Turn Your Avocation Into a Vocation

By Robyn Tellefsen & Jennifer Merritt

How big is the difference between your avocation and your vocation? That depends -- traditionally, your avocation is an activity you love, like guitar playing, while your vocation represents your good ol' 9-5 job. If you happen to perform in a mariachi band for a living, congratulations -- you've married passion with duty.

But for the countless others stuck in a corporate nightmare while nursing a craving for kayaking, you know the drudgery of spending only a quarter of your time doing what you love. How can you change that? By pursuing an online degree in your "hobby." Get inspired by these professionals who have successfully blended their interests with their jobs though online learning, then get to work -- work you love, that is.

Pursuing Passion
For Georgia Ioannou, pursuing her passion wasn't an easy task. Although she had poured lots of time and money into becoming a pilot (even moving from her native Canada to Florida to get her pilot's license), she found doing so made it hard to make ends meet.

"I took a series of minimum wage jobs to support myself, and my progress screeched to a halt because I was barely covering my bills," she recalls. Her mom, a registered nurse, suggested Georgia become a nurse, because at the time, the government offered nursing school grants to help offset the shortage.

Not wanting to forgo her dream of becoming a pilot, Georgia went for it, with plans to use the money she earned to continue her aviation degree. But, the 31-year-old soon took a detour. "I graduated with an RN license and got sidetracked in life," she says. "I was blinded by the money, [and] finally being able to afford the 'nice' things that had been absent in my life."

Even so, Georgia was left feeling unfulfilled. She found herself frustrated, and soon realized she didn't have to feel this way if she didn't want to. Which is exactly why Georgia decided to pick up where she left off with the help of online learning. She is currently pursuing a degree in aviation flight technology from Thomas Edison State College (TESC, Trenton, NJ).

"Nursing made me realize that my time on this planet is limited," she says. "I felt that it was time to start living my life to the fullest now, instead of just existing."

That wasn't completely the case for Tom Moore. After the events of September 11, 2001, Tom, a supervisor at Ford Motor Company, discovered the plant he worked at was closing. "That put me in a position to reeducate myself, or relocate," says the 35-year-old. That's when he decided to make the switch complete, pursuing a bachelor's degree in social science and history through TESC. His ultimate goal is to attend law school.

Tom acknowledges that the switch might not have been made if it wasn't for the turn of events. "Things get in the way," he says, "being married, getting older. I wanted to do my own thing for a while, but I really had no incentive to leave."

The Beauty of the Blend
John Schuster, career coach and author of "Answering Your Call: A Guide for Living Your Deepest Purpose" (Berrett-Koehler, 2003), would say Georgia and Tom have found their calling. "The highest level of integration between avocation and vocation is when there is virtually no difference between work and play."

That's exactly as it should be, according to Dr. Beverly Potter, an Oakland, CA-based psychologist specializing in career and workplace issues.

"You can't make a division between work and non-work," she insists. "It's what you do. We have the idea that work is toil -- that's from the late 1880s and factory work. But it doesn't have to be that way.

"It's better for a person to foster and develop several different specialties and blend them," she explains. "If you develop an avocation and blend it with your current specialty, it makes you a unique person."

In fact, the more you can integrate the skills and activities you love into your work, the more flexible and fully-developed you'll be, promises Dr. Potter.

Risky Business
But since doing what you love doesn't necessarily mean the money will follow, you have to remain realistic, coaches Schuster. "It's the dance between the practical, like making the mortgage payment, and taking some risk," he says. "You can't take away the risk -- then it's not an adventure. But without practicality, you're living in a fantasy world."

Tom has experienced the burden of taking a risk not only for his career, but his happiness. "Financially, it's been tough," he says. "It's a choice to further my education."

In order to make that leap, Georgia suggests carefully weighing your options. "It took me a while to discover that a fancy car and home do not make me happy," she says. "The pursuit of wealth in my 20s evolved to the pursuit of my dreams."

Tips for making the switch

The first step is hard, but it'll pay off in the end. "If you fail, it's only a temporary setback, but if you don't try at all, then your whole life was a failure," says Georgia. No need to dive in head first. "Even if you take one class a semester [online], at least you're doing something," says Tom. Enlist the support of friends and family. "Even my 14-year-old brother eggs me on, telling me life is too short to do a job you hate," says Georgia. And, Tom says, you'll even find support in your online community. "A lot of the students are nontraditional," he says, "and are more willing to help each other."

Research the right school for you

Concerned about going back to school? Many students say online learning affords them flexibility and the ability to work at their own pace. Look at what a prospective school can offer you in terms of job professors, flexibility, and job placement.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

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