I’m fortunate to be in a job that is more interesting than most. It’s not for everyone but simulation and computer modelling can be really applicable to many areas and I personally think that’s great.

But I work with people who live and breathe it. I find it interesting. But I don’t know if I want to do this forever. I kinda just took it as a way to build really applicable skills. But is this my final point? Or last thing I want to do? Probably not.

That makes me feel guilty when I see how passionate some are. And also makes me worry about where my career is heading.

Has anyone else felt like this? Or got similar?

41 comments

  1. If I was passionate about my job I wouldn’t spend 80% of the work day browsing reddit.

  2. No it’s purely a way to maintain stability and pay the rent while I pursue my actual passion where the money can be particularly sporadic.

    I’m not exactly familiar with your line of work OP but it at least sounds like something that would be worth being passionate about.

  3. Yes.

    I love my job every bit as much now as when I started almost 35 years ago.

    It’s been the one good steady thing that’s got me through lots ofvthe dhit life has thrown at me.

  4. Not really. Don’t get me wrong I am lucky to do something with varied tasks and responsibilities that keep it interesting but I do it because I’m paid money. If the place went bust I’d shrug and do something else.

    I actually find that workplaces can be exploitative towards the super passionate people. They’re usually exceptionally good at their jobs and it means they get stuck because higher ups are happier for them to stay where they are than to promote them.

  5. I was absolutely passionate about my last job to the point of burnout. I became miserable and would always be thinking about it outside of my hours, holidays ruined, working over weekends and we’ll into the night. I changed jobs around a year ago to a much easier roll in an industry I had no experience with. I don’t care about the job and I’m much happier

  7. You know that gif of the knock off mario jumping off the knockoff yoshi and then giving him the finger while doing a somersault?

    That’s what I’d like to do with my work. It wouldn’t be terrible but at times it involves actively interacting with others about their issues and while I like solving them probably a good 80% shouldn’t have even made it to me because _they should just read the god damn workplace policy_

  8. I’d say I am pretty passionate about my role. I know what I do has a large impact on thousands of businesses, allowing them to grow and employ more people. It has been great for my own personal growth and work-life harmony. The scope of the role is very diverse and I can change it fairly easily when I get bored of a certain topic or want to try a new challenge. I basically change my job every 6months because of the new projects I will work on. It helps I also have great management who actively pull me into opportunities and accelerate my development.

    But to answer your question, I know this isn’t my long term job. It is a step in my career where I am getting exposure to all sorts of business elements and building a network. What I’ll be doing in 2yrs time I have no idea but I am ok with that.

    Don’t compare yourself to others or feel guilty by what you think they are feeling. Just do you, focus on what makes you feel content and don’t let a job be what defines you.

  9. I live and breathe my job. Always do voluntary overtime. I work with mentally ill, special needs, and children with bad behaviour at a secondary school (11-16). Wouldn’t give it up for the world. It’s stressful and shit pay but I love every second. I genuinely can’t wait until the summer holidays are over

  10. No I fucking hate it. The actual work that is. However I work for a very laid back organisation, pay is decent, with fairly cool people, and only have to be in the office 3x a week, so it balances out.

  12. Yep, its my 10 year anniversary in my current job in a couple of days, have enjoyed every day of it.

  13. I’m passionate about the small amount of money dumped in my account at the end of the month

  14. Passionate is a stretch. I like it, quite a bit sometimes, but covid changed my whole perception of work really. Ultimately, I’m not primarily making money for myself and likely never will. I’d rather not work at all but obviously I need money to get by. But I enjoy my job, it pays well and is in an area I’m interested in

  16. For those of us lucky enough to say we have good jobs and are content with the jobs we have, don’t most of us have passionate and non passionate periods at work?

    I will get really passionate if something is going well or I’m actually making a difference. If I’m doing mundane stuff I won’t have much (if any) passion for it.

    The danger is we end up comparing our non-passionate days with someone else’s passionate day. The reality is they will be in the same boat when you are the one having a passionate day.

  18. Not really. I care deeply about the cause and the sector I work in so I feel fulfilled. The work can be interesting and satisfying too. I like my colleagues.

