Jaime
Should I follow my passions or go towards following what will help me make a living?
I want to be a photographer or an architect but from what people keep telling me is that they don't make enough money, what should I do, what will truly benefit me? #architect #architecture #photography
15 answers
Alexandra (Sasha) Verkh
Alexandra (Sasha)’s Answer
I have a son about to go to college and we've been having the same discussions with him. Your job is where you will spend the better part of your waking hours, so it's important that you like it (or love it) at least sometimes. So don't pick anything you hate. But pick something practical, because if you are doing something you love and it doesn't pay the bills, and you are often stressed about how to make ends meet, that job you are so passionate about won't alleviate the stress. Find a way, perhaps to incorporate your passions into a side thing, or something you do outside of work. Also, keep in mind that happiness is a combination of everything in your life, including where you live, your family and friends, time and ability to pursue the things you enjoy - sports, travel, hobbies, etc. A job you like well enough, combined with general satisfaction in these other areas, will lead to a contented life. Hopefully. Good luck.
Josh Barratt
Josh’s Answer
This is a tough question that I think many of us grapple with.
First, that advice might be worth double checking on. Based on some light research, the national averages for a photographer's salary are around $45k, and for architects it's more like $80-100k, depending on your source. They are both pretty reasonably paid positions.
Life is short, and if you can spend it doing something that you're passionate about and get paid for it at the same time, that's amazing.
Of course, every job has bad days or bad periods, if you're an architect but your boss or clients are awful, it's probably going to be hard to feel the passion, even if the work itself would otherwise be a blast.
There's also a question of how much money you really need. A life spent doing things that don't feel like work is it's own form of payment, and if you've got food and shelter, maybe that's enough! But if your dreams are of doing work you're passionate about and being wealthy, that becomes a harder target to hit.
A passion for photography and design can be a great asset for many kinds of jobs that are more commercially viable as well, so that might be another angle to explore.
Scott Soltis
Scott’s Answer
Follow your passions when determining your career path. If you do something that you love, your job will never feel like work! Be creative and think broadly to find how your passion can provide you financial success. Sometimes there is a balance between completely following your passion and finding the right job to gain your financial success.
John Kriegel
John’s Answer
Boopathy Shanmugham
Boopathy’s Answer
Capria Davis
Capria’s Answer
I dealt with a similar dilemma when I was going to school. I fell in love with photography but was going to school for biology with the thoughts of becoming a doctor. However I found that my heart just wasn't in biology. Photography is something I began to practice and eventually turned it into a small business. I changed my studies in school to align more with what I loved to do. I ended up majoring in multimedia mass communications which is a combination degree of journalism, pr, marketing, graphic design and photography. By doing this I opened up a ton of doors in the work world while still being able to hone in on the thing that I loved to do. I currently work for Verizon and am working toward getting into the marketing department of the business. However in my free time and on days off I still am an active photographer running my own small business but continuing to grow it nevertheless. Don't let working in one field deter you from chasing your other dreams.
Capria
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Ashutosh Chauhan
Ashutosh’s Answer
James Newbery
James’s Answer
Carol Dolinsky
Carol’s Answer
Carla Tam
Carla’s Answer
Second, no matter where you live, an architect will make a hell of a lot more money than a photographer, if you could even find a job as a photographer.
If you decide to study art/photography in college you will likely hear the phrase around campus, "what does the liberal arts major say?...answer -"You want fries with that? "
Florent MOURIERAS
Florent’s Answer
I started as a Microbiology technician, I thought it will be my passion for my living but after a year working as a technician I found out that what really interested me was management and technology on a day to day basis. My first passions where not the one I should do for a living, I still do Microbiology studies and research for my hobby but my everyday enjoyment is apassion that I didn't know when I started to work. My advice would be follow your passions without hesitating to change as much as needed to wake up everyday happy to go to work.
Nicole Fernandez-Valle
Nicole’s Answer
Florent MOURIERAS
Florent’s Answer
MyI started as a Microbiology technician, I thought it will be my passion for my living but after a year working as a technician I found out that what really interested me was management and technology on a day to day basis. My first passions where not the one I should do for a living, I still do Microbiology studies and research for my hobby but my everyday enjoyment is apassion that I didn't know when I started to work.
Florent MOURIERAS
Florent’s Answer
I started as a Microbiology technician, I thought it will be my passion for my living but after a year working as a technician I found out that what really interested me was management and technology on a day to day basis. My first passions were not the one I should do for a living, I still do Microbiology studies and research for my hobby but my everyday enjoyment is a passion that I didn't know when I started to work. My advice would be follow your passions without hesitating to change as much as needed to wake up everyday happy to go to work.
