Summary

The article discusses the importance of balancing passion with practicality when choosing university studies and career paths.

Abstract

The author reflects on their niece's experience in choosing a university course, highlighting the challenges of pursuing a passion, such as musical theatre, versus opting for a more employable field of study. The niece ultimately settled on journalism but later decided to pursue a master's in education to teach drama and theatre studies, combining her passion with a practical career choice. The article advocates for a "T-shaped" approach to education and career development, which involves having a deep skill set in one area (the passion) complemented by a broad range of skills to enhance employability. It also introduces the concept of "twin pillar specialisation," where individuals can leverage skills from one specialisation to add value to another. The author suggests treating passion as a hobby or side hustle to maintain its benefits without relying on it as a sole source of income. Lastly, the article promotes "talent stacking" as a strategy for success, especially for those with a liberal arts background, by combining a variety of relevant skills to create a unique and versatile professional profile.

Opinions

Pursuing a passion without considering job prospects can be impractical and risky.
A broad-based education, such as a Liberal Arts Degree, can provide a versatile skill set.
Combining passion with employable skills can lead to greater job satisfaction and opportunities.
Employers value employees with two areas of specialisation, which can include a passion-driven field.
Treating passion as a hobby rather than a primary career can be a strategic approach in a competitive job market.
Talent stacking allows individuals to differentiate themselves by developing a range of complementary skills.
Individuals with diverse skill sets can act as facilitators, bridging gaps between specialists to drive outcomes.
Balancing passion and practicality is crucial for achieving both personal fulfillment and professional success.

What Should I Do Next?

A few years ago, my niece came to me for help when she was looking at university course selection. The following conversation ensued.

Her: “What should I study?”

Me: “Well, what are you interested in?”

Her: “Singing. Dancing. Acting. I love Musical Theatre.”

Me: “Riiiiight…Anything else?”

Her: “Well, I guess I also like writing…”

Long story short, she didn’t end up studying Drama or Musical Theatre…the competition to be selected was insane… So she settled on Journalism.

Try as I might, I couldn’t quite talk her into a more broad-based education. Something like a Liberal Arts Degree with subjects in politics or economics or even history or psychology. Nor was I able to convince her at the time to explore complementary (and more employable) areas like Public Relations or Marketing. So her undergrad Degree was filled with subjects on the many and varied ways people can write and publish words. A year of job knock-backs later, she’s decided to do something else. Next year, she will start her Masters in Education so she can become a qualified drama and theatre studies teacher.

There are different schools of thought on what to prioritise when considering: what to study at university. In fact, the same thinking applies with our own career development choices and if we are at the cross-roads of our careers.

Essentially, we have can have two extremes. It’s either:

1. Choose your dream at the expense of career prospects, or

2. Choose something that will give you good job prospects even if you hate it

I think both these extremes are dangerous gospels to preach to our youth. To succeed in the future world of work, most of us will need to temper our passion with pragmatism.

Avoid the Passion Trap and Aim for a “T-Shape” Approach

Instead of falling heart-first into the passion trap, step back and think about the practical possibilities of combining the passion with something more employable. Try to also broaden your appeal to employers with T-shaped learning. Maintain your passion but also build a set of close complementary skills that are broad and shallow in coverage so that you are more flexible and employable. In my niece’s example, she has a passion for writing which forms her journalism specialisation. Her skills are complemented by her associated skills in communication, news reporting and photography. This is a great start, but her complementary knowledge is not quite broad enough to enable her be to more flexibly employed as a journalist in more targeted fields like politics or economics.

Level Up with Twin Pillar Specialisation

Indeed, employers are increasingly finding the benefits of 2-pillar specialisation. Having 2 areas of specialisation actually means one of the pillars can be drawn from your passion! Take my niece’s example… After she finishes her Masters postgraduate, she will have a specialisation in teaching that is underpinned by her passion for Drama. Her employability and general enjoyment in life will also be enhanced by her complementary skills in communication, writing and photography through her Journalism studies. She may even find synergies from both.

If you find yourself in the position where your first specialisation is no longer relevant and/or you wish to retrain, carefully think about what you want that second specialisation to be so you can add even more value by cross-pollinating ideas/skills/knowledge from your first specialisation into your new area of focus.

Take a Long Hard Look at Passion and Treat it as a Hobby

When the world is so competitive, it is even more difficult to be a rah supporter for those wanting to pursue those ones in a million vocations like acting and singing. Unless you and everyone around you have the conviction that they will be tomorrow’s Meryl Streep, not having some kind of back up plan in place (or at least in mind) may turn the dream from invitation to the Oscars to a nightmare invitation to heart-break and the unemployment line.

Instead, it may be beneficial to help them approach their passions as hobbies or side hustles. It’s actually great to have hobbies that are completely different from our day jobs. Hobbies can keep our brain fresh. They can also re-energise and enhance our career by injecting novel ideas from our hobbies into our work lives.

Talent Stack Your Way to Success

Talent Stacking is a great way for those without deep knowledge or specialisation to be successful. Being a Jack of all trades with a great set of related or complementary skills is actually really great to differentiate yourself. Why? Because the world of work is still primarily full of specialists who excel at one thing and are particularly disinclined to do all the other bits!

So, for those pursuing and those with liberal arts degrees, identifying what talents to stack is key. Keep them relevant to each other so that they are mutually reinforcing and value-adding. Find the gap in your talent stack and fill it. The more of the mutually reinforcing skills you have in your talent stack, the more valuable and employable you become.

I’m a bit of a Jill of all trades myself. What I find has been particularly effective is positioning. Jacks and Jills like me need to let people know that our special value add is our ability to help drive towards an outcome and make things happen. We can facilitate amongst all the specialists to help them come together, bridge the gaps, and do the fall-between-the-gaps work in order to get things done.

Whether it’s your studies, your work or your career directions. Pay close attention to both your heart and your head. The balance between the two and pursue both in sensible doses to extract the maximum enjoyment and meaning from the marrow of life and work. Best of luck!

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Nancy is a Work Success and Career Development Coach at TheCareerPeople.org. Sign up for her Free 5-Day email course at TheCareerPeople.org to learn the mindset you need to achieve career success and how to put your best foot forward if you want a career change or get that job!