How to turn your passion into a career

Deciding what you would like to study at university can often be confusing and overwhelming, especially when other people start weighing in with their opinions. Throw in an abundance of choice of universities to study at and then the hundreds of different courses and you can feel even more confused than when you started researching.

Do you choose to study a subject which will give you the experience and skills you need for a particular career? Do you choose a subject which you’re good at? Or do you simply go for something you love?

Studying something that may have started out as a hobby but has become a true passion can be a great option. If you’re studying a subject for a number of years in great detail, it’s important to enjoy it. However, it can be a worry that your hobby could lead on to a long term career. A degree is opportunity to obtain new knowledge and work with experts in the field to help you refine your craft or talent to put you on track to becoming an expert yourself.

Here are our four top tips for turning your hobby into a career.

1. Figure out if your passion is vocational, technical or design related.

This will help you to start thinking about which university you might like to study at. If you love drawing and are keen to pursue a career in illustration or design you will be best to look at design led universities. If you really enjoy helping others and want to embark on a career in care or medical professions it will be helpful for you to look at unis that specialise in vocational courses.

2. Make sure it isn't a phase.

You’re about to embark on at least a three-year degree for this subject so be sure that it’s not just a novelty that’s going to wear off in a few months. It might be work researching potential jobs and career paths that you could pursue within your field of interest. Is this somewhere that you can see yourself being in a few years’ time? Be prepared to work hard and make sacrifices to achieve your goals. It may even help to clearly define your goals and ensure that you are passionate about achieving them.

3. Having doubts?

If you’re having doubts about whether your hobby is something that you can realistically pursue, you could try and find some work experience or an internship within that particular industry. This doesn’t need to be months long, a week or two might help give you the inside you need to help you make an informed decision about picking a uni course to study and the career options it will give you. You’ll either come away knowing that’s absolutely not something that you want to try and turn into a profession or you will have gained some invaluable work experience and made some great connections with professionals. Being able to network with like-minded people is just as important as studying your degree.

4. Go to an Open Day.

If you feel certain that you want to pursue a degree but are unsure which is the most suitable based on your skillset or interests it is definitely worth heading to Open Days so that you can talk to course tutors and current students to help you discover which subject is best suited to you. This is also a great way for you to discover what recent graduates from those courses have gone on to achieve and the sectors they are working in.