Posted by mjg on March 05, 2004 at 15:28:52:
In Reply to: Re: Life Choices... Passion vs Practical posted by Rick Denney on March 05, 2004 at 14:05:34:
Another good example of this is Mr. Pokorny.
It is well known that he is an avid fan of old trains and the three stooges.
At his presentation in DC he touched upon this subject wevry well. In fact it was very humorous when he made mention of a fellow member of the orchestra calling a physician about a personal medical problem whilst referring to themself by their professional title.
We should all have a vocation to pay the bills and generate additional income. We should all have a hobby to remind us why we have a vocation. The vocation and hobby should not be the same thing.
I love music and tuba playing. At one time I was a very competent player. I have made the choice to make it a hobby and music in general as a hobby. So much so that I chose to not even become a music educator even after receiving a music ed degee. I still play on the side and enjoy myself immensely. I occasionaly get paid. That money goes to the petrol fund for music.
I am back in school to get an MBA. I found myself in a tough situation due to a liberal arts degree in the business world. I enjoy doing "business stuff" enough to stay in that environment to pay my bills. It isn't "fun" like music is, but it guarantees a level of quality of life I am almost certain I would not have obtained in music. The best part of having music in my background is the strength of ties it gives me to other professionals I meet in the field I work in. Most of them love listening and/or playing also.
Being recreational musicians puts us at a huge disadvantage in this day and age. Most other hobbies consist of guzzling beer and watching television to see how your fantasy team made out. Because we get a positive (hopefully) return on investment on a continuous basis and it is at an intrinsic level that some hobbies can't achieve, we grow so attached to it we wish we could live from these efforts.
If you look at hoobies like woodworking, model making(RC or Non-RC), photography (as Rick mentions), or any other hobby that requires a level of skill and creativity and "art", you'll see an avid following like ours. A few skilled people in these fields make very good money, some people try to make a living in these fields and just can't, the rest do their best and figure the value of their investement is less than that of Pshyciatric and Attorney's fees.
If your job is such that it negatively effects all aspects of your life, then by all means you should explore your options. If it is simply "boring" I'm guessing that those issues can be easily reconciled within one's own head.