[baege]

We've all heard the advice that you should aim for a career connected to a passion of yours.

I've always thought about a career related to cars but I've sometimes wondered if doing "car stuff" all the time would kill the passion a little?

For those of you who have careers in cars, does it feed or smother the passion?

[E93_Savage]

Im currently trying to get into the machine shop at work. Free training and free shop time for personal projects if time permits. So i guess you can say its an added bonus.

Ive worked at non car places and you kinda lose a bit of enthusiasm. No one to talk cars no one to dig/roll race after work. Honestly gets boring but that depends on how much you love cars.

[Burrcold]

I used to work as a Project Manager for Toyota/Lexus (manufacturing side not dealership level). I was part of new model development, which was always interesting to see and work on vehicles that wouldn't be released in 5-7 years in some cases. It never killed my passion for cars, but it did just become "any other job" so I stepped away after almost 10 years and entered the commercial real estate investment and development game. I like that I have a separation in my interests now, and the fact that my new (not new I've been doing it for 10 years now) gig pays SO much more. Lol

[BMWCCA1]

I've sold BMWs for a living since 1976, and still do. During that time I started a BMWCCA chapter, served on the national BMWCCA board for over a decade, and was even chosen as chairman of the International Council of BMW Clubs in Munich. My BMW and car and motorcycle interests started earlier than that and haven't diminished. There's never enough time for my various hobbies, but I'm hopeful I'll get so frustrated dealing with BMW, BMWNA, dealership management, and the modern BMW customers that I'll find a good reason to retire and get caught up on my projects.

At one time I had a service manager who was also a champion SCCA racer and race-car constructor. He always warned against letting your work ruin a good hobby. He stayed active earning his living around cars until his death last year.

[KennyFSU]

I don't like mixing my passion with my career, seems to suck the life out of the hobby but it depends on the person.

[celsdogg]

Originally Posted by KennyFSU

I don't like mixing my passion with my career, seems to suck the life out of the hobby but it depends on the person.

totally agree. For me it sucked.

I love tech so i work in IT. for years during the middle of my career id come home and be disgusted with technology so i wouldnt touch it outside work.

but, i think it sucked because it was IT which is all based around companies using tech and computers to help them make money. there are so many more technology based careers and any one of them probably wouldnt have sucked the life out of it like IT does.

So i guess it depends on the individual and the particular type of work and how they mix.

[jmack]

Originally Posted by celsdogg

totally agree. For me it sucked.

I love tech so i work in IT. for years during the middle of my career id come home and be disgusted with technology so i wouldnt touch it outside work.

but, i think it sucked because it was IT which is all based around companies using tech and computers to help them make money. there are so many more technology based careers and any one of them probably wouldnt have sucked the life out of it like IT does.

So i guess it depends on the individual and the particular type of work and how they mix.

Same here. 10 years in IT and I've pretty much become a luddite. I've lost all interest in tech, moved to the boonies, and my hobbies are now all physical like carpentry, home improvement, sustainable gardening, and cars.

[chassis]

I have a similar story as @Burrcold. I worked for a car company then for a major supplier. Fun to see future products, and then to see your work on the road. It didn’t diminish my car enthusiasm.

It did, however, open my eyes to the fact that the auto industry is low growth, low profit, competitive to an unhealthy degree and not a good business to be in, from an investment point of view.

I work in other areas now. My car enthusiasm hasn’t waned. I advise against working for one of the majors unless it is at a senior executive level.

[celsdogg]

Originally Posted by jmack

Same here. 10 years in IT and I've pretty much become a luddite. I've lost all interest in tech, moved to the boonies, and my hobbies are now all physical like carpentry, home improvement, sustainable gardening, and cars.

yeah, same here. i love working on my cars. I have a list next to me now with everything i want to get done this summer on them.

growing up, my family was actually hands on. We did our own work on everything instead of bringing them to a shop. I actually hated it and always said I'd go to a mechanic when I was older.

then i got older and i love to do it myself. the nice thing about my situation is when something i am fixing is not working out, i step back and take my time. sometimes i leave it until the next day or weekend. it wasn't like that when i was a kid. there was pressure because we needed to car for my parents to get to work the next day. the pressure was what i hated.

so i have often thought about switching to being a mechanic or similar. but then the customer will want there car back within a reasonable amount of time; that same pressure to hurry up like when i was a kid. that'd kill it for me.

one other difference from when i was a kid to now was that i always get the tool that makes the job easy. it is often attainable and i have time to get it.

