One of my professors always used to say that one should take up a profession which he loves the most or he will be forced to love whatever he was into. Well obviously that’s if he wants to survive in today’s competitive professional environment. I agree to this school of thought completely. However I keep pondering about two things. One is under what circumstances one chooses a profession which is not as per his liking and second what would be going in his mind when he is in such a situation. Now these are simple looking questions but difficult to answer as it can be for bunch of reasons.

I can think of a few reasons why someone would be taking up a job which is not as per his liking.

Financial Obligations: This is certainly one of the main reasons why someone would be willing to take a plunge into unknown and undesirable area of work. Especially in a developing economy like ours one would be forced to take up just about any job so that there is a constant flow of income. Many a times he would be the main stay of income in the family. Hence, keeping his fixed financial obligations in mind he would select a job which is certainly not his forte.
Lack of Choice: Again it is more to do with the kind of jobs that are being offered to an individual. Though macro economic factors do play a vital role here. One would find himself where he would be restricted in terms of choices available. The root cause obviously is too many people competing for the same job.
Lack of Clarity: One may completely laugh away at this possibility, but this is a fact. Many people, especially youngsters’ fresh after graduation, are not clear about which field they want to enter into. Yes they become a part of Herd mentality many a times.
Social or Peer pressure: Societal pressure of being in a stable job rather than testing one’s capabilities in creative areas can certainly be one of the many reasons. We live in the so called “Relative Environment”. Where everyone is compared with just about everyone.

There can be many more such reasons which at times might sound illogical but certainly are affecting decisions of many professionals. However it would take sheer grit on one’s part to put the foot down somewhere down the line and decide upon his career path rather than going along the wind. Not only he would be limiting his chances of achieving some sort of success but also would be finding it extremely difficult to make a shift across industries. Though one would never want to be in such a situation examples are galore.

The real way to tackle this is to be decisive in approach at a very early age. Parental guidance and mentoring would play an effective role in most of the cases. Teachers and Professional Counselors can also help the cause.

And all those who believe that they too are a getting into something they really don’t want to then this is the right time to make a move. So as the adage goes “Do what you love or love what you do”