[mordrax]

I think this post has less about passion than about youth and naievity.

If you truly enjoy what you do, the value you receive from that shouldn't just be measured in dollar terms.

I'm passionate about what I do and I do it during work, after hours and on the weekend. But during work, I get paid a sensible salary to support my family. At home, I get to explore my interests.

Passion is fuel, wisdom is direction. Don't confuse the two.

[dikdik]

This may not be a problem in tech as salaries are higher than most industries. But working in life sciences/healthcare without a professional certification (MD, nurse, etc) and you can easily enjoy the 8-10 hours a day when you are at work while the rest of your life sucks.

All the passion in the world does not make up for the stress of barely paying off your student loans or still feeling guilty every time you go to the grocery store when you are in your late 20's. The value you are not collecting does not turn into rainbows, happiness, and sunshine, it just goes to your boss or your boss's boss or into the shareholders pockets.

My experience in healthcare shows corporations will push the "look at all the good things we are contributing to" mantra to their employees while they turn around and fight laws that would reduce medicare reimbursements (it's possible it is a sensible/good thing to do, but it wasn't even a conversation that was allowed to be had).