Dating : A Career You Love vs. A Career That Pays Well: Which Is More Important?

How many times have you asked yourself: “What am I meant to do in life?” For me, I’ve asked that questions at least 20 times before my 25th birthday.

Our parents, friends, and the society around us have an opinion about who we should become and what we should do with our lives. If you plan to live a life that someone else has planned for you, please stop reading. The rest of this article is for those who reject the belief that living someone else’s life is better than living our own.

Last week, I wrote a few tips to help you choose the life that brings you joy, authenticity, and fulfillment. This week, I want to go deeper into exploring what happens if the life you choose includes a dream career that doesn’t pay a lot of money (at least in the beginning).

What if your dream career is in something like the arts, music, or education instead of finance, tech, or law? Should you abandon that dream career for a more lucrative one? Should you find ways to pursue your passion outside of work? Or, should you take the risk of making your passion and your career the same thing?

When I was faced with this very choice in my early 20s, I decided to go against my life’s social and financial pressures. I chose to pick a career that aligned with my passion and life’s purpose. I left a money-making career path for a career in education. Luckily, everything has worked out — for the most part. I still have student loans, and honestly, I still desire to make more money; however, I have gained some insights that I would want to share with you — whether you are older or a younger people trying to determine whether to pursue a less lucrative career path, especially if you are like I was growing up, not someone from a wealthy background.

If you think you might choose a career that may initially be less lucrative, make sure you do your research to find the highest quality, most affordable college path.

Here’s what I now know for sure:

Overpaying for a college degree is not worth it. Do not believe the myth that a “brand-name” is better than a community college or a public college. Your goal is to find an affordable college that offers you resources to explore those career interests successfully. Listen to episode 5 of You Can Afford College to learn more about what to expect from a college education.

Not all college degrees are of the same quality. When determining the quality of a college, look at its graduation rates, the alumni earning after college graduation, and the percentage of students who defaulted on federal student loans.

A college degree can increase your odds of success but doesn’t guarantee your success. Check out one of my recent articles that tackles whether you need a college degree to be successful?

In 2009, I left my consulting job to complete my first Master’s degree in education at Columbia University’s Teachers College, followed by a second Masters in education at the University of Cambridge. I grew up poor. One of my main priorities while getting my college degrees is to provide a financial foundation for my future family. And so, before leaving that consulting job, I had to wrestle with the narrative (and to some degree the reality) that “education doesn’t pay a lot of money?”

What I now know for sure:

There are multiple education career paths with various earning potential. Like many others, I initially thought the only careers in education was becoming a classroom teacher or school administrator. However, becoming a classroom teacher may not be the best short-term or long-term path for everyone. In addition to teaching, you may choose to explore other educator roles such as adult education, after-school director, college and career advisor, corporate trainer, curriculum designer, education policymaker, and so forth to match your personal, financial, and professional goals.

You may not start out making a “livable” wage at the beginning of your career, but that doesn’t mean you won’t as you advance in your career. The national average of a public-school teacher is about $60,000/year. Of course, this varies based on the state you live in and your experience. However, if you chose a career as a classroom teacher, know that as you advance in your career, and if you pursue a Master’s degree, you could make six figures, and depending on your life goals, six-figures could meet your financial expectations.

What you don’t make in salary, you could earn in other ways. There are non-salary perks to becoming an educator. For example, you may apply for affordable housing, depending on the state you live in. Affordable housing may allow you to pay less of your income to live closer to the school where you work. Also, the federal government has programs such as loan forgiveness and income-repayment. You could have your federal student loan balance forgiven after making 10 years of qualifying payments through an income-driven repayment plan (which lowers your monthly costs based on your income) and while working for a government agency or nonprofit.

I love being an education professional, but I also love entrepreneurship. As for you, your heart may be longing to explore art and investigative journalism. We are bigger than our college major, bigger than one talent, and bigger than what we get paid to do.

What I now know for sure:

You are not one dimensional: Like me, you may also want a family, travel, start a charity, or invest in start-up businesses. If so, remember that on your journey of pursuing your dream career, be sure to master skills that would allow you to succeed in fulfilling your life’s work while also creating multiple streams of income, especially with the tools provided to us in today’s world such as Skillshare, YouTube, Podcast to help us learn things like Real-Estate Investing, Private Coaching, Curriculum Design.

Do you have additional thoughts or insights that you would like to add? If so, share your comments publicly or drop an email to quinton@scholarnavigator.org with the title of this article as the subject line.