chosing a life of security or a life of passhion :O

[rafa]

haiz,
It seems, that i can always turn to wisebread, whenever i have problems.
Seeing as I'm still a teen , it seems as if i have alot of those.
I'm in my final year at high school, and well. im kinda stumbling, i don't know what i wanna study in uni. ( well i kinda do. i just have to chose between two). I know that ALOT of people never know what they want to do with life, and only find out later. ( not in their 20's. or so )
..
soo in a way my question is , should i chose, the secure life. Where I'll be sure to have a job, and a current salary, to following my musical dream .

even. though. Im always thinking, of chosing the latter, because, following my dream, well thats kinda obvious.
but then again chosing the secure life. ( it doesnt sound boring to me .. ie working for U.N type organisation. trying to make the world a better place.) that also seems like a definite plus not only to my life but to others.

-- i dint relaly ask my question properly yet. ( I'm just asking to hear what people have go to say. . not actually to make the choice for me. )
but yah .
secure life.helping people.
or
following my dream. ( still kindof helping people )


Cheers
and THANX! ^^

[Julie Rains]

I think if you are going to take risks (that is following your passion and not knowing whether you will make a living) is easier when you are young and before you have obligations (family, mortgage, etc.).

Being broke is no fun but always looking back and wondering how things may have been is not fun either.

[Johansen8]

sometimes you have to bloom where you are planted first....try the opportunities that are knocking at your door (NOW)...for me, DREAMS need capital, and capital here not only means money but also right timing and right age.....sometimes too, you have to take Route 1 to be able to get to the Dream Route....meet people and meet opportunities...as long as you keep the dream alive, at the right time you will bloom where you want to be planted

^___^

have a positive 2009

[BethT]

life of passion.... security doesnt get rid of regrets.

[Kathryn]

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

In other words, if your dream course of study/career is one where a lot of people don't make it at all, or are barely making it--that doesn't mean you shouldn't try, but make sure you have a Plan B. That may come from your choice of minor, doing a double major, a part-time job while you're in school, or a more "practical" side of your dream field that can incorporate your passion with more secure job prospects.

It's hard not to be idealistic when you're young, but I think I was a little too far into the camp of "money doesn't matter" when I was your age, and I wish I had taken a few more practical courses to complement my course of study when I was an undergraduate (like business or technical writing, in my case).

[KevinW]

I would add that it doesn't need to be an either/or. You can both pursue interests as a paid career, and as a serious hobby, what some call an avocation.

When I was in high school my main interests were math/science, music, and games. I decided to make engineering my paid career, and stick with music and games as avocations. I do not regret my choice. I have friends who tried to make it as musicians, and they have struggled with making ends meet, buying equipment, and worrying about "selling out" in a lot of little ways. By contrast I have a stable salary, so I have financial security and can afford good equipment. With my passions I'm not in it for money, so I don't feel tempted to "sell out" for the "suits."

It doesn't have to be a black/white either/or trade off. Colleges have double majors for a reason.

[khorrell]

I would add that your life will probably evolve in ways that you can't even imagine. I studied history in college, thinking that I would either become a lawyer or a teacher. Now I'm a personal finance writer. Wouldn't have been the right job for me at 18, but it is the right job for me at 40.

Julie makes an excellent point as well:

Originally Posted by Julie Rains

I think if you are going to take risks (that is following your passion and not knowing whether you will make a living) is easier when you are young and before you have obligations (family, mortgage, etc.).

Good luck!

[Philip Brewer]

I would take KevinW's comment about it not being an either/or a step further: Give it a try.

Especially for a student (who's going to have a food to eat and a place to sleep either way), there's very little downside to going all out for whatever your dream is--or might be.

There's no other way to find out how far you can go. Maybe you could be a huge success. Maybe you could be a minor success--earning enough to eke out a meager existence purely from your art. Maybe you couldn't make even that much, but would find that you got huge enjoyment from it, enough that it was worth sticking with it as the way you spent your free time. Maybe you wouldn't enjoy it--but maybe some of the skills you learned or people you met would lead you to the next thing you dream of doing.

No way to know except to try.

My post Pre-career advice touches on some of this, and includes some specific suggestions on how to take the plunge that might be applicable.

[SouthShoreGirl]

Definitely pursue your dreams, but always have a Plan B. I think it's good to only spend $$$ on a major that you will enjoy and will also pay the bills in lean times when your dream career cannot. That's kinda why I went into social work.........I will never be rich financially, however, my bills/basic needs will always be paid, there's usually always jobs in this field and opportunities to change my job if I get bored/discouraged/fed up/etc. Good luck!

[gt0163c]

It's interesting that the original poster noted that her "not quite dream" career still sounded interesting to her. With that in mind, I would give her the advice that I give a lot of my students (I'm a volunteer high school leader with my church...so I hang out with high school kids a lot).

I've seen a lot of people struggle later in their lives, wanting to pursue various career options. Most of the time, what's holding them back is the lack of a college degree. I know two guys who have thought seriously about becoming pastors. However, that requires a seminary degree which requires an undergrad degree in, well, something (anything). These guys have not been able to pursue that goal because going back to school to get an undergrad degree would put too much of strain on them (and add probably close to 10 years to achieving their dreams of becoming a pastor. These are guys who have families to support, so they can't just up and go off to get an undergrad degree and then go to seminary). So they've had to pursue different career options. Their story is not unique.

Like it or not, the path to many, many careers starts with a college undergrad degree. A lot of the time, the degree doesn't have to be in anything specific (although it's never going to hurt if it's related to what you're interested in pursing). You just have to have that degree. So unless a student has a clear, defined path to success and is already well along on that path, I always recommend a college degree of some sort. If a student doesn't have a specific degree program their interested (or specific career interests) I tell them that, if they can hack the math, it's really hard to go wrong with an engineering degree (mechanical or electrical are the two I recommend....I am a bit biased. I'm an engineer myself.). For those who are less math inclined, a business/management degree can be useful. English and history majors are less overall useful, but if they're just going for that piece of paper, they're just fine.

I also remind my students that even if they choose one career path, that doesn't dictate everything they will ever do with their lives. It's possible to change careers (sometimes even multiple times) and point to one of our better well known congregation members who was in the Air Force then sold F-16s then ran a non-profit and now is our mercy ministry person at church. Also, what you do in their freetime doesn't have to be even remotely related to what they do to pay the bills. I often point to myself on this one. I design military aircraft to pay the bills. Outside of work I hang out with high school kids and do lots around the church. My career does take up a good bit of time, but I do a lot of other stuff too. And my career pays the bills so that I'm free to do other, non-revenue generating things with the rest of my life.

I also remind my students that you don't have to make gobs and gobs of money to be successful and do a lot with your life. Money can make some things easier. But, it's just a tool and there's a lot of ways to do a whole lot for a whole lot less. I also try to remind them that the standard of living that they have (for the most part) is incredibly high and remind them that many people get along just fine with a whole lot less. This last bit is mostly for the students who are interested in a very specific career almost exclusively because it can make them a lot of money.