Dear Grads, Don't 'Do What You Love'

[pathstudent]

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I always see people give advice to those that are interested in pathology to "do what they love" or "do what you are passionate about". If you love pathology or whatever specialty, then it doesn't matter if the field falls apart because going to work will be like going to Disneyland everyday because you are doing what you are born to do. I find such advice idiotic and simplistic. I don't think you should do what you dread, but there is a huge gray zone between doing what you love and doing what you dread.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324081704578237651740623228.html?mod=trending_now_3

By CARL MCCOY
This month, commencement speakers across the country are exhorting graduates not to settle. They are urged instead to find their passion—to "do what you love." But is this the best advice for college students entering a tough labor market?

For those grads who do get jobs, the work will often be low-paying, with little in the way of long-term prospects. Some will soon go on to better jobs, but many will stay in these "day jobs" for years, waiting for their big break, waiting to be discovered—or simply waiting to find out what exactly it is that they truly love.

"Do what you love" is an important message, but it's unwise to build a career on the notion that we should all be paid for our passions. The advice captures only part of the story. It tells us how excellent work might be accomplished—by loving it—but it doesn't tell us why the work should be done. What is the point of all the effort? What is being worked toward?

.The answer lies in working with a deeper sense of purpose or vocation. You don't need to be a religious or spiritual person to tap into this higher purpose; it can be derived from a sense of community and a desire to pull together. Yet without such a higher purpose where all this love and ambition can be directed, we don't have a very useful guidepost for meaningful success. We simply have a call to discover what it is that we love, and then to do it.

Sure, there are many people doing what they genuinely love. But how many of us love just one thing? It's romantic to imagine that each person is destined for a particular career path, one capable of being discovered with sufficient soul-searching. But most people have multifaceted interests and abilities and could probably be successful and happy in several fields.

Then there are those who love things that will never pay very well. As someone who has tried living as a starving artist, I can attest that there's nothing romantic or noble about being impoverished in pursuit of doing what you love. When you're working two or three jobs, and you can't pay your bills, it doesn't matter how much you love any of them. You just get worn out.

Maybe there's another way to encourage new college graduates to think about their careers. Maybe all those commencement speakers would send more young people into the world likelier to be happy in their jobs if the speakers talked about love as a consequence of meaningful work instead of as the motivation for it.

Does the doctor love going into the hospital to see a patient in the middle of the night? Does the firefighter love entering a burning building? Does the teacher love trying to control a classroom full of disrespectful children? Not likely. But the work is performed with a sense of purpose that "love" doesn't capture.

We don't all have to become first responders or social workers. And we can't all find jobs with such obvious benefits to society. When diplomas are being handed out, though, it might be worthwhile for graduates—and the rest of us—if the popular "do what you love" message were balanced with a more timeless message to find work that, even in some small way, truly matters.

 

[cjw0918]

Reminds me of Steve Jobs' Stanford commencement ceremony speech several years ago in which he encouraged the graduates to follow their passions because it had worked out so well for him.

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

A lot of these unemployed pathologists should backpack across India instead of doing more fellowships. Find enlightenment like Mr Jobs did... 🙄

I get tired of hearing that follow your dreams crap as well. Now our country is forced to import workers who have the skills we need. Meanwhile our grads have lots of debt.

 

[rollwithit]

I guess it depends on what you value the most. Do you value financial security and a ample money to spend on yourself? Well, don't be an actor, be an investment banker. Do you value putting smiles on people's faces more than having a stable life? Find the nearest stage and start living paycheck to paycheck.

Those are obviously very simplified examples of showing choosing passion over being comfortable and vise versa (assuming the banker is in it for the money and the entertainer is in it for, well, entertaining).

For the rest of us, I suppose it's just a matter of balancing being proud of what you do and obtaining safety/comfort as the fruit of our efforts. If that's the the case for most of us, then my advice would be find something that you are good at which people also value (producing goods/services that are difficult to make/provide). Spend your life getting better at it and the rest takes care of itself. You will have fulfillment at mastering your talents and developing yourself and there should always be a demand in what you do as you are always getting better at it. Just cross your fingers you talents never get replaced by technology.

Finally, I hate that these "do what you love" speeches come at graduation when the students there have already racked up 6 figures of debt. Screw that. If you are going to pay that much money for an education, the love part can be postponed until after you have figured out how to pay off your debt. That, or tell these kids to do what they love before they go to an expensive college. Overpriced liberal arts degrees aren't a prerequisite for doing what makes you happy.

 

[gbwillner]

Of course, it is important to note that:
1. Pathology is not falling apart, although the job market appears tight right now based on some posters in this forum, and a lot of hyperbole by a few ignorant trolls, and
2. all fields in medicine are getting hammered right now. I just talked to a pediatric oncologist friend of mine. He says our city's market is completely saturated and no one can find a job in pediatrics. He says he knows recent grads in the area who took jobs starting at $70K in private practice. Think of that next time you start biatching about how Path is so terrible.

