I’m trying to give someone advice on choosing a career that will suit them better than the one they’re in and hate. I wanted to get together a list of good questions for them to ask themselves so they can use the answers to compare options like “do you prefer to work sitting or moving around,” “do you want to not work weekends” etc.
Doing your hobby / passion as work is the natural response, but it is not quite right I discovered lately.
A hobby is and needs to be undemanding and you really risk ruining the fun. instead of giving energy it takes energy.
What is much much more important is your colleagues They make and break every job
And if you want to choose careers, think about what type of person works there and the amount of communication
These things are much more important than if the work itself is fun
If you don’t want lots of intense communication and discussion about creative topics, don’t have a creative job. Like concept art or music. Have it as a hobby instead and do it for you.
I just love talking about game mechanics and player experiences in games, so my job as game designer is perfect. When I was a coder, it was fun but I didn’t get to talk to people and it ruined my hobby to be honest, I very rarely code just for myself anymore because it feels like a chore.
Also, being talented is a thing. If you are talented at something, probably try to use that. It’s a head start. If you really want to do something, you can learn it, but it is taxing and the energy can be used for more fun things if you think about it.
In the end you cannot really know how any job is before you try. The added bonus is that you get to see how different work is socially. Even in pure solitary work this matters more than you think, how it will feel to go there every day. If you are treated like a human. If you are respected etc.