Do What You Love Analysis

Some say that passion and love for what you do won’t land you a successful career. Jeff Haden, author of Do What You Love? #@&** That! , says that a career will not always be derived from one’s passion (463). Carl McCoy who wrote Dear Grads: Don’t Do What you Love similarly stated that doing what you love will not completely fulfill one’s desire to succeed in a career (466). He builds upon this statement in his essay by explaining that “purpose or vocation,” is needed in order to create a successful career. Miya Tokumitsu builds upon the overall statement of following one’s passion and includes that following the mantra of “Do What You Love” will “devalue one’s work and dehumanize the laborers” (468). Following one’s passion, love, and self-fulfillment can lead to failure in a career, under the wrong circumstances. As a student, go into class with an open mind and be aware of potential career opportunities for oneself, possible lucrative careers are everywhere; one’s passion will tell him where to go.
McCoy and Tokumitsu both appear to agree that the old phrase, “Do What You Love,” comes across as appealing at first. When broken down, according to McCoy, doing what you love only applies to half of the real picture. He says that it appeals only to self love; why would one not be

attracted to the idea of being paid for what they already love doing
(466)? McCoy builds upon his statement by explaining that one must work with a sense of purpose in order to truly love what it is they do. Tokumitsu further expands upon this apparently dangerous advice. She states that “labor is not something one does for the money itself but as an act of concession or love for oneself” (468). Further into her essay, she inserts a quote from Steve jobs speech about doing what you love and loving what you do; to the Stanford University graduating class of 2005. Tokumitsu points out that Jobs uses the words “you” and “your” eight times within only one paragraph, in an attempt to show that his statement is surrounded by self-love (469). Both authors take a different approach in showing that the simple statement of “Do What You Love,” can be dangerous and deceitful and advise one to not confuse narcissist actions with passion and love.
Each author has their own view point of how doing what one loves can be unsuccessful in situation where one is choosing a career path. Tokumitsu attempts to prove her argument by using a quote from Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, and finding the faults in it. While the inclusion of a real speech, by a very famous man, may have caught her audience attention and helped in proving her argument, it is without a backbone. Yes, Steve Jobs did say you and your in his speech eight times and yes that does show self-love. Yet, is that not what “Do what you love” stands for? When one chooses a career path based upon a love that he has, he makes the decision because it is for himself and because pursuing a profitable career that focuses around something he already has a passion for is desirable. McCoy does not provide any hard, statistical or real evidence to support his claim. In fact, his argument is quite short and appears to rely solely on his own assumptions. McCoy asks his audience “What is the point in all the effort (466)?” Clearly, the point in one sacrificing his time, effort, skills, and money is because he has a passion for what he does and he does it for his own personal satisfaction. Turning what one loves into a career is very possible and does sound very romantic. Though, sometimes this is not a viable option. For example, if the market for what one loves is not plausible and large enough to be fulfilled, then he may have financial trouble. Be careful of the romanticism behind such a phrase and thoroughly understand all aspects of how a career will be fashioned from a passion.
Yet another large question remains. If one comes to a career decision in which they have or develop a passion for, will the job be marketable? Will the labor be here in states and available or exported? Will I be able to find a financially successful and self rewarding job?
Hadley Malcolm writes in Job Outlook For 2014 Grads Puzzling “Unemployment dropped from 6.7% to 6.3%,” yet why do recent graduates have such trouble finding a place to begin their lifelong career (433)? Hadley provides many other statistics including unemployment fluctuations and the effects age has on job availability. Recently, the United States job market has been very concerning and worrisome. One may hear of unemployment rates skyrocketing in one town and a few jobs opening up in another. Finding a job appears to be quite the daunting task nowadays. Unemployment rates are statistical, hard evidence that finding a job (hopefully the perfect job) right out of college can be extremely hard and there is no arguing that. One’s best bet may be to thoroughly research their potential career options and strategize. It is better to go into a field with a 1% increase in employment and job availability than to choose one with a negative number popping up. Alan Binder similarly wrote an article titled; Will Your Job Be Exported? He additionally outlines the fact that many job markets continue to move overseas (441). Fifty years ago, nearly everything sold in the U.S. was made here, in States. Today, more and more products and pieces of unassembled products are being made overseas. Binder informs his audience that the term “off shoring” is becoming increasingly more applicable to our country (441). Hadley and Binder both do not touch on the scary reality of going into an unsuccessful future career path but they do outline how hard it may be to find a marketable and relevant job soon after graduation. The sad truth is that it will only become harder as one of young adults’ largest challenges they face is the lack of experience; what more and more employers look for.
Jeff Haden and Carl McCoy similarly write that if one were to work with “a sense of purpose,” he will develop a passion for whatever it is he is working at.

Haden says “Passion… will follow you as you put in the hard work to become valuable to the world” (463). According to Haden, if one works with a sense of purpose and dedication, doing a job that the surrounding community needs, passion will always become apparent even if it isn’t at first. McCoy correspondingly writes “The answer lies in working with a deeper sense of purpose” (466). Obviously, they both portray the same message. Whether one loves what he does or not in the beginning, if his work is meaningful, the passion will

trail.
It is clear that following ones passion can be deceitful and a dangerous proposition. Pay attention to the “can”. Passion may often come about once one realizes what he does has purpose, yet it is often forgotten about. Often times if one begins a job with a negative perspective, he will come out of the job identically. It is not every day that one can ‘develop’ a passion for something they once hated. However, both scenarios are possible and one should never discourage an opportunity. Opportunitiess are what will lead one to a bountiful and lucrative career path.
The material presented throughout Chapter twelve of Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum is very relevant, especially to its readers: undergraduates. Some of the advice and precautions that may be taken from these five articles should be taken with caution and deeper thought. Not everything each of these authors advises can be backed up with hard evidence and proven why it is so dangerous a route. Yes, following your passions can be a risky road to tread; that is only if one does not develop the skill and work ethic that comes with a good career. Obviously, it can also be done, as Miya Tokumitsu showed Steve Jobs clearly followed his love for what he accomplished and it led him into a very sustainable life. However, the job market is becoming increasingly less available due to offshoring and it will only become harder for one. If one does his research, thoroughly and accurately, the probability may be in his favor, and what would be better than profiting from what one loves?