 

[Thrombus]

Of course, it is important to note that:
1. Pathology is not falling apart, although the job market appears tight right now based on some posters in this forum, and a lot of hyperbole by a few ignorant trolls, and
2. all fields in medicine are getting hammered right now. I just talked to a pediatric oncologist friend of mine. He says our city's market is completely saturated and no one can find a job in pediatrics. He says he knows recent grads in the area who took jobs starting at $70K in private practice. Think of that next time you start biatching about how Path is so terrible.

You are not even practicing and you say that practicing physicians are ignorant?

I know places all over the country who cannot find pediatricians (which is a 3 year program).

I also know places who hire junior faculty pathologists with 6-7 years training for 65-70K.

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

Of course, it is important to note that:
1. Pathology is not falling apart, although the job market appears tight right now based on some posters in this forum, and a lot of hyperbole by a few ignorant trolls, and
2. all fields in medicine are getting hammered right now. I just talked to a pediatric oncologist friend of mine. He says our city's market is completely saturated and no one can find a job in pediatrics. He says he knows recent grads in the area who took jobs starting at $70K in private practice. Think of that next time you start biatching about how Path is so terrible.

Wow, you talked to ONE pediatric oncologist friend in a saturated market. That shows the field is falling apart. 🙄

There are openings for peds in my area. Pathology is another story....

 

[KCShaw]

I think there is a lot less understanding of what a "job" entails, and a lot of unrealistic expectations about job life, and maybe life life, out there in general. Maybe it's because people define themselves more by their jobs, and jobs have become more of a life in and of themselves these days, rather than a means to an end (whether that's a personal end, or greater good end, or some element of both, or whatever). Or maybe something else. I dunno. But younglings seem to have a sense that their job "needs" to be fun and cool, and if it's not then it's a crappy job and they haven't found their niche. Which may be partly true, but probably misses the point, and ignores the fact that almost every job is going to have some parts to it which are not so cool.. even the very "good" ones.

There's nothing wrong with a boring, low expectation job, when you've got no educational debt, not on call, all weekends off, can go to work and come home at the same predictable time every day, have pleasant (or not unpleasant) co-workers/bosses, and can leave work 100% at work. Sure, you might not have as much fun "at work" when compared to a more challenging job with higher expectations or cool activities, but that's not an unreasonable trade-off for more relaxing away-from-work time. I think few younglings see it that way, though, and want the "exciting" higher paying job that defines them as a cool, smart, whatever person.

All of which is to say people can still follow their passions, but need to have a better understanding of things before deciding if X + its tradeoffs is in fact their most worthy passion, and realize passion alone isn't likely to land you a great lifelong gig. Sometimes experience in jobs you're not that sure about can really help those future decisions.

 

[cyborg88]

A lot of these unemployed pathologists should backpack across India instead of doing more fellowships. Find enlightenment like Mr Jobs did... 🙄

I get tired of hearing that follow your dreams crap as well. Now our country is forced to import workers who have the skills we need. Meanwhile our grads have lots of debt.

First of all no doctor stays unemployed. Secondly, it does not matter if IMGs go back to their home country. They make millions working in their home country. Thirdly, it is fault of American system that education is so costly .. Not the fault of IMGs who get their whole medical education in under 500 US dollars. Remember IMGs after residency and fellowship can go to any country. It is not a problem for them. They are already foreigners.

 

[gbwillner]

Wow, you talked to ONE pediatric oncologist friend in a saturated market. That shows the field is falling apart. 🙄

There are openings for peds in my area. Pathology is another story....

My point is that neither field is falling apart, but probably all fields (and all residents looking for jobs) are probably feeling a bit of a squeeze right now. The problem for Peds is that since it already the lowest-paying specialty, squeezing them any basically means fellowship salary.

/but you are right- it's just one anecdotal piece of data, just like everything else we see on the biatchfest in this forum.

 

[Thrombus]

, but probably all fields (and all residents looking for jobs) are probably feeling a bit of a squeeze right now.

This is a ridiculous conclusion. I know of more than 1 surgeon that were paid close to a 7 figure signing bonus right out of training.

"All residents looking for jobs probably feeling a bit of a squeeze"

 

[rollwithit]

This is a ridiculous conclusion. I know of more than 1 surgeon that were paid close to a 7 figure signing bonus right out of training.

"All residents looking for jobs probably feeling a bit of a squeeze"

Cosmetic?

 

[CrazyEBV]

Don't care. Fortunately, I absolutely love pathology. No regrets. Maybe it will change once I start looking for jobs and don't find any. Then I will come back to this forum and join the others lamenting on job market

 

[Silent Cool]

Don't care. Fortunately, I absolutely love pathology. No regrets. Maybe it will change once I start looking for jobs and don't find any. Then I will come back to this forum and join the others lamenting on job market

You know, the job market solution is easy: ya'll just need to go into cosmetic pathology

Problem solved.

 

[Kahreek]

i dont really know how pathology got into this, they must have opened a lot of residencies back in the day, because any community hospital worth half its salt should have a solid path department with a healthy crew of pathologists.