attention to what feels right. Over time, you’ll see patterns and gain clarity about what matters most. And don’t forget—your passions don’t have to be confined to your 9–5. You can absolutely nurture them outside of work. The key is to be intentional about protecting that time and not letting your job bleed into it.
Updated
Molly’s Answer
Hi Andi,
This is a great question! In my experience, one of the best ways to find something that you're both passionate about and can provide a stable career is to explore different options (especially when you're still in school). Use internships, part-time jobs, volunteer work, or even informational interviews to test out different paths. Real-world experience is the best way to figure out what a job is actually like day-to-day. Sometimes something that sounds great on paper might not feel right in practice—and that’s okay!
Also, it's ok if you choose a career and even work in it for several years and decide you want to pivot. In many cases, you can go back to school to make a career pivot or you can do shorter courses to learn more about other interests you might have outside of your job. In today's world, careers and jobs are rarely linear. Don't let yourself feel like you have to stick to one thing for the rest of your life.
This is a great question! In my experience, one of the best ways to find something that you're both passionate about and can provide a stable career is to explore different options (especially when you're still in school). Use internships, part-time jobs, volunteer work, or even informational interviews to test out different paths. Real-world experience is the best way to figure out what a job is actually like day-to-day. Sometimes something that sounds great on paper might not feel right in practice—and that’s okay!
Also, it's ok if you choose a career and even work in it for several years and decide you want to pivot. In many cases, you can go back to school to make a career pivot or you can do shorter courses to learn more about other interests you might have outside of your job. In today's world, careers and jobs are rarely linear. Don't let yourself feel like you have to stick to one thing for the rest of your life.
Updated
Martha’s Answer
Hi, Andi - what a heartfelt question! Sasha and Sneha have given you solid advice and from very different professions. I would like to highlight/reinforce:
- Your question assumed that the genuine passion was about a product, e.g., some form of music or fine arts. Perhaps there are other ways to use this passion. For example, I thought I was going to be a journalist, but I have used my love of writing to produce internal communications and brochures, write courses, help students edit essays and yes, write responses on this site.
- Also, we are suggesting you could find other passions as fulfilling. Sometimes, the passion has little to do with the product itself. For example, Sasha mentioned problem-solving and connecting with others. I get a lot of satisfaction from building teams, helping others learn and grow, and helping organizations improve.
- What matters to you may evolve as you enter different phases of life. For example, what may be exciting early in life may feel destabilizing later. If it happens to you, know it is okay. Also you likely don't know now what those changes will be, and that is also okay.
- Stay curious and attuned to your feelings throughout, as Sneha said. If you feel unhappy, explore the cause. Maybe you are not learning or being challenged. You may be able to stay in the same organization or maybe even the same job and address that. Explore your options.
Good luck!
- Your question assumed that the genuine passion was about a product, e.g., some form of music or fine arts. Perhaps there are other ways to use this passion. For example, I thought I was going to be a journalist, but I have used my love of writing to produce internal communications and brochures, write courses, help students edit essays and yes, write responses on this site.
- Also, we are suggesting you could find other passions as fulfilling. Sometimes, the passion has little to do with the product itself. For example, Sasha mentioned problem-solving and connecting with others. I get a lot of satisfaction from building teams, helping others learn and grow, and helping organizations improve.
- What matters to you may evolve as you enter different phases of life. For example, what may be exciting early in life may feel destabilizing later. If it happens to you, know it is okay. Also you likely don't know now what those changes will be, and that is also okay.
- Stay curious and attuned to your feelings throughout, as Sneha said. If you feel unhappy, explore the cause. Maybe you are not learning or being challenged. You may be able to stay in the same organization or maybe even the same job and address that. Explore your options.
Good luck!
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Andi !
One doesn't decide what career they want or have a passion for by analyzing things that are not tangible yet. You can't plan your life around a career that hasn't even happened yet, but if you make well informed choices, you can have your life the way you want in the future like millions of students have managed to do. Go towards your passion, always, and you'll have no regrets !
The general nature of life is that you're not always going to be passionate about many things and certain areas of life are not always stable. We learn this through life experience, self-discovery and increased socialization, really connecting with people and activities. Many things influence our lives and we have to give ourselves the room to grow while we learn. Worrying about the future fosters a lot of anxious feelings and confusion. How useful is that ? Not very.
