Should I try to find a passion or an ideal job?

Should I try to find a passion or an ideal job?

The full question

Should I try to find a passion or an ideal job? Or, instead, should I make the most with the job I already have?

What experts say

That's a question that Cal Newport answers in his podcast Deep Questions, Episode 263 "Overhaul Your Life.", it's also the subject of one of his earlier books called "So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love"

What Cal suggests is that instead of constantly changing jobs, we should instead focus on planning our careers around the lifestyle we'd like to have.

This means it's not so much about finding a job that has exactly the passion that we have. But instead, we want to find a job that makes it possible for us to have the life rhythm, and work-life balance that is the best for us.

We should, therefore, shift from a passion mindset to a craftsman mindset where we focus on improving our skills in our jo

My two cents

Personally, I think that you can find passion in almost any job as long as it's within the boundaries of what is interesting to you.

I'm a big believer that as long as something is interesting, you can then turn it into something that you're passionate about. Obviously, this might take some time and need some design work on your side to rethink how the job is done, so that it leads to interesting learnings which then will become something you're passionate about.

So passion is the result instead of being the start

Q&A: Career in Service Design

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Starting a career in Service Design

  • How can we get more junior Service Design positions?
  • Is it possible for a junior service designer to do freelance work?
  • What’s the best way to gain real-world experience when starting in service design?
  • I’m x years old is it too late to learn service design?
  • What does a junior service designer do?
  • What skills do you need to become a service designer?

Finding a Service Design job

  • Why am I not getting any interviews for service designer jobs?
  • ▶️ Are there enough Service Design jobs out there?
  • How to do networking as a Service Designer?
  • Should I try to find a passion or an ideal job?

Job interview tips for Service Design practitioners

  • ▶️ What are your tips on verbal communication Service Design job interviews?
  • ▶️ What are job interview tips for new Service Designers?

Transitioning to Service Design

  • What is a good background for a service design/strategy consultant?
  • ▶️ How can I use my past career when transitioning to Service Design?
  • ▶️ How can you work in a service design job if you don’t have a service design degree?
  • ▶️ How can I realise that I bring lots of experience when I transition to Service Design?

The different types of service designers

  • What are the archetypes of service designers?
  • Can an introvert thrive as a Service Designer?

Daily Service Design work

  • How to practice and not give up on Service Design?
  • ▶️ How to apply Service Design insights in your daily work
  • ▶️ How to tackle the impostor syndrome?
  • ▶️ How can you show that different backgrounds contribute to the service design work in valid ways?
  • ▶️ How do you best communicate what's the role and what isn't the role of the Service Designer

State of the Service Design job market

  • Where do Service Designers work?
  • ▶️ Service Design in big organizations?
  • Can service designers work from home or remotely?
  • Do people recommend a service design career?
  • Can I work part-time as a service designer?

Career development

  • ▶️ Six Sigma or Service Design certification?
  • ▶️ What are Service Design communities I can join?
  • ▶️ How to grow as a mid-level service designer?
  • What are the most important things to consider when becoming a senior service designer? How can people achieve this goal?
  • ▶️ Can a service designer survive a recession?
  • What are the mental health challenges a service designer will be faced with?