Debunking the "Follow Your Passion" Myth

Thu, 10/04/2012 - 10:38 -- dougk

"Follow your passion" is a familiar theme for high school graduation speakers and career counselors. It was Steve Jobs' subject when he spoke at my daughter's commencement and I was reminded of this phrase by a recent blog by Cal Newport in The New York Times. It's always troubled me a little.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for passion, but for this strategy to work you need two prerequisites.  First, as Newport points out, you have to know what your passion is.  And second, you have to be able to at least make a subsistence living (and maybe a lot more) engaged in your passion.

I think you should follow your passion if you can, but find your passion in your work if you must.  Let me relate my own story.

All through high school and college, I loved biochemistry and I was pretty good at it.  My passion was to be an academic neurobiologist and I went to  Harvard to get my PhD.  Halfway through my degree, my passion for biology had not abated, but the opportunities and rewards of an academic lifestyle were not inviting (that's a nice way of saying I hated academia).  Thanks to a sympathetic thesis advisor, I got my degree and immediately left for a job as a computer programmer. I had worked as a programmer through college and this was in 1980 when you could get a job as a coder if you could read the manual. Since then, here are some of the jobs I've had:

  • Computer programmer in a small consulting firm

  • Started a software company with a partner

  • Managed the software development of a company which provided computer-based financial planning advice to individuals.  That company was acquired by Price Waterhouse (now Pricewaterhouse Coopers)

  • Managed the R&D division of PW developing software to improve audits

  • Left PW to join a startup as the Chief Knowledge Officer responsible for methodologies, the company intranet, and internal training

  • Various consulting jobs in knowledge management and organizational design

Not much biology, huh?  The fact is, I've never lost my passion for understanding how chemistry becomes life, but I haven't picked up a test tube since 1980.  And one of the best jobs I ever had was developing audit software for PW.  I had no training in auditing (or accounting for that matter) and had the usual biases of outsiders that it is a dry and dull business.  But it turns out there are fascinating challenges even in mundane issues like when to recognize revenue and expenses. (See When is Income not Income and When are Expenses not Expenses).  I could never do an audit, but I had to be able to understand and participate in intellectually stimulating audit theory discussions. The key was that I was engaged in stimulating work with smart people who I enjoyed working with.  Didn't matter that there was no biology. 

 

Yes, I admit that I am a geek and that audit theory isn't for everyone.  The point is I had no idea in graduate school that I could end up enjoying life as a partner in an accounting firm.  It was a passion I did not know I had.

 

I've seen all sides of the passion story.  I've seen people who followed their passions and were happy.  I've seen people who followed their passions and lost their families and fortunes.  But I've seen many more people who found their passion by accident.  You won't find passion in every job - and if you are in a job for any length of time and you hate it, then get out.  But don't dismiss an opportunity because it isn't your passion now.  Like me, you may have passions you don't know about.

 

One way to figure out your passion is to know your work personality. People look for different things in a job: one person might want to change the world, while another just wants a paycheck.  What type are you? Take my quiz Who Should I Work For to determine your work personality and get suggestions about what kinds of organizations are compatible with your work style.
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Comments

Submitted by Tim Rhode on
Hey Doug very iciteful article for young people just starting out. It's funny how we think we have the right plan and often things evolve to where Plan A becomes plan N. To me the key is to find something you really love to do (if possible) and have in you the ability to adjust when things are not how you like them, and land on your feet and keep rolling. 

Submitted by MeredithB on
And I totally agree! I knew very early on that I wanted to work in film or television, but turning that passion into a tangible, stable job (with BENEFITS!) is something that's a rarity among recent film student grads.  And I couldn't be happier!