Should I get a degree that is based on something that is lucrative or something that I am passionate about?

satanic_hamster · 2020-06-12T11:16:32+00:00

Unfortunately as long as cash money make the world go round, you'll never be able to live securely and independently of it.

If you can figure out how to monetize your passion or do something useful with it, go that route. If your passion is at odds with the reality of your financial future, prioritize your future around some measure of financial success and self-sufficiency at a minimum.

No matter what you do though, invest your savings. Always. Always. Always. Live at least slightly below your means and invest.

thrwy75479 · 2020-06-12T11:22:52+00:00

In order to do anything, you need money. The more you have, the more you can do. Without it, you can't do shit.

Go with the lucrative career. Max out finances until early to mid-30s.

You'll have more options than you know what to do with at that point, including funding a film or 2 to realize your creative vision.

ipwnedx · 2020-06-12T12:13:03+00:00

You could combine the two like in the last line. Ex) go for some type of business degree, and use your art skills to create a shop for it. Like selling t shirts with cool designs that are all comfort colors etc.

phisch13 · 2020-06-12T14:07:18+00:00

Leave hobbies, hobbies.

Personally, nothing turned me off of a hobby faster than being required to do it.

Better off finding work that’s going to get you money, which you can use to buy everything except time.

glowing_dolphins · 2020-06-12T13:58:13+00:00

Working for the rest of your life at what you think is cool at 17 is usually a bad idea.

What makes people happy is “autonomy, mastery, purpose”.

College is something you buy with your time and money (and it sounds like state money for you). They are selling a product. They just want you to pick that course. Your future is not on their minds.

Getting a course doesn’t guarantee a job or a career. Look up how many film making grads end up actually making films and how much they’re paid.

Check out happiness scores by career, and check out salary guides. Most will not be what you think.

akihonj · 2020-06-12T14:53:29+00:00

Don't be a dumbass, get the degree that's going to pay your bills first, get good at the creative stuff afterwards.

Listen dude, for every musician who makes it there are 10000 playing gigs in bars for beer money, for every writer who dreams of Hollywood there are 20 stacking shelves in supermarkets.

At least if you have something that you can pay your bills with, doesn't leave you exhausted at the end of the day you can then have the time and energy and comfort to work in a screenplay, painting etc. If something good or life-changing comes from it then great and more power to you but if not at least you have something that makes sure you aren't living on the streets.

Don't be like so many other fuckwits out there with 60k student loan debts with no chance of ever paying them off and working every day for minimum wage just to have a job because you got a McDegree, a piece of paper that isn't worth the cost of getting it to the jobs market.

Budfox_92 · 2020-06-12T15:41:43+00:00

Do something you're GOOD at not what you are passionate about.

If you can make money on your passion then great but a lot of people don't succeed at that.

Hobbies are for your passions and a good career can make your passions very enjoyable.

yohj · 2020-06-12T14:51:44+00:00

To get another perspective, I recommend reading the book Range by David Epstein.

Andrew54321 · 2020-06-12T21:05:25+00:00

comcain · 2020-06-12T21:43:10+00:00

A great writer once told me, "Anyone can write a book no matter how busy they are. A page a day is a book in a year." He was right.

Get a degree in something that will enable you to pursue your passions. Think about your screenplay and dialogue and characters while working, then go home and write it up.

This really works. I have 3 books out and several hundred small articles. They helped pay the Bill's, so it was a double win.

Cheers

sir_shitfuck · 2020-06-12T22:24:24+00:00

You can be creative in finance/banking

2020-06-13T01:11:19+00:00

If you can do a software engineering degree do that, if not do finance and in both situations try to go into investment banking.

You make 90-120k right out of school, you work really shit hours but you get ahead really fast.

In Canada at least you get 50k in tax free credits right out of school, so you keep about 90% of you income in the first year putting you at around 80k in savings.

After 3 years you’ll be burnt out but assuming you didn’t ball out and didn’t live in a wildly expensive place you’ll have 200k saved up.

These banks pay for your phone bill, lunch and dinner, gym membership, benefits, and sometimes even your suits. If you live with roommates all you do is pay a small amount in rent.

If you’re smart enough and driven do this till you’re 30 and you can basically retire.

js0225 · 2020-06-13T11:14:53+00:00

Get the degree in finance or banking first, get a job and start building sources of income. Then invest in your creative passion.

JustSatan · 2020-06-12T13:38:26+00:00

Tough question. The dilemma here is perhaps that you want a sure thing (hence finance/banking), but that it would be ideal to become successful in terms of screenwriting/filmmaking. Understand that there's a big different between having a passionate interest in consuming and creating content, such as in the form of film, and producing content. If you need to create stories and share them via film, then you'll do so whether or not you receive a degree in it (this is a common understanding). I feel like studying such things in a university context, however, more often than not, turns into a way of procrastinating, or, in a more complex way, sublimating the energy you would put into your art--your critical work will siphon the energy you could put into your creative work. ... I don't actually feel like finishing this comment/short rant. Thoughts?

its-mystery · 2020-06-12T14:01:50+00:00

College doesn’t teach you shit. So get a degree in finance and side by side learn film-making on your own via books, courses, videos, internships etc. After college you can try to get a job in the film making industry via things you learnt and projects you did, if that doesn’t work somehow, you will always have a safe finance degree to get you a job and still give you even more time to work on your film making skills side by side.

DoubleConversation4 · 2020-06-12T11:44:47+00:00

It's better to get money early on and do something you're passionate about later on after you get the money

You could still do screenwriting in your free time but that's not gonna get you money

kdsflyfree · 2020-06-12T16:36:46+00:00

Don't know your country but this is what I'd do in the U.S. I'd recommend NOT going to college until you have it figured out. Very big investment, the ROI is not there unless you're in a STEM field. Most colleges suck at actually preparing you for a career.

Rather, sign up for a vocational course and get a practical trade that's in demand. For example, plumbers make a lot without college (but you don't seem like the plumber type). Maybe masonry would appeal to your artistic sense. Database admin, medical assistant, ultrasound tech, radiology tech--something that will bring in cash while you pursue your dream.

Fashion and beauty, filmmaking and screenwriting are great but highly competitive. You need something to finance your life. Produce income first before going to college, or doing whatever else you want.

Title	Should I get a degree that is based on something that is lucrative or something that I am passionate about?
Author	Flaky_Session
Upvotes	6
Comments	19
Date	June 12, 2020 11:12 AM UTC (6 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/h7irx1/should_i_get_a_degree_that_is_based_on_something/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/should-i-get-a-degree-that-is-based-on-something.673445 https://theredarchive.com/post/673445

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