Make Your Hobby Work for You

    讓你的業余愛好為你服務

    Do you have a hobby -- something you really enjoy doing in your spare time? Do you love gardening, taking care of animals, dancing, or hiking? Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could spend more time on your hobby and less time at work? Maybe it's not an either/or situation. Perhaps you can do both at the same time.

    你是否有業余愛好-在你的業余時間真正喜歡做的事情？你是否熱愛園藝，照顧動物，跳舞或者徒步旅行？你有沒有考慮過如果你可以在自己感興趣的事情上面花更多的時間，而在工作上花更少的時間，那會怎么樣？或許這不是一個非此即彼的情況。又或許你可以同時做到這樣的兩件事情。

    When choosing a career, one of the things you must consider are your interests. Why then do so many people not even think about their hobbies when a hobby is, in fact, an interest. Perhaps it's becauseeven Webster's Dictionary defines a hobby as "a pursuit outside one'sregular occupation" （Merriam-Webster Online）. Maybe this is a rule youshould break. After all, no one ever said your hobby had to stayseparate from your occupation. In addition people are usually veryskilled at their hobbies. The combination of interest and skill are very compelling reasons to choose a particular career.

    在擇業的時候，你必須要考慮的因素之一就是你的興趣。但是為什么那么多人當時都不考慮自己的興趣呢。可能是因為，即使在韋氏詞典上，對業余愛好的定義也是"在正規工作之外的追求".也許你該打破這條成規。畢竟，沒人說過你的興趣和工作應該絕對分開。另外，人們通常在自己感興趣的方面都做得很熟練。興趣和技巧的結合是選擇一個特定職業的充分理由。

    "Who's going to hire someone who loves making beaded jewelry?" you may ask yourself. Good question. Don't wait forsomeone to hire you. Start your own business. That may be the best wayto incorporate your hobby into your career. Those with hobbies thatinvolve creating things, i.e. jewelry, clothing, or pottery, may dowell to sell those items on their own. Before you go forward with your plans, though, you should find out whether being an entrepreneur is for you.

    你可能會這樣問自己"誰會雇傭一個熱愛制作珠寶首飾的人？"好問題。不要等著別人來雇傭你。開始自己創業吧。這可能是將你的興趣融合到工作中的最佳方式了。興趣涉及制造物品的，如珠寶，衣服，或陶器等的人，可以銷售自己制作的產品。但是，在你開始創業計劃之前，你應該先測試自己是否適合創業。

    Let'ssay you determine that running a small business isn't for you. You canstill turn your hobby into a career, but you may have to get some formal training. Let's go back to the person who loves making beaded jewelry. That person probably knows the latest jewelry styles, has an understanding of what styles look good on different people, and also isskilled in using the tools of the trade. A number of options exist forthat person. He or she could go to school to learn how to be a jewelrydesigner. Alternatively, that person could become a jewelry buyer for adepartment store or a salesperson in a jewelry store. He or she couldalso learn to become a jeweler by taking courses at a trade school orby learning on the job.

    假設你認為自己不適合創業的話，也仍然可以將興趣轉化為工作，但是首先你得接受一些正式的培訓。我們就再拿那個熱愛制作珠寶的人來說吧。那個人可能知道最新的珠寶類型，懂得不同的人適合佩戴哪種風格的珠寶，還擅長利用貿易工具。那么，現在這個人就有很多選擇了。他/她可以去學校學習如何成為珠寶設計師，或者去一家珠寶店當采購或銷售，他/她也可以通過培訓或工作實戰成為一名珠寶商。

    When you attempt to turn your hobby into a career don't forget to do your homework. Even though you may have enjoyed training your 34 parakeets to sing the National Anthem that doesn't mean you're cut out to be ananimal trainer. Be sure to research your career choice thoroughly.There may be aspects of it that just aren't for you. In that case,stick to your day job, as they say, and save your hobby for your free time.

    如果你打算將自己的興趣轉換為工作，不要忘記做好準備調查工作。即使你喜歡培訓你的34只長尾小鸚鵡唱國歌也不意味著你注定適合做一名馴獸師。確保對你選擇的職業做好了充分的調查研究。也許有的方面就不適合你，這樣的話，就堅持你原來的工作吧，像他們說的一樣，將業余愛好留在工作以外的時間吧。