So you will go to college for that dream Major connected to that dream career and you'll learn even more. It's perfectly fine to not know how things will be five or six years from now -how many of us didn't know this and we were able to enjoy, manage and appreciate our lives. You seem smart and I know you'll be able to do it if you alleviate the worrying and the need to know the future.
You will have to weigh out what is more important to you, passion, stability or having the lifestyle you want. And guess what, as you get older, your priorities change. So the useful way to do this is go for a career you really love. If lifestyle is your priority for the future, put lifestyle above everything else. The crucial thing is to focus on what is priority for you right now and you will learn how to have the lifestyle you want for the future. No one can tell you how to attain it. And at some point, you may gain supports that can enable you to have what you want in the future.
If you already have a career in mind, start being active by volunteering and planning your academic path, looking at colleges for your dream career preparation. Sometimes, students can give way too much thought about the future and it only causes feelings that keep one idle and just thinking about it. Don't fear the future.
I hope these are some words to think over and I wish you all the best moving forward !
One doesn't decide what career they want or have a passion for by analyzing things that are not tangible yet. You can't plan your life around a career that hasn't even happened yet, but if you make well informed choices, you can have your life the way you want in the future like millions of students have managed to do. Go towards your passion, always, and you'll have no regrets !
The general nature of life is that you're not always going to be passionate about many things and certain areas of life are not always stable. We learn this through life experience, self-discovery and increased socialization, really connecting with people and activities. Many things influence our lives and we have to give ourselves the room to grow while we learn. Worrying about the future fosters a lot of anxious feelings and confusion. How useful is that ? Not very.
So you will go to college for that dream Major connected to that dream career and you'll learn even more. It's perfectly fine to not know how things will be five or six years from now -how many of us didn't know this and we were able to enjoy, manage and appreciate our lives. You seem smart and I know you'll be able to do it if you alleviate the worrying and the need to know the future.
You will have to weigh out what is more important to you, passion, stability or having the lifestyle you want. And guess what, as you get older, your priorities change. So the useful way to do this is go for a career you really love. If lifestyle is your priority for the future, put lifestyle above everything else. The crucial thing is to focus on what is priority for you right now and you will learn how to have the lifestyle you want for the future. No one can tell you how to attain it. And at some point, you may gain supports that can enable you to have what you want in the future.
If you already have a career in mind, start being active by volunteering and planning your academic path, looking at colleges for your dream career preparation. Sometimes, students can give way too much thought about the future and it only causes feelings that keep one idle and just thinking about it. Don't fear the future.
I hope these are some words to think over and I wish you all the best moving forward !
Updated
Rachel’s Answer
Hey Andi!
This is such a good, hard and real question. Here's a couple of tips I have in this category:
- Have you done any analysis/reflecting on your personal strengths and weaknesses? Gallup StrengthsFinder has a book and assessment that is really great for this, but a good google search will pull up lots of resources to get started here. I have personally found that from a work perspective, being in a career that aligned to my innate skills generally has always led to a feeling of passion toward my work. And it makes sense- I feel like I am performing well, growing, and adding value. So I always like starting here- strengths and passions are different, but I do think generally finding a career path that plays to your innate strengths oftentimes leads to a career you are passionate about.
- Define what you mean by passions. Are you wanting a career in a specific industry you find super cool and are passionate about working in? Are you wanting a job that from a societal perspective is trendy, cool and fun? Do we mean a job where we look forward to getting up to every morning? Here's my point: generally, passion is fleeting. The things you are passionate about will likely change throughout your life, and that is OKAY! Not just okay, it's totally normal. That's why it can be really tough to 'do what you are passionate about', and leave it at that. I think more often than not, people just make a decision to plug in and commit to something that they know they would be successful at, and passion sometimes follows.
- What happens if you start in a career, realize hey I am good at this but it is totally draining me/I am personally completely unsatisfied? Well, this can happen too. There are many reasons how people end up in these circumstances- external life events, toxic company culture, general apathy or boredom with the tasks the job requires be done. In these cases, its important to go back to my first bullet and analyze your strengths and in this instance, also wrote down everything about your current career that is not working for YOU. Try to find a mentor or someone you trust who is willing to help you translate your strengths into job-related skills, and help you analyze career paths that would fit those strengths.