[spazzyfry123]

Find something similar but not directly involved.

As an example, I got into heavy industry power transmission at the OEM manufacturing level. If you like cars, you like mechanical things. I started as an engineer and worked my way up. Something satisfying about working with gear sets and bearings to satisfy an internal interest in mechanical things, but wouldn’t burn me out on a hobby.

[FC4]

Originally Posted by baege

We've all heard the advice that you should aim for a career connected to a passion of yours.

That's a guaranteed path to being poor and killing your passion. But, hey...someone's gotta keep Etsy in business.

[syd34]

I came across this video recently and thought it would be relevant to this discussion.

[Moflow]

I worked for Turn 10 (Forza games) for a few years, people definitely got burned out on that job, but I don’t think a single person on my team lost any of their passion for automobiles over that time. Corporate politics? Sure. But the actual subject matter we were working on? Not a chance!

[W///]

Depends on the person. I'm in the car industry and very happy to wake up everyday to work on stuff that I enjoy. At the same time, I also know that the car industry is moving further and further away from the cars that I love. However I'm able to separate between work, and the fact that I still have some fun toys at home (i.e my hobby) if that makes sense. Its enough of a cushion.

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

Originally Posted by baege

We've all heard the advice that you should aim for a career connected to a passion of yours.

I've always thought about a career related to cars but I've sometimes wondered if doing "car stuff" all the time would kill the passion a little?

For those of you who have careers in cars, does it feed or smother the passion?

I have a dream job that's connected to a passion of mine (I'm an audiophile working for a legendary loudspeaker manufacturer), and my passion is anything but smothered. Quite the opposite actually.

[Emilime75]

I'm in commercial A/V integration. Early on in life, I was a mechanic and then a carpenter. A/V was a passion of mine since my early teens and and I loved everything about it, it was my #1 hobby. About 10 years ago I decided I was tired of carpentry and made a career change into A/V. Now when I come home, i.e. walk out of my home office for the day, A/V is just about the last thing I want to think about and I'd much rather spend an hour/2/3 in the garage either working on a car or a wood working project.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by Dog Face Pony Soldier

(I'm an audiophile working for a legendary loudspeaker manufacturer)

Which manufacturer, if you don't mind?

I don't own quite as many speakers as I do BMWs . . . but then I'm counting speakers as pairs, not individually! It was my hobby even before cars and bikes.

[Glen e]

In the car business, if you work on the retail side it can become a very crushing depressing situation because of the long hours and the way that employees are treated. If you work on the corporate side, it is different because the hours are like any other white-collar job and you can remain passionate about your hobbies. I spent time on both sides, finally retiring from BMW of NA. for 18 years, during that time, I got to see a lot , and do a lot with Bmw and it never crushed my soul.

[W///]

Originally Posted by Glen e

In the car business, if you work on the retail side it can become a very crushing depressing situation because of the long hours and the way that employees are treated. If you work on the corporate side, it is different because the hours are like any other white-collar job and you can remain passionate about your hobbies. I spent time on both sides, finally retiring from BMW of NA. for 18 years, during that time, I got to see a lot , and do a lot with Bmw and it never crushed my soul.

Excellent point about there being many sides to the car industry.

I will also say there are times it's hard to separate being an engineer and having a passion for older M cars, as the direction of the car industry in general is not going the way I'd like to see. I understand I'm very much in the small minority compared to the general population.

[G3min1]

I have always loved cars, and now as an adult I am a transportation engineer. Now while i am not directly working with cars per say, I am definitely helping with roadway designs, traffic analysis, and other aspects that the normal person wouldn't think to think about.

I read crash reports, articles on connected vehicles, and stay up to date to all the new safety protocols and try to incorporate them into my work to make roads safer, and i will tell you it has not put a damper on my love of cars one bit. It kinda gives me a sneak peak to where not to drive and where i can find some curvy rods to hit up after work haha.

[BeEmVe]

A friend just retired from Ford as a mechanical (stress) engineer. He certainly enjoyed wiring up Explorers with sensors, then crashing them.

[GenXer]

I worked for General Motors for 13 years and I haven't gotten over my addiction for vehicle. I always have at least one new GM product and some other brand on the side. I didn't take it to work of course. You just can't keep eating meatloaf and wienerschnitzel everyday. Sometimes you have a hankering for some sushi.

I just appreciate the thought and incredible amount of work put into a car from start to finish.