Difference Between Career and Passion

Career and passion have a fragile line. People often say they are passionate about something and have been working on it for a couple of years, but they don’t calculate if it’s enough to pursue as a career option.

The true meaning of passion is “doing what we love”, as we know it, and as for career, your livelihood depends on it.

We see many people daily who are passionate about something but end up doing a desk job to pay the bills. Then again, there are those people who have worked hard on their passion and made it their career option.

Key Takeaways

1. A career is a professional path or occupation pursued by a significant portion of one’s work; passion is a strong interest or enthusiasm for a particular subject or activity.
2. Careers are generally associated with financial stability, job security, and professional growth; passion is driven by personal fulfillment and intrinsic motivation.
3. Pursuing a career based on passion can lead to a more fulfilling work life; however, financial stability and job security may not always be guaranteed.

Career vs Passion

A career is a profession or vocation that an individual chooses to pursue as a means of earning a living, motivated by financial gain and social status. Passion refers to an activity that a person enjoys doing and feels a strong emotional attachment towards, driven by personal fulfillment.

Passion can be described as a strong desire or interest in an activity/cause that people love to do. On the other hand, a career can be described as a journey that everyone pursues throughout their life to survive.

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Comparison Table

Parameter of Comparison	Career	Passion
Ambition	A stable 9-5 desk job career option will make you feel safer in the long run without taking any risks.	The passion for your music/filmmaking may not start with stability, but you can reach the sky if you pursue it for a long time with dedication.
Freedom	You will work under someone or some authority in any career option. This means you will have no freedom of yourself and must obey the orders from a higher power.	Any passion you choose to follow will offer you the freedom you deserve and allow you to work freely.
Exploring	In any career option, you cannot explore yourself to see what different skillset you might have.	On the other hand, you are allowed to explore yourself as much as you want until you are satisfied enough with something before you pursue it.
Fruitful result	If you choose to do something forcibly, you may or may not get the same results as you could in other aspects.	If you follow your passion with proper dedication and make it your career, you will get better results than any other.

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What is Career?

When you hear the word career, many different things come to your mind, such as educational training, work experience, job, etc. It is combined with other ingredients that people earn over a long time. It’s not just a position in some random company.

There are different paths of career to choose from, and each course requires professional training and qualification. Some of the examples are –

1. I was working in a hospital as a nurse or doctor.
2. I was working in a tech company as an IT professional.
3. Working in a hotel/company as a manager.
4. Working in a restaurant as a chef.
5. Working in an airline company as a pilot.

All of the career options mentioned above need specialized training and qualification. There are specific eligibility criteria for each of these, and without proper training, you cannot be affiliated with any of these career options.

One of the undeniable advantages of a career option would be its stability and the comfort that comes with it. You will have fixed timing for your job, performing the same task regularly, so you become a pro. Also, some of these sectors have medical and travel benefits.

 

What is Passion?

People often try to convert their passion into a profession. Some do, while others fail. Passion is a strong willingness towards an activity you perform just because you like it. Some push their limit to the extreme, and some keep them limited.

Do not confuse passion with a hobby or a dream. Passion is doing something that makes you happy from the inside, and when you want to do it on a larger scale, you dream about it with your eyes wide open.

People often face criticism from their parents, relatives, and others if they follow their passion. They must remember some of the facts to make this process easier –

1. Dream about it but with your eyes open.
2. Invest yourself in the activity for better results.
3. Do not stop at any point thinking you have reached your limit. Keep pushing yourself.
4. Never stop doing it once you have started. If you leave it halfway, you won’t see the end.

A passion is all about pushing your boundaries beyond everything. Embrace what you are doing, ignore what people say about it, and keep the wheel going flawlessly; one day, you shall reap the fruit.

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Main Differences Between Career and Passion

1. You get to earn a lot of money from starting in most cases of career options, whereas, in pursuing your passion, the starting may not seem sorted. 
2. The stability of a career option will help you save for an uncertain future. You don’t get the same luxury by following your passion always. 
3. All the career options come with a fixed amount of working hours. The following passion will lead you to work 24/7 for better results.
4. The more you earn, the safer you feel medical and long-term. A career option will provide you with that, but following your passion can be challenging.
5. You will feel alive from the inside if you follow your passion rather than choosing a career option just because you need to survive.

References

1. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1997-08136-003
2. https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1044&context=management-faculty-publications