by Lawanda Ray

Created on: February 23, 2007   Last Updated: April 17, 2007

For most individuals who find themselves stuck in a cubicle, there is passion that lies beneath the surface. A fantasy job that the average 9 to 5 worker would jump at if given the opportunity. Unfortunately, most of us don't get to see the reality of these jobs before we leap. For me this dream position was a soccer coach.

Since I was 6 years of age I have lived for soccer. Yet, as a young graduating engineer, I found myself staring down a life as the next "Dilbert." So, when my I saw an ad for a soccer coach at a local soccer club, it was like a saving grace.

Six months into my dream job, the reality has set in.

1. Long hours Little Pay - For most people a dream job would be storm chasing, writing, etc. Regardless of your fancy, breaking into a field that you have only a passion for and no experience in rarely nets a large signing bonus. Since such careers are non-traditional there is no set work schedule or "office hours." Often times I found myself scheduling games or talking with parents as early as 8:30 am, or as late as 10:30 pm.

2. Passionless Peers - Remember not everyone around you will share your passion. Despite what your career choice is, there will always be someone who "clocks-in." Peers that see the working environment as a "job" usually bring you down. Only because they usually point out everything that is wrong.

3. Diminishing Social Life - When you are totally engrossed in anything everything else suffers. I would imagine that this could happen in any occupation. However, if your job is your passion, the likelihood that you are totally obsessed with it from day one is much greater.

4. Burnout - When you go into anything full speed ahead, you will eventually crash. Even fantasy jobs can cause burnout. The only difference between a fantasy job and a more tradition job when it comes to burnout out would be DENIAL. People are generally more apt to acknowledging that they are stretched to thin or need a vacation from a traditional. To me it seemed as though admitting burnout would mean I wasn't as passionate as I initially thought. It took my girlfriend pointing out the similarities in our stress levels and overall fatigued for me to admit the extremely obvious.

5. Guilt - I know it seems crazy, but there is a lot of guilt that arises from a fantasy career. It almost seems like a crime to be able to go to work at a soccer field when my girlfriend goes to an office. When you have a significant other with a more tradition career, there can be this growing sense of guilt that you feel. Listening to them talk about pointless meetings, deadlines, clients, etc. The old "how was your day," conversation can quickly take an ugly and sarcastic tone.

In the end it all boils down to what you love and what you can live with. For me, there are few experiences that can parallel the feeling I get when I see one of my young players learn a new trick; or when one of my teams win a game. Yet, if I knew in the beginning that it was an "on-call" position I probably would have thought about it a few seconds longer.

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