If the career you're passionate about doesn't make a lot of money for this area, should you switch careers or consider doing something else?

Great question that A LOT of individuals ask themselves throughtout their professional careers.

The answer largely depends on your personality, passions and personal life goals. Some people enjoy working desk jobs and others prefer to be outside or building things with their hands. Some love traveling every week and meeting new people and some prefer having a home base and steady routine.

What do you prefer? What are you passionate about? An even better question would be, what topic or subject would you always be excited to learn more about? Very often the individuals who are most successful in their careers are those who are always striving to learn more to perfect their craft.

After you've answered some of those questions try to think about the standard of living you hope to achieve. Where do you want to live and how do you want to live? A simple budget exercise could get you on the right track.

Create a list of expenses that you must have every month like rent, groceries, car payment, gas, cell phone, internet, etc. Once you've totaled up all those costs you know the bare minimum you need to survive. Add on a little more for extras and you should have a rough estimate of a desired salary.

At the end of the day I would recommend picking a career your excited about, because regardless of how much money you make if you hate your job, your overall level of happiness will definitely suffer.

This is a VERY GOOD question, however, there is no straight forward answer. Goals and priorities vary from person to person, so only the person facing the challenge of choosing money or true happiness can truly answer this question. They are going to need to look deep within themselves to find the answer. Let me share my story... I was in the human resources field for almost 10 years. I obtained my bachelor's in business management and a master's of business administration in human resources management. Throughout the years I was also able to climb the corporate ladder and earn a very good salary. The problem was that I never felt happy or satisfied with my career. There was something missing and I could not pin point it for the longest. Don't get me wrong, I was good at what I did, however, I felt unfulfilled. In 2014, I found myself in the emergency room due to an unexpected medical condition that almost took my life, and that was my turning point. My boss called me asking about a report that was due while I was recovering from surgery (and he was aware of what happened), and the total lack of respect and care for my well being made me realize I needed to make changes in my life. Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to teach. I allowed people to discourage me from being a teacher because of the low pay, and that was a mistake on my part. I felt like I was given a second chance, and that is when I made a choice to start living a life of purpose and fulfillment. I made a career change, and became a high school teacher. Yes, it's less pay. Yes, the students drive me crazy. But I am the happiest I have ever been, and I would not trade my job as an educator for any amount of money. So your friend will need to figure this out on his own. Who knows, he may choose one route and years down the road decide a different path.

This is always a tough decision for anyone and most adults ask themselves this much of the time, particularly when our paychecks aren't as large as we would desire. There are two ways to look at this.
a.) He can try architecture for about 2-5 years. If he's really good at it and enjoys it, he can stay in it. If he finds the salary is too low or wants to shift, he can prepare himself for another career. Think of your career as a 50-year endeavor. Not everyone does the same profession for the entire 50 years.
b.) Earn the degree with the higher paying career. Then maybe he can indulge his architectural dreams as a sideline.
If he's expected to be the breadwinner in the family, go for the higher-paying job. Some people might find this cynical, but those of us who have been poor know exactly what I'm talking about.
It's better to prepare yourself for a high paying job and then decide to take a lower paying one then to earn a degree in a low-paying profession and try to earn a higher salary.
Good luck.

The key here is self awareness. Why are you passionate about a career? Why are you worried about finances? If you have enough talent, curiosity, and passion, you will make it in life just fine whether you choose to become an architect or a brand manager. I know several architects, and some of them make a sizable income (they are usually at the partner level). My first job out of college was in conservation science and I adjusted my lifestyle to fit my income. I changed my mind six months into the job and stayed for two years before leaving for graduate school. Had I better leadership, I may have stayed.

I also dance and know many dancers. They are not paid much to dance, but they are happy. Many have had a singular devotion to dance since they were little. They don't generally care about finances, except when they have to fundraise for a new work or fill out their taxes.

Hi Ainia! Interesting question! Big difference between a career and a job. A career offers growth opportunities and advancement opportunities. Having a job suggests doing similar tasks until you retire/ You for example are gaining valuable experience as well as "job wisdom" in your present position. Money paid out is based on the value you or your role or position provide for the company. A starting position (job) puts you in a position to see options and possibilities that you can't see from the outside. Every fast food place has a need for individuals to supervise 2-3 shifts 7 days a week, district managers, regional managers and others leading to ownership. A foot in the door allows you to earn money and begin to learn skill-sets that make you more valuable. All of this is a process, a journey not a destination. Start and don't get trapped in the problem house. When I was 18 I was very immature, self unaware and had no idea about options and possibilities. I discovered along the way I was a lousy employee and loved doing things my way. This led to my becoming self employed after about 9 different jobs graduating from college at 29 and starting my own adventure at 35. So, relax, enjoy the journey and begin to explore and develop your talents, gifts and interests. Add more fun to your process of self discovery. The Self Directed Search on-line for $9.95 can assist you as a starting place.

Just to add an architect story: My wife graduated with a B.Arch from Cornell. She started her career as an Architect designing high end residential. And it indeed was not a high paying job nor was it particularly rewarding. Since that time, she has moved from there to transportation, engineering, way finding, health design, attained an MBA at Columbia and another at London School of Business. She has moved into evidence based design, has done extensive research in that area, has written extensively on the subject and has presented to audiences all over the world. She is VP of Research for a health design company, has her own consulting business and last week completed her PHD studies. The pay is somewhat better these days........

Hi Anina!

Here is an interesting and thought provoking article about following your passion:

https://www.themuse.com/advice/why-follow-your-passion-is-pretty-bad-advice

Good question Anina-
Mark Cuban shared some great advice on this topic. Feel free to read it up:)

Love, passion and a bit of planning will take you a long way!