Let’s talk about passion-first education and look at a wonderful case example of a college graduate (and acquaintance of ours) who ditched her original career plans and took up a new, passion-based profession.
What is Passion-First Education?
Passion-first education is when we undertake training, be it at college or otherwise, that is based on our passions. We build solid professional skills in the field and become specialists.
We’re not doing it for the money. We’re not doing it to enter a popular profession. We’re not doing it because it’s what our parents expect. We’re doing it because we love the field and want to build a career in it.
It’s a very simple idea, but this is the opposite to how many students approach higher education. At College Pirates we believe that you must pursue passion-first education if you want to live a fulfilled life. If not, you’ll spend 40 to 50 years working in a field and role that you dislike.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that passion precludes high earnings. In fact, we believe that if you’re passionate about your work, you get the perfect balance: you set yourself up for earning good money, and you get to live your passion, a privilege reserved for the brave few who fight to make their passion a reality.
Case Study
To give you an example of this in the real world, let us introduce you to an acquaintance of ours: Inés Isern, who is a professional garden designer and the founder of The Gardens of Edhen.
Inés studied Environmental Engineering in her home country, and was set on working in her field, in a stable job with a dependable salary. But at some point she realized she wanted to change course. This field wasn’t for her.
Around that time, she discovered a new love for gardens and design, and for months nurtured the dream of becoming a garden designer. She moved abroad to learn English, and though she planned to return home after a year, she found a professional garden design course at a local vocational college, and snapped up the chance to gain professional skills in her new passion.
She spent three years learning the field, and paid a lot less than she would have had she studied in a regular college, where similar courses cost ten of thousands of dollars. During this time, she built up her portfolio through pet projects and volunteering, and after graduation she quickly started working as a full-time designer. She’s now earning a great salary and working on high-ticket projects.
This is the prime example of passion-first education. Inés knew she wanted to design gardens, but she wasn’t sure how to make it work, or how to find a job in the field. Though she didn’t discard practicality, she also didn’t let her doubt hold her back, and kept pursuing her passion. Eventually it paid off, and she’s now living her passion every day.
You might also like our articles The Top 4 Alternatives to College and Should You Go To College?. These will help you take your passion and make it a living, breathing, money-generating reality.