Now, when it comes to the question of balance- this is always personal. Lifestyle is a preference, and means different things to different people. I think it comes to the question of what generally you are looking for out of life. For some, the best career in the world is the one that provides the highest degree of financial security and success (which likely means lots of hours dedicated to that career- don't be decieved by the idea that you can have it all). For others, its being able to make every single one of their growing child's soccer games as the coach (which likely comes with the sacrifice and trade-off of getting paid slightly less but having a job that gives them the flexibility to choose). Now there are a lot of factors here that can create allowances outside of the above mentioned scenarios/unicorn scenarios. Maybe you have a super unique degree and skillset that is high paying and grants you a flexible career. But at some point, you had to earn that unique degree/develop that skillset. So there is an element of conscious choice involved, always.
Self-reflection is a VERY powerful skill. So is having guiding principles and values for yourself and allowing those to guide your thoughts :) This can be your faith, family or something else.
This is such a good, hard and real question. Here's a couple of tips I have in this category:
- Have you done any analysis/reflecting on your personal strengths and weaknesses? Gallup StrengthsFinder has a book and assessment that is really great for this, but a good google search will pull up lots of resources to get started here. I have personally found that from a work perspective, being in a career that aligned to my innate skills generally has always led to a feeling of passion toward my work. And it makes sense- I feel like I am performing well, growing, and adding value. So I always like starting here- strengths and passions are different, but I do think generally finding a career path that plays to your innate strengths oftentimes leads to a career you are passionate about.
- Define what you mean by passions. Are you wanting a career in a specific industry you find super cool and are passionate about working in? Are you wanting a job that from a societal perspective is trendy, cool and fun? Do we mean a job where we look forward to getting up to every morning? Here's my point: generally, passion is fleeting. The things you are passionate about will likely change throughout your life, and that is OKAY! Not just okay, it's totally normal. That's why it can be really tough to 'do what you are passionate about', and leave it at that. I think more often than not, people just make a decision to plug in and commit to something that they know they would be successful at, and passion sometimes follows.
- What happens if you start in a career, realize hey I am good at this but it is totally draining me/I am personally completely unsatisfied? Well, this can happen too. There are many reasons how people end up in these circumstances- external life events, toxic company culture, general apathy or boredom with the tasks the job requires be done. In these cases, its important to go back to my first bullet and analyze your strengths and in this instance, also wrote down everything about your current career that is not working for YOU. Try to find a mentor or someone you trust who is willing to help you translate your strengths into job-related skills, and help you analyze career paths that would fit those strengths.
Now, when it comes to the question of balance- this is always personal. Lifestyle is a preference, and means different things to different people. I think it comes to the question of what generally you are looking for out of life. For some, the best career in the world is the one that provides the highest degree of financial security and success (which likely means lots of hours dedicated to that career- don't be decieved by the idea that you can have it all). For others, its being able to make every single one of their growing child's soccer games as the coach (which likely comes with the sacrifice and trade-off of getting paid slightly less but having a job that gives them the flexibility to choose). Now there are a lot of factors here that can create allowances outside of the above mentioned scenarios/unicorn scenarios. Maybe you have a super unique degree and skillset that is high paying and grants you a flexible career. But at some point, you had to earn that unique degree/develop that skillset. So there is an element of conscious choice involved, always.
Self-reflection is a VERY powerful skill. So is having guiding principles and values for yourself and allowing those to guide your thoughts :) This can be your faith, family or something else.
Updated
Vandana’s Answer
Hi Andi, In today's world, there are lots of career opportunities. You can make your career one that suits your passion or lifestyle. It all comes up to your personal priorities. Your decision might be a conflict between what makes you happy or what can afford your daily life. If you are satisfied with your passion which can afford your lifestyle, then it can be taken up as your career. If not, it ultimately comes up to individual preferences.
Updated
Sneha’s Answer
Hey Andi! Finding a career that balances passion and stability starts with getting clear on what matters most to you, both emotionally and practically. Explore your interests through classes, internships, or side projects while also researching what kind of roles offer financial security and long-term growth. Sometimes the key is not choosing between passion and stability, but finding a role where your passion fits into a stable field, or building stability first while gradually growing your passion into a full-time path. Talk to people in careers you're curious about to understand what their day-to-day looks like and how they got there. The right path may not be perfect right away, but with time, learning, and adjustment, you can shape a career that gives you both fulfillment and security. Good luck!