Allowing your passion to become your profession

Bhavya called me one Saturday in May this year. Her husband, who was working from home, had taken a fascination for cooking restaurant-style gravy dishes, which he absolutely loved.

All this while, he watched YouTube videos and tinkered with the recipes. Eventually, he wanted to enroll in a proper cooking class.

“Do you know anyone,” she asked me, much to our amusement.

With ‘Work from Home’, people have suddenly found the time and the frame of mind to pursue their hobbies as serious interests.

One of my students, Deepak, works in Bengaluru in a reputed company. He called me last week to inquire if I can provide him with a new copy of the certificate for the Banking Course we had offered our MBA students a few years ago. Apparently, he needed it to further his case to get a professional license as an investment consultant.

Bhavya’s husband went on to pursue an offline cooking class over the next few weekends. Today, he has enlisted his services on a home-cooking aggregator app and gets orders for exotic dishes over the weekends.

Why upskill?

Among the many things that the pandemic has changed for professionals is the renewed realisation that one needs to gear up for any kind of challenge.

If skilling was the buzzword a few days ago, up-skilling is going to be one in the days to come. More and more people have begun to future-proof their careers by investing in skilling themselves.

Illyas teaches in a CBSE school near Belagavi. Over the course of four months since the second lockdown, Illyas attended a staggering 145 online seminars and lectures on education and completed several online certificate courses.

“I am finding some time as I conduct classes from home,” he said, adding that he always wanted to further his knowledge of teaching, which he is doing now.

The result is a renewed confidence in the way he deals with students, and the school couldn’t be happier.

The rise of the online medium

Courses in diverse fields are available online today on various digital platforms.

Topics ranging from creative writing to music, illustration, linguistics, photography, business analytics and more are available.

With their courses in self-development, some companies have taken the world by storm, while several professional coaches have boarded the online bandwagon and started offering their content through courses and sessions.

Nikita, an entrepreneur from Vadodara, has enrolled in one such Advance Baking course and started her own Home Baking business offering exotic bakes.

Rarely does it happen that one gets to pursue one’s passion as a profession.

Among our current crop of techies, doctors and CAs were hidden chefs, musicians, singers, craftspeople, bikers, sports enthusiasts and teachers who found the time just when they got access to resources.

Many have tasted success, like Sandeep Ranade, who left his flourishing career as a software engineer to embrace music. His app NaadSadhana won the Apple Design award while his composition ‘Na Corona Karo’ became viral on social media last year.

Even if your salary was halved or withheld, even if someone’s job was in jeopardy, there always remains a second career option to pursue.

The online medium has come as a boon for many, not just for acquiring skills and knowledge but also for getting work. While many chose to opt for up-skilling themselves in their careers, several others chose to rekindle their latent talents and interests, giving way to some exciting work.

(The author is a career counsellor)