Welcome the advent of the "part-time professional" era: how to balance interests and majors

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This article was originally published in “Kool Youth Voice @Cheers (opens in a new tab)”

Every summer, a group of college graduates will leave campus and prepare to enter the workplace to accept trials. Blessings to the newcomers in society, I hope everyone can find their ideal job and write a new chapter.

Recently, several readers of “Cheers Speaks (opens in a new tab)” have sent me messages on Facebook, asking me questions about my interests and majors. I think this is also the part that many young friends will be confused about, so let’s talk about this issue today!

Interest or major, which one should you choose? I would say, of course both are important. Imagine that in this long life, apart from working and making money, if there are no one or two interests to support it, wouldn’t it be too boring? Of course, cultivating interests often requires a lot of time, effort, and even money. There are many friends around me who have been deliberately trained by their parents to learn piano, violin and other musical instruments since they were young. Although they may not be able to become performers when they grow up, they can at least entertain themselves and others, and they can also cultivate their temperament. It is indeed a great hobby.

As for expertise, it goes without saying. If you want to stand out in a highly competitive workplace, or even stand out, you often need one or two specialties that you can excel in. You may need to be good at writing copywriting, planning books, or planning and organizing events. Or you may be good at dancing and speaking, and can turn black into white and successfully negotiate a case.

All interests and expertise require effort to cultivate. For young friends who have just entered the workplace, it is of course the best to be able to take care of both; but if time and resources are limited, I would like to suggest you:

1. Take some time to take stock of your own resources, strengths and weaknesses. 2. If you think about it again, do you want to continue cultivating your interests or spend more time training your expertise?

Recently, a classmate from National Taiwan University, Mr. S, wrote to me. He said that the major he is currently studying is considered very popular, and many relatives and friends around him are envious of him for being able to squeeze into the narrow gate of a first-class university. But after entering university, I suddenly discovered that my interests were actually in design and art, rather than the science and engineering fields I was currently exposed to. So, if you have been struggling recently, should you retake the exam?

Later, I saw my column on “Kool Youth Voice”, so I wanted to know if I could provide some suggestions?

Taking Mr. S’s example as an example, because he is already a senior classmate, I feel that unless he is determined to “burn the boat” and retake the exam hastily, he will probably waste his time in the past few years and live up to the knowledge he has learned. It is actually a pity to think about it.

My advice to him is that unless you are really determined to change careers and you are sure that you are not acting impulsively, you should complete your college studies first - not only to get a college diploma, but also to learn a complete set of knowledge structure, so that you will at least be able to make a living in the future.

As for the fields of art and design that Mr. S likes, I think you can still use your free time to get involved. Think about it, being a “Pro-Am” master, or developing in the direction of the popular “Slash Youth (opens in a new tab)” is actually quite good!

The so-called Pro-Am (opens in a new tab) is actually a combination of the English words Profession (professional) and Amateur (amateur). The professional part does not need to be explained too much. We have all seen that there are many professionals in this society, such as doctors, professors, accountants, and judges.

Next, let’s look at the amateurs! The English Amateur is derived from the Latin Amator, which originally means a lover, a loyal friend, or a person who goes all out for a goal. So, in the most primitive sense, we can say that amateurs are motivated by pure love.

In this diverse era, each of us may have multiple interests and expertise at the same time, but if we want to be proficient in them all, we must invest a lot of practice time and resources. Take “Exploding Trends (opens in a new tab)”, “Decision in Two Seconds (opens in a new tab)” and other best-selling British-Canadian writers Gravey尔 (opens in a new tab)(Malcolm Gladwell, once said that to achieve success, you need to obey the law of “Ten thousand hours (opens in a new tab)”. To put it simply, no matter which profession you pursue, success often requires 10,000 hours of continuous practice.

The reason why people see geniuses as extraordinary is not because of their superior talent, but because of their continuous efforts. Ten thousand hours of training are the necessary conditions for anyone to transform from ordinary to extraordinary.

Of course it would be best if you can balance interests and expertise. Otherwise, let us strive to become amateur professionals in a certain field!

Maybe your job is a website front-end designer, but you can carry a camera and act as a wedding photographer on weekends; or maybe you are an office worker and you can sit in a cafe after get off work, sipping coffee and reading quickly. Maybe you are the next one J· K. Rowling (opens in a new tab) (Author of the “Harry Potter” series) Hello!

Speaking for myself, I also have many interests. There are many dreams that were never fulfilled when I was a child, and now I want to work hard to pursue them. In some specific fields, I may be an expert, but in other fields that I like but may not be familiar with, I naturally need more efforts! I also hope that I can become a professional amateur.

Dear friends, let us encourage each other!

★ Featured image source: unsplash.com (opens in a new tab)

★ Source of the article: This article was originally published on ku青声@Cheers (opens in a new tab)