Guest Post by Elena Stewart

You’ve done what you were supposed to do. You got a stable, responsible, practical job. Maybe you started a family. You might have bought a nice house and a new car. However, you find yourself feeling unfulfilled and dreading your morning commute. 

If you’re tired of working just to bring home a paycheck and you’re thinking about changing careers to pursue something you love, you’re not alone. Surveys reveal that nearly half of all workers have made at least one dramatic career change in their lifetime. If they can do it, so can you. Start your journey with the following advice, courtesy of TC Productions.

Why You Should Pursue Your Passion

Giving up a job that you have invested time and energy towards to pursue your passion can be a frightening thought. However, The Houston Chronicle explains changing careers to do something you love does have benefits. First, it helps you stay motivated. Most of the time, when you start a new career, you have to spend the first few months or years learning the basics and working your way up to doing more fulfilling tasks. Knowing that there is more reward at the end of the journey than money or titles can help you stay motivated.

Second, you bring more to the table doing work that you love. People who are passionate about what they do tend to have fresher ideas and perspectives, which helps their companies innovate. 

Third, your career is more likely to align with the skills you are best at when you pursue a passion. In fact, according to research, people who pursue a career that closely matches their strengths are six times more likely to be fully engaged at work and achieve an excellent quality of life. If you’re unsure where your strengths lie, you can take an aptitude test to help identify them. 

How to Identify Your Passion

If you are one of the many people who either aren’t sure what their passion is or have so many passions that narrowing them down to one career choice is difficult, take time to identify your passion and figure out how to translate it into a career. Start by asking yourself five questions:

1. What do you like to do or what did you used to do with your free time?
2. What are subjects you would like to learn more about?
3. What are subjects you already know a lot about?
4. What are you good at?
5. What types of activities do you engage in that you tend to lose track of time while you are doing them? 

How to Pursue Your Passion

Now that you know what your passion is and why you should pursue it, you are probably wondering how to do so. A good place to start is pursuing a relevant online degree. Per Medium, an online education is often less expensive than earning a degree on campus. Tuition rates and fees are often lower—and you save money all the way around. You won’t have to pay for transportation and parking every day, either, and digital versions of textbooks usually cost less.

Online education is more flexible than in-person learning, too. Many schools allow you to learn at your own pace and on your own schedule. For example, if you’re passionate about computer technology, you can take courses through an accredited university like WGU and adjust your classwork to your schedule. This is particularly beneficial to people who need to keep working while attending school. 

How to Turn Your Passion Into a Career

The key to turning your passion into a career is finding where your passion intersects with something other people are willing to pay for. For example, if your interest is in videography, then you might find your niche is in creating high-quality marketing videos. Finding a way to solve problems is the key; figure out how your passion can fulfill someone else’s want or need.

If you are unfulfilled at work, the good news is you don’t have to keep feeling that way. Figure out what you are passionate about and how you can use that passion to build a career that will nurture your soul and your bank account. 

For more information on taking your professional development to the next level, connect with TC Productions.