    But I don’t feel passionate about the job itself, I don’t live and breathe it, and if I didn’t need to work then I’d quit immediately. I once met a guy who worked for a wind turbine company doing logistics. He said even if he won with money to never worry, he’d still do his job. I couldn’t understand that at all.

  19. Yep.

    Love every aspect about what I do. It’s the most multi-faceted job I could I imagine.

    Keeps me constantly stimulated, and I really enjoy the work. Can’t think of anything I would rather do.

  20. Yes, I am. I’m a self-taught software developer and I started programming when I was 17 and since then never looked back and always tried to improve my skills and finished the projects. Never went to university as I never needed and got my full time job when I was 19. Now I’m 23 and really love what I do. It’s rewarding job with lots of benefits such as: WFH, high pay, you can work in any industry as there are always software apps, shortage in the industry that’s why companies are desperate for experienced developers.

  23. Yes – I left medicine which I found boring as fuck, for data science. I am in the US now, so earn around 2/3 of what doctors make in the US, but almost double what I would’ve earned as an NHS consultant. It’s still plenty. There are also far more opportunities – eg starting my own company, and essentially you aren’t limited by a “profession”.

    I love building stuff – and the field is progressing massively. The cynical part of me is waiting for me to get bored of it, but it’s been 4 years and it hasn’t happened yet.

    That being said a job is still a job. I literally however thought that jobs/careers by definition had to make you miserable when I was in medicine and that most people hated their jobs and careers – turns out it was the subject that sucked ass.

  24. I repair instrument clusters for cars, enjoy the jib, quite satisfying having one come in and working, then sending it out working, company I work for look after us very well, pay is good, lots of banter with my work colleagues!

    I’m fortunate my wife has a good career that pays well so I have been able to find a job that I want to do and enjoy

  29. I’m not at all. I work in It; it’s relatively easy and the pay is great for effort put in.

    But most of it is pretty boring now having done it for a few years. I’ve just changed, become more physically active and would rather work with people.

  30. I used to be and I’ve moved into a role that has a lot less stress, more money, more regular hours.

    I fucking hate it.

    I find it really boring, it’s a similar role but the people around me are so uninteresting. They don’t seem to have anything in life they’re passionate about. There is a real lack of teamwork, it seems like everyone is just interested in themselves, which I can see being a positive for others but it’s not good for me.

    People don’t give credit for the help they receive from others, there is a sense of lifting themselves up by putting others down.

    I really miss being passionate about my job, but here I just come in and wish for the day to be over.

    I was really lucky in my first role being very engaging, this job feels much to corporate for me, and I’m thinking about taking a pay cut to go back to working in startups. I love the anarchy.

  31. Not really. I enjoy working with most of the people I work with, so that’s a plus, and the job suits me, but I’m not the sort of person that will ever be happy working. My free time is way more important than any job would ever be.

  34. No, work has always been a means to an end. When I was younger I was always on the look out for ways to make a living out of something I am passionate about, but quickly learned that was a good way to grow to hate my passions.

  36. I’m a tradesmen and I’m passionate about my job, if I wasn’t…it would show and I would have no work.

  37. I wake up every morning and I don’t dread having to go to work, that’s enough for me

  38. I’ve never been passionate about my job but I am pretty passionate about working hard and being “good” at my job for some weird reason. So I kind of hate most of the work I do but I still work really hard and feel satisfied by doing a good job.

    I assumed everyone was the same but I had to give a speech to an industry group and kind of ended with that point and some related story…and everyone seemed completely blown away.

  39. I was, I’m a landscape architect, if you don’t know its like an architect, but we design the bits around, and on top of buildings, so I don’t put up fences, like an architect doesn’t build walls. I’ve been doing it for half my life, there are still aspects of it I still love, but to do it for another 30+ years… I’m running out of steam (i’m in my early 40s). I’ve worked on projects that have won awards, I’ve worked on projects in Malaysia, Russia (before the war), Qatar but mainly London. Pay isn’t great for a uni educated profession (just like architecture, even less well paid), i’ve lost count of the projects that the ‘affordable’ proportion of the scheme I can’t afford.

  40. Yep. Love it. Sports journalist, do that for my full-time job and do a (popular) podcast outside of work about football too. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do and my current role is great.

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