Do what you love?

Just like everything else in freelance translation, there's nothing for a long, dry spell and then everything comes down on you at once. I have a quiet period, then a massive new job and three possible contracts kick up at once. I have no ideas to write about, then several pop up in a day.

Thanks to Sarah Dillon for introducing me to "Brazen Careerist" Penelope Trunk via a link on her blog. After changing jobs several times, and never having a clear idea of what I wanted to do after being told Ireland didn't have any Sea Kings (I wanted to be an air-sea rescue pilot when I was in secondary school), I've often been given the advice "do what you love". Then you'll never feel like you're working, which is surely a bonus.

This struck me as problematic for several reasons. First of all, if you have to do something, no matter how much you love it, sometimes it feels like work. I'm not sure I want to ruin my love for something by turning it into work. What if I don't know what I love? Or if I love something completely unworkable as a career?

Penelope Trunk argues that "do what you love" is bad career advice. Why? Because you may not love the same thing forever, or even for the length of your working life. Because you may love more than one thing. And, you may not be suited to doing what you love, no matter how much you love it.

It reminded me very much of the talking down that happened during the specialisation topic on this year's ITI Professional Support Group. Specialising, like having a job, is a good idea. But you don't have to choose a specialisation and stay with it for life, through thick and thin. You can accept that they don't work out sometimes, or that you fall out of love with them, and if so you just move on. You're not getting a tattoo. It'll be all right.

On the other hand, it's also possible to be good at something you don't like or don't find rewarding. This is why I no longer work as a project manager although I'm reliably informed I'm good at it. Yes, I can herd cats. It doesn't mean I enjoy it. I enjoy the feeling of being able to make a difference, especially when I know it will stick, but it wasn't worth the rest of the job most of the time.

Now I'm going back to reading Penelope Trunk's blog, as it's more interesting than anything else I've found recently.