MOST people look to their favourite school subject when they start thinking about a career path, but maybe it's what you enjoy after class that will be your job. Whether you're into music or love hitting the gym, it's very possible that you can transform your passion into a career.
No matter how obscure your interests, there's probably a STEM-related job just waiting for the right person to come along. Here's how to turn your passion into profits:
1. Figure out what you really love
This should be the easy part, but figuring out how to turn a hobby into a career is tricky. It has to be a passion that you won't tire of doing each and every day. In fact, delving deeper into your passion at work should make you more excited and, subsequently, great at your job. Like they say - if you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life. So do what you love, and transform your passion into a career.
2. Identify a related career path
Believe it or not, almost any hobby you enjoy has a full-time job related to it.
* Enjoy gaming? Become a QA tester for video games.
* Love weightlifting? Maybe you'll enjoy studying kinesiology.
* Do your friends turn to you for new music suggestions? You might make an awesome music producer or a killer DJ.
* Have you played sports your entire life? Perhaps a career as a physical therapist or athletic trainer is up your alley.
* Did you grow up loving makeup? Transform your passion into a career by becoming a chemist. Chemists are the ones who create those foundations and eye shadows.
* Are you always taking care of people? A job in a medical profession like a nurse or doctor would suit you well.
* Do animals brighten your day? Maybe you're a future veterinarian.
Choose a college major that relates to your passion and start your journey.
3. Land a stellar internship
As important as your major and grades are, nothing can beat real-world experience. Not only will you learn by doing, but you'll be able to determine if this is really how you want to live your day-to-day life and make connections in the field.
Get creative! If there's a brand or company you admire, write to them and ask how you can help out. Nothing inspires people like passion, and if you're passionate and really show that you want to transform your passion into a career and properly articulate that, you'll be fine. If you're into cosmetology and want to someday create makeup for the masses, an internship could be at a company as big as Maybelline or an organic, homemade brand someone sells out of their garage. If you're looking to get into the medical field, ask a doctor you know if you can shadow them. It all depends on what kind of experience you're looking for and what kind of career you plan to pursue.
4. Don't be afraid to branch out
If you want to transform your passion into a career, it could involve working at a big factory or at an established brand, but it might also mean doing things on your own. If following your dream means creating a startup, it may sound scary, but do it! There are probably people like you who share your interests.
Just ask the creators of Narrative Clip. The product is a little camera you wear that snaps two pictures a minute all day long. To many, it seems crazy and unnecessary to have such a detailed record of your day, but the Swedish startup raised more than $550,000 on Kickstarter and has users in about 50 countries excited by the idea of 'lifelogging'. For $279, it comes with one year of cloud storage to save all your images.
See? If you think you have a good idea, maybe others will think so too.
5. Know it's going to be hard work
While passion is great, it's not enough to transform your passion into a career. The truth is that you have to also have a talent for it. For example, just because you love singing in the shower doesn't mean you should try out for The Voice.
Even if you do have a gift for your passion, it's going to be hard work. You'll have to perform at your best at internships and make the grade just to be noticed. However, with the right attitude and enough dedication, you should be able to transform your passion into a career and land that dream job.
Source: http://stemjobs.com/transform-your-passion-into-a-career/6/
