“Wearing the golden handcuffs”: People are talking about chosing money vs passion—and how it worked out 10 years later

Redditors share whether they followed their heart or their bank account when choosing a career path. Some say they have regrets about their choice between money and passion.

1. Pour into a past time

“Money. Passion is what you do in your past time, and you find passion in what you’re good at. You have a job that you hate, but makes money, then you become passionate about moving up and out of that shitty job; albeit, still in the industry.” —u/PLEASEHIREZ

2. Don’t monetize your hobbies

“You wanna ruin your passion? Do it for a living.” —u/TwinFrogs

“Job is for money, hobbies, and volunteer work for passion.” —u/Mister-ellaneous

“Tried to follow what I thought was my passion, but then hated it when I tried to do it professionally. I ended up getting a Union apprenticeship and really enjoy what I do. The conditions are sometimes awful, but the work is fulfilling and pays pretty good.” —u/Responsible-Charge27

3. Choose both

“First time around, I approached it wrong. Your passion tends to end up being more of a business than a steady income, so how you handle it makes all the difference. Rather than quitting your job to pursue your passion, you work AND pursue your passion, and any money you make from the passion goes into an investment account to make passive income.” —u/Ghost1eToast1es

“I’m very fortunate to work with something that’s both paying reasonably well, and a passion of mine. Growing up, I was always that kid who loved trains. Got a job on the railway at 19, I’m 29 now and still love what I do.” —u/lillpers

“I chose passion and followed my art. Worked in a studio with a constantly failing computer that I learned to fix myself, which led to a pretty successful 25+ career in IT so far. The money gives stability and the ability to follow my true passion. It’s not a black and white choice, is what I’m trying to say.” —u/parkinglotguy

4. Passion doesn’t always pay

“Tried acting. Fun, met new people. Broke as fuck. Went to school, became an electrician, make 80k a year starting. Choose money and find a hobby.” —u/Shjfty

“Passion paid me in exposure… and my landlord doesn’t accept exposure.” —u/TemptressInGold

5. Use your job to afford your real passion

“Turns out not every passion is profitable – or to put it better, it’s rare to actually make a living from it. In my case, my biggest passion turned out to be so expensive that I’d need to be a millionaire just to pursue it peacefully. So I started thinking: how do I make that kind of money to afford it? Naturally, that path led me to entrepreneurship.” —u/Odd-Raspberry1063

“I chose money, it gave me the stability to follow my passions in my free time.” —u/Do_Not_Touch_BOOOOOM

“My passion costs money; it doesn’t make money. I need work to fund my passion.” —u/LacCoupeOnZees

6. Work with a partner

“I got lucky and opened a business with my wife, who has 100% of the passion, and since I was skilled enough at it, it’s been fruitful. My passion for it is maybe at 20%, but I also don’t dislike the field.” —u/leaponover

7. Choosing money doesn’t always work out

“I chose money all my life. Didn’t have a choice, really. Did not work out. I was constantly hitting dead ends and never really made enough to begin with. I never really got to discover what I really loved doing or my talents. Now I’m pursuing a career in a creative field that’s looking to be more promising than any monetary-based work would ever be.” —u/No-Name-Mcgee44

“Should have picked passion.” —u/AleksandrNevsky

“I make really good money. $800k/ year likely going up to $1.2M in the next 5. It’s hard to understand for most, but I hate it. I work to live. All the money goes to the lifestyle. I have kids and a family, and I am wearing the golden handcuffs.” —r/Pimpabutterfly

8. Find a balance

“Chased passion. Got broke. Chased money. Got bored. Now I chase balance. Still tired though.” —u/TomatilloMajestic610

“Chose money for over 3 years working at a telecom call center (bonuses and OT were insane) but had little to no motivation or ability to anything around the insane schedule they made me work. Lead me to working a compromise between money and passion.” —u/wert989

9. Chase passion and let money follow

“Chose passion 15 years ago. The money followed. Do what you love and make it fun.” —u/L192837465

“Chose the passion, but luckily it was one that’s easy to monetize (IT and programming). Passion for that is mostly gone, but now I have the money to pursue other passions.” —u/Generico300

“Chose passion, and after some hard years it turned out there is some money in it after all. Will never be rich but I am super happy. If you’re passionate about something, you’re often very good at it. If that’s the case for you, go for it!” —u/jonns-scones