How to Turn Your Hobby Into Your Career
Choose a hobby you’re passionate about., Obtain some expertise., Consider your priorities., Create a budget.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Choose a hobby you’re passionate about.
If you have more than one hobby, you will have a choice of which one you turn into a career.
Think about which hobby really animates and excites you.
Pursue a path to professionalism in that hobby.For instance, suppose you have several hobbies such as stamp collecting, carving wooden figurines, and building model rockets.
Identify your favorite hobby by making a set of sentences in the form of “I like , but I like more.” Go through your entire set of hobbies using this “hobby playoff” system, pitting each against the others until you’ve identified the hobby which most excites you.
Popular hobbies that could become careers include musician, writer, actor, and artist.
Technical hobbies that could become careers include ham radio operator, TV repair technician, and computer repair specialist. -
Step 2: Obtain some expertise.
Even if you’re passionate about your hobby, sometimes you need special training to ensure you can meet your full potential when you make that hobby your career.
This special training depends on what sort of hobby you’re interested in.If you’re interested in music, for instance, it might simply be an internship or apprenticeship at a record label.
If your hobby is making art, you might want to take some art classes at a local art institute or university to refine your craft.
If your hobby is rebuilding motorcycles, you might need to take a few classes at a technical or trade school to learn more about mechanics.
On the other hand, maybe all you need to do is spend more time with friends and colleagues who are also interested in the trade in order to get some pointers and feedback on how to perfect certain techniques or trade secrets within your hobby. , Turning your hobby into a career can be a rewarding experience.
But the transition also means that you’ll be losing opportunities for advancement in your current career (if you have one).
It also means that you won’t be able to turn to that hobby in order to relax or unwind, because it will be your job.
Finally, a new hobby-based career might mean a decline in your income, and might not be appropriate if you have significant financial obligations.Keep your expectations low.
Even if you head into your new career with lots of optimism and passion, it might not be as great as it first seems.
You might struggle for years to get your new operation off the ground.
Prepare for long hours and six or seven-day workweeks.If your career switch doesn’t work out, don’t be afraid to give up and go back to what you did before (or something else entirely).
There is no shame in admitting your career switch didn’t work out. , Cut your spending before you make the leap.
By saving money you’ll be better equipped to make up for potential shortfalls you might face as you transition your hobby into a career.
Cutting down on spending will also give you a sense of what kind of lifestyle adjustments you might need to get used to when switching from one career to another.If you don’t feel like you will be able to live comfortably at your new income level, think about ways to either streamline your work process, or find another hobby you could turn into a career. -
Step 3: Consider your priorities.
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Step 4: Create a budget.
Detailed Guide
If you have more than one hobby, you will have a choice of which one you turn into a career.
Think about which hobby really animates and excites you.
Pursue a path to professionalism in that hobby.For instance, suppose you have several hobbies such as stamp collecting, carving wooden figurines, and building model rockets.
Identify your favorite hobby by making a set of sentences in the form of “I like , but I like more.” Go through your entire set of hobbies using this “hobby playoff” system, pitting each against the others until you’ve identified the hobby which most excites you.
Popular hobbies that could become careers include musician, writer, actor, and artist.
Technical hobbies that could become careers include ham radio operator, TV repair technician, and computer repair specialist.
Even if you’re passionate about your hobby, sometimes you need special training to ensure you can meet your full potential when you make that hobby your career.
This special training depends on what sort of hobby you’re interested in.If you’re interested in music, for instance, it might simply be an internship or apprenticeship at a record label.
If your hobby is making art, you might want to take some art classes at a local art institute or university to refine your craft.
If your hobby is rebuilding motorcycles, you might need to take a few classes at a technical or trade school to learn more about mechanics.
On the other hand, maybe all you need to do is spend more time with friends and colleagues who are also interested in the trade in order to get some pointers and feedback on how to perfect certain techniques or trade secrets within your hobby. , Turning your hobby into a career can be a rewarding experience.
But the transition also means that you’ll be losing opportunities for advancement in your current career (if you have one).
It also means that you won’t be able to turn to that hobby in order to relax or unwind, because it will be your job.
Finally, a new hobby-based career might mean a decline in your income, and might not be appropriate if you have significant financial obligations.Keep your expectations low.
Even if you head into your new career with lots of optimism and passion, it might not be as great as it first seems.
You might struggle for years to get your new operation off the ground.
Prepare for long hours and six or seven-day workweeks.If your career switch doesn’t work out, don’t be afraid to give up and go back to what you did before (or something else entirely).
There is no shame in admitting your career switch didn’t work out. , Cut your spending before you make the leap.
By saving money you’ll be better equipped to make up for potential shortfalls you might face as you transition your hobby into a career.
Cutting down on spending will also give you a sense of what kind of lifestyle adjustments you might need to get used to when switching from one career to another.If you don’t feel like you will be able to live comfortably at your new income level, think about ways to either streamline your work process, or find another hobby you could turn into a career.
About the Author
Katherine Flores
Katherine Flores specializes in education and learning and has been creating helpful content for over 3 years. Katherine is committed to helping readers learn new skills and improve their lives.
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