How to choose a career when you have no passion
Picking a career is difficult when your main goals are making money, securing an AI-proof job, and achieving independence rather than a love for the work. Lacking a specific passion makes it hard to figure out the best long-term fit among various interests or practical fields like engineering. This uncertainty prevents people from committing to a direction, leaving them stuck at home and feeling behind.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Testing out prerequisite classes at a community college to see if the subject is enjoyable.Did this help you?
- 2Targeting pragmatic, high-growth fields like nursing or engineering purely for the return on investment.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My goal right now is to make as much money as I can, to have a stable career, won’t get taken over by AI, and can give me opportunities for growth.”source ↗
“You should do it because you love it. I don’t exactly have a passion. Not for anything (except money).”source ↗
“I want to be able to move out of my parent’s house within the next couple of years, also. I would feel horrible having to live with them until I’m thirty. I wish I had gone to college when I was 18. I feel so behind.”source ↗
“Because I have really no passion, I’ve been thinking about engineering instead.”source ↗
“I've been thinking a lot about my future and the career path I want to pursue, but I'm honestly struggling to figure out the right direction.”source ↗
“I have several interests, but I'm unsure which would be the best fit for me in the long run.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 19Is teaching still a realistic option for me?
- 11Accounts receivable vs bank teller for a finance degree?
- 12Should I quit my demanding job for a simpler, lower-paying one?
- 2How to find career direction as a freelancer
- 19Should I get an accounting certificate or degree while working?
- 22How to know if you need a career pivot or just a new job