Should you make what you like into your profession?

"If you like cars, you should avoid working for a car manufacturer." This was the advice I used to get from my seniors who had been working at car manufacturers when I was at university looking for a job. "You'd end up calculating the cost of plastic needles on car dashboard displays, and that would really make you dislike cars." I liked cars very much, so I was taking a mechanical engineering course focusing on internal combustion. However, I ended up following the advice and went into a different field for my profession.

Should you pursue your passion as profession? Many say that having a passion is more important than having money. They say, if you start your own business, you should an area which you like and could devote yourself to, so that you could continue. However, I disagree. You never know if what you like would stay your favorite in the long run. Passions could be quite temporal too. On the other hand, you will always need money to survive in this world.

Hobbies are fun since you can do whatever you want and stop whenever you want. Of course, to become better at what you do, you always need to overcome barriers and challenges, but you are never obligated to continue; that's a hobby. When it becomes a profession, continuation and perfection become necessary and that is the beginning of the grinding process; you cannot give that up easily.

Whatever you do in your profession, even if it is in your favorite field, at one point or another you will experience frustrating moments since being a professional requires you to explore and improve areas that you dislike. You'd be incredibly lucky if even 10 percent of your time was used for your favorite field.

There are ways to find a meaning and create objectives in what you currently do. The chances of success in life would be much higher if you start from practical work and then find a meaning and create an objective later, rather than start from your interests and try to make money out of that.

Keeping the bigger picture in mind, seeking for the meaning and creating objectives for what you do, things will gradually roll out and actualize. Hobbies can help you to realize what you like; they become good hints toward your professional work. If you were lucky enough, you could integrate your interests into your profession as you go along. Eventually the meaning and objectives will likely evolve into another stage which you wouldn't have even imagined.