Passion project
Why choose just one career when you can have more than one? Why limit yourself to a single interest when you’re passionate about many? I love business and fashion, and recently I’ve been asking myself: do I want to own a café—maybe a boba, energy, or herbal spot with food and pastries—or should I pursue a path that blends business, law, and medicine? I’m trying to figure out where to start exploring so I can find guidance in the things that truly interest me.
35 answers
Tracie’s Answer
It's not about limiting yourself; it's about being smart. You can follow many passions in life, just not all at once with the same energy. This way, you avoid burnout and feeling stretched too thin. Focus doesn’t mean forever; it just means for now.
Samantha’s Answer
There are so many paths you can choose in this life and the answer to career fulfillment can look different in different parts of your life. I've personally gone from working at a hotel front desk to being a social worker in the mental health field to working at a consulting firm. Whatever path you choose, make sure that it's fulfilling what you need and don't be afraid to make a pivot when needed.
Abishek’s Answer
Launch a tiny version of each passion:
• Love fashion? Start a thrift-flip Instagram, blog, or sell on Depop.
• Interested in business? Try a mini online store, lemonade stand, or café pop-up at a school or community event.
• Curious about law or medicine? Shadow professionals, volunteer, or join clubs related to debate or health.
The key is: test your interests through action, not just thinking. Start with what excites you most right now. As you explore, the path will become clearer—and you can always blend passions later (like owning a wellness café that empowers women in business or health!).
Ashley’s Answer
Karin’s Answer
Not everything you are interested in has to be a job. You can have a job and hobbies. You can also have different jobs during your lifetime if you grow tired of one thing after a while.
Keep in mind that you need to invest time and money into becoming successful at a career. A lot also depends on your financial situation and family responsibilities.
Becoming a doctor is a very long educational journey. Becoming a lawyer also takes pretty long. Those are not careers you throw away easily. Becoming successful with any business also takes time. People invest time and money to reap rewards usually much later.
You can combine healthcare and law by becoming e.g. a hospital lawyer, medical malpractice lawyer or personal injury lawyer. Medical knowledge would be helpful in those fields while your main career is law. If you have your own law firm you would also run your own business.
If you want to own a small business and like fashion and the idea of a coffee shop, why not open a boutique for exquisite fashion and have a few tables where people can socialize and have a cuppa or a glass of champagne. A friend of a friend does something like that: small (pricy) boutique, 2 bar tables, and on Saturdays you can get a glass of champagne or juice. People come to socialize as well as buy and she has a group of loyal customers.
Make sure you research every career you dive into carefully to understand all the implications.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
Emily’s Answer
The goal is to narrow down your interests until you have a couple that you can devote time and energy to. This doesn't mean you can't do it all, but it is unlikely you'll have enough hours in your day to pursue everything at once. Also, don't be afraid to reach out to people who work within industries you're interested in. A quick coffee chat could give you valuable insider insight into some of the areas you're interested in.
Abby’s Answer
Yuliya’s Answer
Jiho’s Answer
Chutima’s Answer
AnnMarie’s Answer
It's great to connect with someone who has so many interests. I understand where you're coming from. When I was 20, I had already explored many paths, from acting and music to researching 1930s America and studying dark matter just for fun. Not everyone follows a straight path, and that's perfectly okay. I never imagined I'd end up in project management after being an improviser and public health official. I sense you have the same adventurous spirit.
Here's what I wish I had known:
1) You don't need to limit yourself. Keep your education broad enough to explore many options, but focused enough to be practical. Don't hesitate to double major or take a class just because it interests you. I once took a History of Rock and Roll class, and it unexpectedly became a great conversation starter with clients.
2) Don't worry if your experiences seem unrelated. Skills from different jobs often overlap. For example, calming a panicked client is useful whether you're managing a project or tracking COVID. You'll see similar connections as you gain experience.
3) To discover what truly interests you, look for common themes in your passions. For me, it was process of creating something new, whether in music, costumes, or tech. What do your interests have in common?
4) Talk to friends and family about your interests. They might see your passions more clearly than you do. My family guessed my true interests before I did.
5) Embrace change. You might start in medicine, switch to business, and then open a coffee shop. It's not unusual for people to shift paths. Change is the only constant, and that's perfectly normal.
Cara’s Answer
You don't know exactly what you want to do today! Overtime you find what you are passionate about and what you enjoy. Guess what, it can change too! After graduating with my undergrad, I working in Marketing for a hospital, then I worked under a CHRO doing comms, entry level recruiting and dabbled in training, then I worked for an upstream O&G company. During that time I was learning new skills and gaining certifications, that ultimately prepared me for my job in Human Capital Consulting. Now I have the opportunity to execute projects and then move to a new project with a new challenge and a new team.
