For the love of work

By ESTELLE SARNEY

Don Ho got into real estate to make money. But he's still selling houses nine years later because he learned to love the job.

Georgina Newman, on the other hand, could earn much more, but gains too much satisfaction from her charity job to even think about chucking it in.

Both are doing the right thing, say career counsellors Linda Makhija and Lee Brodie. When it comes to choosing a job, money alone will not be enough to make you stick at it.

"But there's nothing wrong with choosing a job for high financial rewards that may allow you to pursue your dream work later," says Makhija, a psychologist and career counsellor with Life Coach. "I advise people to do what they love, and the money will follow."

If not enough of it follows to complete your happiness, get creative, says Brodie, a career change specialist with Career Dynamic. Find ways of earning more, through investments, selling your house every couple of years or owning a small business on the side.

At 26, Ho owned his own bakery and was earning about $50,000 a year. He aimed to retire at 50 with 10 houses and live off the earnings. But once he started buying property, he realised the unlimited earning potential and switched jobs. In his first year he earned $400,000. Since diversifying into property development, he's been earning more than $1 million a year for a 40-hour week, and claims he couldn't be happier.

"The first few years were hard work - 70-hour weeks - and it was only about the money. But after a while I began to get satisfaction out of getting the best results for clients, beating the competition and getting referrals.

"Now I take up new challenges every few months so I don't get bored, such as public speaking and writing books. My goal is to sell 365 houses in one year."

Ho believes his success has saved him 20 years of his life - he could have retired at 30 - and given him all the time he wants to spend with his wife and 20-month-old daughter.

"Earning good money has removed a lot of stress from my life. I never have to worry about my daughter being all right financially, and we have a lifestyle that is better than I ever expected."

Newman, 27, also feels richly rewarded by her work as a journalist for the Christian Children's Fund, even though she earns only about $35,000 a year.

"Sure, the lack of money does get me down sometimes. My fiance and I are trying to get a mortgage at the moment and it's not easy.

"But then I come to work and there's a letter from the child I sponsor in Brazil saying 'Thank you so much, I love you'. When someone asks what I did today I can say I helped a child go to school."

Volunteer work in England while completing her journalism degree ignited Newman's passion for making a difference in the lives of some of the poorest people in the world.

After five years travelling with aid organisations to bring stories back to a British audience, Newman moved to New Zealand six months ago with her Kiwi fiance, Christian Lee, who also works for CCF.

"I never spend long thinking about how little money I have, because I feel so privileged to be doing this kind of job," says Newman.

Makhija says people doing a job for love can use their skills and experience to earn more later. Teachers, for example, sometimes move into human resources.

And Brodie sees a lot of movement the other way from financially successful people in their 30s and 40s who change to teaching for more personal fulfilment.

"If you're in your 20s, I wouldn't lock yourself into anything," she says. "That's the decade to experiment, travel, do everything you want before knuckling down to a career in your 30s.

"By then you should know where your heart's leading you, and how to make some extra cash on the side if you want to."

If you're not sure ...

* Talk to a career counsellor, at school or an agency.

* Talk to the people who have jobs you admire and their contacts in their industry.

* Go through the Yellow Pages index, writing down anything that interests you, then look for common threads. If you don't have contacts in those areas, just ring up one of the companies and ask some questions.

* Read the book What Colour is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles.