Before You Chase Your Passions, Chase Reality With A 9–5 Job

Passion doesn’t pay the bills, money does.

Han Cao
The Startup

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Photo by Dhyamis Kleber from Pexels

Welcome to 2022, the demise of the 9–5. Every Tom, Dick and Harry has quit their jobs to pursue their passions. Millennials and Gen Z spearhead ‘The Great Resignation’, ditching the traditional 9–5 in pursuit of glory, fame and riches.

In a time where our beliefs about work has been tilted on its head, how realistic is it to abandon everything and survive solely off your passions?

Stage 1: The Humble 9–5

The 9–5 gets a lot of hate. As a motto, you’d probably describe your 9–5 grind as ‘overworked and underpaid.’ Long hours, mundane responsibilities, annoying colleagues. Just a few hiccups in our typical workday. It does, however, offer 2 big perks: skills and stability.

A 9–5 job should guarantee two things: either you’re earning or/and you’re learning. If you’re achieving neither, you might want to rethink your current position.

Transferable skills are a set of non-specific skills adaptable to any job. They’re also the favourite buzzwords of every employer, who repeat them over and over like a broken record. But it turns out they’re quite useful. Communication, teamwork, organisation — the skills copy and pasted onto every resume…

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Han Cao
The Startup

Storyteller, Pharmacist, Violinist. Just your regular guy fumbling through life.