way2slo's Journal: Why it's ok to not love your job

I'm afraid I have to disagree with most of the posts that I've read so far that talk about how you should pick a field to major in college. While it is nice to hear "choose the field because you love it", I believe that is a secondary reason one should choose a career field. The fact of the matter is this: You work to earn money so you can provide for you and your family. Therefore, you should pick a career field in which you believe you have the best potential to earn a living. Pick something that you have an aptitude for doing. This may be something you like, but it may not. In a perfect world, we would all get to do what we love. However, it isn't, so we don't.

Another point: How often do we change what we love? More often than you think. How many girlfriends have you had? How ofen do you love to hear a song, then eventually tire of it? How often do you change from one hobby to the next? How often do you get bored with your current job and want a new challenge? Love can be fickle. If you want to have something that will last and be fully satisfying, you better have more reasons for doing it than love alone.

Things you love are better off as hobbies than as work. I know people that went to work at Hershey Foods, Inc. and thought they found their dream job because they were major choco-haulics. However, they soon lost their love of chocolate because they were saturated with it every day. Now, chocolate makes them think of work. It is a rare thing indeed when we find something that we can love for the rest of our lives. That's why it's so special when you have found someone you can marry.