How do you go about turning something you like into a living?
Careers advice often focuses on academia, how well you perform in exams and which school subjects can set you up for a satisfying career. Hobbies are often overlooked, but these can hold the key to an exciting future. You can do something you love while getting paid for it. Sound good? Read on…
Make Up Maestro
Do you spend hours perfecting make up looks, learning from tutorials online and applying your friends’ false eyelashes before a night out? Can you contour like a true Kardashian?
If you know your MAC from your Maybelline and have a great eye for a colour palette, a career as a make up artist is a great option to make money from your hobby.
You could train up to style make up for TV or film, perhaps specialising in special effects (hiya zombie make up!) or work in a beautician’s fixing people’s faces before a night on the tiles. If you work in a department store you can also earn commission on your sales and get incredible discounts on products.
The Academy of Make-Up Scotland provides all kinds of courses in make up, ranging from theatre make up to Asian bridal make up.
Learn to Coach
If you love sport but don’t quite have what it takes to make it as a professional athlete, you can still turn the hobby you love into a living by becoming a sports coach.
By studying an HND in Coaching and Development at Glasgow Clyde College, you’ll be trained in sports coaching theory, anatomy and physiology, ethics and first aid in your first year.
In the second year you’ll learn about sports mechanics, fitness conditioning, injuries and nutrition to set you up for a career training and supporting sportspeople.
Make it in Music
Gig-goers with a great ear for new music can turn their ‘like’ into a living by pursuing a career in music promotion.
Whether you want to organise festivals or help acts release records, your passion of music can power you into a fun and rewarding career.
By studying Commercial Music on a professionally accredited course, music lovers can learn all about the business side of the industry. Artist representation, music promotion and tour management are all involved in this course, setting you up for a life spent going to gigs and uncovering new talent.
You’ll also learn about sound engineering, production and performance. Interested? Check out the University of the West of Scotland Commercial Music course.
If you want an insight into the life of a music booker, check out our interview with DF Concerts’ Craig Johnston here.
Are you the next Masterchef?
Have you got skills in the kitchen that would put Heston Blumenthal and Mary Berry to shame?
Perhaps you like rustling up dishes for your friends, or you’re the chief cupcake maker for school bake sales. Honing your cooking and baking skills could lead to a promising career as a chef, hotelier or specialist cake maker.
You can take courses in sugar craft and cake decoration or study cooking at a local college to begin your career in food, turning that passion for great cuisine into a profitable career.
For a further insight into life as a chef, check out our interview with Black Dove chef Stephen Crawford.
What’s your hobby? Tell us over on Twitter @sourcemag or on the Source Facebook and we’ll point you in the direction of how you can turn it into a career.