For many working-class citizens when it comes to survival, having a job that pays the bills is a must. Lots of people slave away at jobs with little promise for the future and few rewards just to get by. Unfortunately, it is this practice and mindset that leave many feeling unsuccessful, unhappy, underpaid, and unfulfilled. Finding a career you’re passionate about, on the other hand, can reverse this and give you a new outlook on life. How do you find your passion? Ask yourself these important questions below:

What Do You Like?

What interests you? What things bring you joy? In order to find a career, you’re passionate about you have to start by determining what fuels you. Things that you’d do for free, that you care about, that you’d invest a countless amount of hours, money, and energy into are your passions and possible career paths for you to consider. You might have more than one thing, but just write them down. Perhaps you love children, money, helping others, art, fashion, or writing, to name a few.

What Are You Good At?

The next step to figuring out which career would provide you with the most satisfaction is to figure out what you’re good at. Unfortunately, you might love to sing, but if you can’t hold a tune, being a famous singer may not be in the cards for you. Chasing your passion also means being honest and true with yourself so think about what you’re good at. Are you great with numbers? Can you learn and utilize technology fairly easily? Do you work well with your hands? Write down your list of skills next to your list of interests.

What’s Trending?

The final question to ask yourself about your career passion is what’s trending or in demand? The idea of a career is to get paid for doing something you love, but not everything pays well. If you have a ton of responsibilities or financial obligations, some career paths may not be lucrative enough for you to consider. So, what’s trending? Holistic and alternative medicine and therapy are very popular, for example. If you are passionate about helping others improve their lives, you might want to become a meditation teacher. Write down a few popular industries and jobs you might consider doing.

Choosing a Path and Making a Plan

Armed with your notes, you can now make a choice on a career path you’re passionate about and begin creating a plan to get it. Based on what you love, what you’re good at, and what’s trending, what are some potential careers you can try? Once you’ve found that dream job you’ll need to map out a plan of action. Here is some advice on how to land that dream job:

  • Training and education – Most jobs require you to have some prior experience in the field. This may mean investing in professional training or higher education. If your passion career is becoming an architect, for instance, you’d need to go back to school to obtain architecture degrees.
  • Finding the Right Company – If you have the necessary training and educational background to enter into the industry you’re more passionate about, all you need is the right platform to get started. This means researching companies in that field and available opportunities. If you’d prefer to be your own boss, then it is during this time that you’d begin delving into the research and the necessary steps to start your own business.

It’s true, a job is vital to afford things you want and need in life. However, compromising your happiness and purpose for a paycheck can backfire. If you’re stuck at a dead end job, just graduating from college, or just ready to do something that has more meaning, you should take the time to explore your passions. Whether you want to be a yoga instructor, fashion designer, architect, writer, or meditation teacher, asking yourself the questions above and then using the answers to make a definitive answer and plan will get you closer to your dream job than ever before.