It is becoming more and more difficult for people to get a job without having a college degree. But it seems simple enough, right? Go to college, graduate with a degree in whatever it is you want to do, and start working. Unfortunately, the ideal of a college education is not as unflawed as it has once been, and that is because of rising tuition rates. Just within the last five years, tuition has risen 27%, and is continuing to rise every year. Students today are graduating college with tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, and are expected to pay it off within the first ten years after they graduate.

For those, like myself, attending a 60k per-year university pursuing an education in communications and English with a dream of becoming an editor for a publishing company, a job that typically starts outwith a low pay, you have probably felt the pressure to pick a more sustainable, higher-paying career path. Not even to live more comfortably, but simply to be able to pay off your debt. And while living comfortably and being able to afford that bill every month is important, it is also important not to completely let go of your dream.

There are ways to incorporate your passion into your work/life. Realistically, many students are going to have to put their dreams on hold if their dreams are going to prevent them from being able to pay back their student loans and to live on their own. That does not necessarily mean your dream is dead for good. Depending on what someone is passionate about, there are ways to incorporate this passion into a temporary higher paying job. For example, as an aspiring writer, working for a company in a marketing or communications department involves a lot of writing. It might not be the kind of writing you typically like to do, but it is still writing. For those whose passion is along the more artistic side, or something that cannot be incorporated into any other kind of job, keep doing what you love on the side. You will survive having a job you don’t love until you are financially stable enough to pursue your passion.

Your job is a big part of your life. After graduation, your job is what you are going to be devoting at least 40 hours of your week to. Completely dropping your dream and employing yourself into a job strictly based on how well it pays will make you miserable. If you do not enjoy what you do, your days will go by slower, and you will be unhappy and later on, have regrets. Try to find a happy medium, or a compromise. Promise yourself that if you are unable to do what you love right now, you will get back to it at some point.

You were born with a gift. Acknowledging the fact that you were born with a specific set of skills that not everybody is gifted with is extremely important. There are only so many people out there who can do what you do, and do it as well as you do. Not pursing your gift serves as an injustice to the world. People are born with a purpose, and ignoring that purpose permanently is an extreme waste of talent.

Responsibly, go after that dream job. If going after that job is going to cause you to struggle to make end’s meat, come up with a new, temporary plan. If you want it bad enough, you’ll get there.