If you are interested in starting your own business, I would recommend doing research on your target market, talking to other entrepreneurs in your area and getting their feedback, read books on the business you are interested in and how to start a business. Then create a business plan! The business plan should be detailed with everything from your strategic plan, to marketing plan, target market, competitive analysis, etc. Find a mentor who will help you ask the write questions and plan out how you can minimize risk and help your business succeed.
Stuart’s Answer
The great thing is you can pursue multiple interest! Many people can multiple careers, however, for most that is not attainable. You can still pursue other things as hobbies.
I know many people who are very passionate about a hobby and they devoted a great amount of time to it. I believe it is healthy to not focus on one area whether that be a job or hobby. By broadening our perspectives we become more well rounded which makes us better people.
Carrie’s Answer
One thing you might want to ask yourself is what you want from your career. Personally, I want a stable income and work tasks that I don't hate. I want to enjoy my job enough that I don't dread going into work, but I look for fulfillment outside of work. Adding the pressure of needing to make money can take the joy out of hobbies, so I maintain a pretty strong boundary between work and many of my favorite activities.
You might feel differently. You might need to feel enthusiasm for your work in a way that many don't, and that's perfectly valid. Medicine and law are both more regimented professional areas that may require licensure and a significant time investment before you have the freedom to create your own path, but maybe you can shadow someone in an area that interests you to see what their day looks like and how they got to where they are to help you decide where you want to start.
Jackson’s Answer
As some here have already explained, staring your own business can come with risk. There are countless ways to address risk but one that I have personally used it leveraging my ability to have side hustles. I have a full time job but also explore other areas of business in my free time. These smaller ventures have taught me so much about different industries and how to run a business and because they are smaller, I am able to keep my stable income and still focus on my full time job.
This has been a great way to learn more and continue to grow outside of work and I highly recommend if you have an entrepreneurial spirit. The only caution I would recommend is checking to see if what you want to create abides by the contract of your full time job. Best of luck!
Andrea’s Answer
Jason’s Answer
Helaine’s Answer
Choosing a career can be tough! It's important to separate what you want to do for work from what you enjoy as a hobby or side job. Don't hesitate to explore different options for your future. You can start by volunteering or working part-time in fields that interest you. This will help you see if you want to pursue them long-term. Also, try talking to industry experts or business owners to learn about their daily work and the steps they took to get there. This can help you decide which industries might be right for you.
L’s Answer
What a fantastic question! You're in a great spot early in your career and life, with the chance to try out different paths before choosing one. Why not explore each option until you find the right fit? This summer, try the first career on your list and see how it feels. Are you excited and energized? Does time fly by, or is it hard to get started each day? The best career will feel natural and blend into your life, leaving you eager to do more.
You’ll only know what suits you by diving in and experiencing it firsthand. You might create something new and exciting for a business, or even come up with a fresh idea that changes everything. If things don't go as planned, you'll gain valuable skills like resilience and resourcefulness. Either way, jump in and get started!
Ashlyn’s Answer
Rob’s Answer
Max’s Answer
Nafis’s Answer
Jay’s Answer
Having the desire to have multiple different careers is normal for someone still in school. But you need to keep in mind that all skills take considerable time and effort to build into anything material that will produce worthwhile returns for you both financially and psychologically.
Developing and exploring other interests makes you a well rounded individual, this will help you later when you finally embark down a career path that you deem both rewarding and practical.
Often times, if you have adjacent interests, you can plan your career strategically to develop a very niche skillset that will give you even greater rewards. For example, one may begin their career out of school as an accountant, get their CPA and work at a firm. After a few years they discover that they have a tremendous interest in law, they pursue this interest by going to law school and becoming a tax or securities lawyer which is at the crossroads of accounting and law/regulatory.
Satya Prakash’s Answer
Vivian’s Answer
It’s not necessary to stick to just one career path—you can explore different fields and roles throughout your life. I encourage you to give each of your interests a chance and see how they align with your future goals. Additionally, I suggest you also consider your prior experiences, such as your education, internships, and personal strengths, when making career decisions. This approach can help you find a path that is both fulfilling and well-suited to your unique background. Wish you all the best!
Aaleyah’s Answer
Jason’s Answer
It's great you are thinking outside the box. I don't really have an answer for you because I think you are on the right track. I don't think anyone is truly single passionate m any just don't know who to intersect and blend those various passions together. It sounds like it is on your mind heavy which is good and I would say go for it. make your career YOUR career and chase the things that interest you. That's what makes your story unique. be multi passionate, multi talented, multi interested and go for those things. people THINK you have to stick to one thing. and I don't think you do.
April’s Answer
Remember, your purpose isn't just one thing; it's a theme. It's great to have many interests, and you can chase all of them.
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