Have you ever heard the mantra “Do what you love, and the money will follow?”

This is a lesson that has been handed on for many years to young adults who were wondering what direction to go into for college or technical training, or which entry-level jobs would be the ones best suited to them.

NZMuse took on that discussion with Can we all realistically expect to love our jobs?, referencing an earlier discussion on “passion jobs.”

A snippet:

The work that makes the world go round isn’t generally bursting with the fun factor – banking, freight, insurance, food production, retail, farming, tech support, cleaning. No doubt there are specific roles within those sectors that lend themselves to passion, but by and large the stuff we need to keep the cogs turning is fairly dull stuff. And passion jobs often require sacrifices in almost every other aspect aside from enjoyment/satisfaction – compensation, hours, work-life balance, etc.

The reality is not so nice and neat.

While the trade-off is often cast as higher pay for an annoying job vs. lower pay for a fun job, here’s what I’ve picked up on as I’ve watched people move in and out of job searches:

You may find a situation where the hated jobs go beyond annoying and dull to extremely low paying, temporary or contract work without benefits, unfriendly or unpredictable work schedules, involve people you don’t get along with, or other stressful situations.

And you have bills to pay.

What are you going to do?

Print Friendly
Share