How can you turn your passions and interests into a job?

Jaydan: Growing up, my hobby and passion was programming and I enjoyed it because of the creativity it gives you and the sense of satisfaction when you solve a problem.

Brandina: When I was a child, I loved to colour and draw – whatever I could do with my hands basically. I just loved to be able to create something just out of my own mind.

Rebecca: My passion for dogs developed from a very, very young age. My parents say that I’ve been obsessed with dogs ever since I first learnt what a dog was.

Jaydan: I was always on a computer, to the point where my family couldn’t get to use it. From there I was kind of making changes to games through code, and erm, it kind of spiralled from there.

Brandina: I liked to paint, I liked to draw, I liked to colour, just because I could create whatever I wanted it to be.

Rebecca: When my parents would ask: "what you want to be when you’re older?" my reply would be: "I want to be a dog!"

Rebecca: It kind of became a bit of a hobby. Like, in school, I’d get my friends to quiz me on different dog breeds.

Brandina: So, now, I'm a full-time creative artist.

Jaydan: So, I’m a software engineer.

Rebecca: Now, I’m doing an apprenticeship in dog grooming.

Brandina: So, I do a lot of different art forms. So I paint, I draw, I make crochet. I also make jewellery. I’m also a photographer.

Jaydan: All of the work I’m doing with coding and problem solving ultimately ends up in a satellite being launched in space.

Rebecca: So, we have students come in and learn how to groom. So, my role within the school is I assist the tutors, and I also groom alongside the students.

Brandina: Those skills that I used when I was young, I have now brought into my career.

Jaydan: This is such a great job for me because who I am as a person is someone who tries to figure out how things work. I like a good challenge, especially problem solving. There's kind of a great deal of satisfaction I get when I solve a problem and, so, naturally, space has lots of problems which is a great fit for me.

Rebecca: My motivations for doing the job – a massive one for me is seeing the students develop.

Brandina: I think it’s so important to have a career that’s based on passion and a hobby, because you enjoy it more.

Jaydan: You get a great sense of satisfaction doing something which you love. You put more effort into it and it doesn’t really feel like work.

Jaydan: You’ll have good days and bad days still, but, the good will definitely outweigh the bad if it’s something that you’re really passionate about.

Rebecca: If you do something that you love, then it won’t feel like work, so I feel very privileged and very lucky that I get to follow my passion. And that passion is something that I get to explore every single day.