When choosing a career and you have only two options is it best to do something that you are good at or enjoy?

If you have an option you are enthusiastic about and enjoy, I’d find it hard to believe you could not train and develop the skills necessary to become good at it – and in reverse, something you have no interest in and just do as a mundane task, I doubt you would continuously excel in the field.

Unless the job in question was mind-numbingly tedious, I’d struggle to imagine being good at something but not gaining an enjoyable sense of accomplishment at the same time. Anyway, if there’s a job between being good at something but finding it dull, and an enjoyable job, most folks would choose the latter; it’s hard to imagine hollow proficiency appealing to anyone, really.

Goes without saying that it’s only really a decision worth considering when money’s introduced into the equation.

Well to be honest, if you’re not good at the job you’ll likely be replaced later on, that is if you actually get past the stage where they screen out unqualified candidates. In today’s economy I have to recommend getting a job where security is more likely, which would be the mundane job in your case.

Everyone at some time dislikes their job and finds aspects of it mundane, even skydivers and presidents! Even if you love your job and were skilled at it, there will be times when you hate it. That’s why we call it “work” instead of “happy fun time”.

As for basing your choice on money, well that depends on what you value in life and what your goals are. My goals are to own a farm, so money is pretty important in that, and I would have selected a job that paid more in order to save up and move closer to my goals. But if my goal was to have a stress free life, perhaps I would opt to pick a job I loved instead of one that paid better.

If it’s something you want to do and aren’t any good at, you’ll learn and get better through practice! If it’s something you enjoy doing, you may not enjoy it for long!

This is an artificial construct. First, no one has only two job choices. Second, if you love something, you are most likely going to be good at it if you work at it, which you would because you love it.

The exception being professional sports, which depends on physical talent or an artistic field that depends on a level of innate talent. If you don’t have that, you cannot excel.

Working away at something you don’t enjoy does not make sense. Luckily, we don’t live in your artificial, limited world, but can choose from a wide range of jobs.

It SO depends. How BAD are you at the job you enjoy? How GOOD are you on the job you think you are good at? Do you want more money? Then pay is a factor in your decision. If you don’t care how much money you get, that’s a factor also. Does being fired bother you? Will it impact your career goals? Then maybe you want the job you are good at. Is it no big deal to be good at what you’re good at (like flipping burgers), that would help you decide also.

@Marina, “but can choose from a wide range of jobs”? I wouldn’t go THAT far.

@Quagmire What I mean is that anyone can acquire the qualifications for a wide range of jobs if they have an interest: health care, technology, education, science. There are all sorts of jobs.

okay, you have to have a job. but life is too short to spend on something that you don’t enjoy doing. I’d keep looking and try to find a job that is BOTH something you enjoy and are good at.

If it’s to do with work then my choice is to go with what is going to pay best for my needs and goals, I’ve got others I’m responsible to which puts my wants secondary.

You can have both.

Just think short term and long term.

Short term: take the job you are good at. Use the money to fund your life. Do the thing you love as a hobby, part time, until you can build it into something that can become your main mode of support.

Long term: Market the thing you love and gain recognition. As you are able to support yourself with the thing you love, you can dump the first job.

In general, unless the salary is substantially higher, the job you enjoy will be the best one for you. However, it may be that learning and growing on a job will also lead to enjoying it. Many jobs that aren’t fun, work up to something that is.

Start with what you’re good at so that you can afford to do what you enjoy later in life. Also, you might not enjoy what you’re good at but if you’re really good at it and competitive you’ll enjoy winning and this in turn will make you like your job and enjoy becoming better at it.

Both options aren’t great. Probably I lean towards what you are good at as long as it makes LOTS of MONEY! Save, save, save, make a financial plan, and retire from that career early. Work in what you love later. You can keep what you love as a hobby also on the side throughout your life.

There are always many options and that is a big part of life..you can do many things all at once..I know. I have 4 companies, all different. Do not pigeon hole your talents. Let them flourish. The days of routinized stifling non-enjoyable tasks are fading, but only if you truly believe you can.