Practicality vs. Passion: Which Has Driven Your Career Choices?
This Thursday will be my first speaking engagement at a High School for Career Day. I will be speaking to senior students about my profession: how I chose to pursue my career, what programs and courses I needed to take, what my career has been like thus far and what my future career opportunities are. And this has got me thinking about my original motivation/desire for pursuing a career in engineering.
Why did I decide to go into engineering?
Engineering is one of those little known professions to high school students. Doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, psychologists, and teachers are common aspirations, but not too many students ever say they want to be engineers. Maybe it’s because it’s more the “geeky” profession associated with bookworms and computer nerds. Or maybe it’s because not enough people know how cool an engineer’s job can be?!
Regardless, the pattern seems to be that no one really aspires to be an engineer unless his or her dad, uncle or cousin is one. It’s just one of those things…Engineering, in my opinion, isn’t well marketed to students…and don’t even get me started on how unattractive promoters make the engineering profession seem to girls! So how did I choose to pursue a career in engineering?
Actually, it started out as a simple interest in what my friend Sharon’s dad did. One year, after summer break, we were all comparing vacation stories. I went to Myrtle Beach for what turned out to be a pretty uneventful summer vacation. Sharon, however, had a much more exotic experience. She said that her family went to Spain for a while because her dad had to train some Spanish customers on an airplane engine that his company sold them. Now, I had been to Spain; I am half Spanish! But I never thought that a career had the possibility of taking me to far away places!! So cool!! So I just had to ask Sharon what her dad did. “He’s a mechanical engineer for and aerospace & aviation company – they make airplane engines.” That was it. Enamored with the thought of travel, I decided I was going to become a mechanical engineer.
Besides, I was good at math and physics, so it sounded a reasonable decision. As I progressed through school, the passion for engineering wasn’t there. I was good at it, but there was no passion for anything I was learning. There were moments throughout my university studies that I began to question whether or not engineering was the profession for me. Was this something I wanted to do? What were my career prospects? What would my everyday job entail? What types of opportunities would be open to me? There were definite moments of self-doubt.
What kept me going, however, was a multitude of facts. The first, I would be the first engineer in the family – we have doctors and successful business people in our family…but no engineers. So Angela = 1 for originality and ambition! Second, engineering offered the prospect of a good paying job…better paying than a multitude of other jobs. Third, being a woman in a male-dominated profession and industry meant that the odds would be in my favor when it came to looking for a job…it is in part a numbers game.
Essentially, my decision was largely based on practicality. It was a very calculated decision. Does that make it wrong? No, it was a choice.
But something happened during the final year of my university studies. I began to find aspects of engineering interesting. Not so much the technical designing part, but creative idea generation, process analysis and project management were areas I excelled in. And suddenly my passion began to emerge…a little late, I’ll be the first to admit, but it finally did. (Which was somewhat relieving!)
All this retrospective thinking about how I chose my career path got me thinking about practicality versus passion and what roles and to what degree they influence many student’s career choices. How much should each affect someone’s career choices?
From experience and from observing my friend’s career paths and trajectories it is evident that the most successful people are those that pursue something that they are 1. Good at and 2. Are interested in. If both 1 and 2 are positive, then the outcome will most likely be positive. I don’t think that someone can excel at something that they are good at but have no passion for or interest in doing. Job satisfaction will probably be low because the work will be unfulfilling. It may be the most practical decision because the abilities are there, but that will only be able to sustain someone for so long. People want to value the work that they do and that can’t happen without a genuine interest in the work.
Albeit, passion alone is not enough. You can aspire to be an Olympic swimmer as much as you want, but if you’re afraid of water or can’t swim fast, then you may need to find another aspiration…sorry! Simply taking an interest in something is not enough to achieve a successful career. Competencies and abilities are essential to ensure success. While passion may be enough to initiate the pursuit of a goal, being good at it will help to guarantee – and maximize – the success you experience.
So, really, you have to have both. Practicality + Passion = Success (let’s add that one to the success mathematics theme of Professional Careerist). And that’s the message I will make sure comes across to the students. Whatever career path you choose, make sure both factors are driving your decision; make sure that you have a passion for whatever it is you want to pursue and that you have some of the basic talents or abilities you will need in order to be successful. Think of your abilities as the tools you need to achieve and make your passion a reality. Careerism is about making calculated decisions to help you achieve your maximum potential and the best recipe for success is doing something you want to do and that you’re good at. With that advice, you should be golden!
What factors influenced your career choices? Was your career a practical or passion-driven decision? Do you regret your decision? In hindsight, would you have chosen to pursue a different career? Have any of you transitioned into an entirely different career due to a change of heart or a discovery of a particular talent?
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