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Zeratul
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Posted: 11 Aug 2011 at 10:01 \| IP Logged

I would argue it's less about enjoying your job and more being able to tolerate it.

Let's look at person A and B in your example, who are identical in all respects except that A is more passionate, and more specifically, what it means for both of them.

It may well be the case that A is willing to go above and beyond what B is willing to do. A may subscribe to a number of accounting/business related publications, and go to many events that we can stipulate that B either does not read/attend or only does so as an extension of his job, rather than a personal interest. It could even be the case that A is willing to voluntarily take on the type of assignments which could result in having to wake up earlier/go to bed later than B out of passion.

But what is to stop B from doing all these same things for money, or prestige, or for that matter pride of B's parents? Also consider that most people in the workplace are not overly passionate about their work -- who are they going to relate to more on a personal level, A, who lives, breathes and loves accounting, or B, a normal guy who happens to work in accounting? If their performance is similar, who's going to care that A reads Forbes, Fortune, BusinessWeek, Journal of Accountancy, or whatever else? Or if keeping up with business publications is a part of the job, who's going to care that A is doing it out of passion while B is doing it purely for professional purposes? If A or B is willing to get out of bed earlier for a special assignment, who cares that A is doing it out of love for accounting while B is doing it for the money?

Passion for the job may be personally fulfilling, but progressing at work is about what you do, what you know, who you know, and who knows you. A lot of people have managed to climb the ranks -- shockingly! -- while viewing the job as just a job. Sometimes, they climb higher and faster than those who are passionate/more knowledgeable because while A was intently reading JoA cover to cover, B was discussing sports with the boss and -- wouldn't you know it, they both love the same team. Or B grew up in the boss's hometown and they have a lot of stories to exchange, while A just approaches the boss to discuss how the latest ASU affects his job. There are a lot of positions out there where A's passion doesn't make a difference in terms of output/performance -- will A's passion really provide him an edge over B in this circumstance?

MissGinaCPA
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Posted: 11 Aug 2011 at 10:46 \| IP Logged

I love being a tax analyst! Knowing that the tax laws are always changing is fun and exciting for me! I truly do have a passion for taxes!

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Kfan
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Posted: 11 Aug 2011 at 12:29 \| IP Logged

I think that the passion argument is more applicable to academia
where the job is less structured and less schmooze oriented in most
cases. You probably need more passion to do abstract academic work
in an office by yourself.

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Kfan
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Posted: 11 Aug 2011 at 12:29 \| IP Logged

almurra1
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Posted: 11 Aug 2011 at 12:42 \| IP Logged

Well, your counter argument violates the assumptions that
we established in this scenario. I said they were
different only in their passion vs tolerance for
Accounting. Being passionate about sports as well as your
job are not mutually exclusive events. Also, I think your
definition of "passionate" is a stretch, rather, I think
it more aptly defines a nut job -- does anyone really
read JoA cover to cover?? I consider someone who has
passion for the area to be someone who enjoys going to
work every day and isn't watching the second hand tick
along until the clock strikes 5. But yes, maybe person A
does take on extra assignments or work longer hours
because they do enjoy what they are doing. Not to say
that person B won't take on the same assignments for any
combination of the reasons you proudly touted in your
previous post. In fact, paragraphs 4 and 5 of your post
are just beating a horse that's been dead a long time
now.
I did acknowledge that a person who just "tolerates" what
he does versus someone who really enjoys it is still able
to progress through the firm. While I think that your
definition of someone who is "passionate" about the area
is over the top, I still think that someone who really
enjoys his assignments is inevitably going to go farther
in the long run. Good luck to all of you who chose
Accounting because it was the path that made you gag the
least when you thought about doing it every day -- I
sincerely hope you find something that ranks on your
scale at something higher than just "tolerable". But then
again, this is just my opinion; I think we can all agree
that our freedom to have and voice our own is what makes
this country great.

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