Every graduating class hears the same advice. Follow your passion, find work you love so much that it does not feel like work. The promise is simple: identify one ideal role and build your life around it.For many students, this idea becomes a goal even before their careers begin. Yet a growing number of professionals who pursued a single dream job talk about a different outcome. Burnout, financial strain, a narrowing of options. The pursuit of one perfect title, rather than ensuring fulfilment, can create structural risks.Before students organise their education and early career around one defining role, it is important to look at the three traps embedded in the passion narrative.

The passion tax

Some industries are widely viewed as creative, meaningful or prestigious. Fashion, media, gaming and non profits attract large numbers of applicants each year. When demand for a role far exceeds supply, employers face little pressure to raise salaries or improve working conditions.This imbalance produces what economists describe as a passion premium or passion tax. The more desirable a role appears, the more willing candidates are to accept lower pay and longer hours in exchange for entry. The cost is not explicit. It is absorbed through reduced income, limited savings and weaker work life balance.For students with education loans or family responsibilities, this trade off can have long term consequences. Chasing fulfilment in the short term may restrict financial stability later. A career strategy built solely on passion often underestimates this economic reality.

The identity trap

Students at 22 often feel certain about what defines them. Early success reinforces that identity. Networks, internships and resumes also begin to align around a single label.But professional identity evolves. Interests shift, and personal priorities change. The difficulty arises when a job title becomes the core of self definition. A title is static, but curiosity is not.If a student builds an entire profile around one narrow role, pivoting later becomes costly. Networks may not extend beyond one field. Skills may be too specialised. The role once imagined as a destination can begin to feel restrictive.A long career rarely follows a straight path. Students who equate passion with permanence may struggle when growth demands change.

The burnout trap

When a hobby becomes a livelihood, it acquires deadlines, performance reviews and revenue targets. The activity that once offered relaxation becomes a source of pressure.Every profession includes routine work and difficult periods. In a dream job, however, dissatisfaction can feel personal. If this is what one loves, why does it feel stressful? The expectation of constant fulfilment creates an additional burden.

An alternative approach

If a single dream job is fragile, what offers greater durability? One option is to shift focus from titles to skills. Instead of defining success as becoming a Marketing Director, a student might aim to master persuasive writing, data analysis and project management. These competencies travel across industries.A portfolio of transferable skills provides flexibility. It allows movement between roles as interests evolve. It reduces dependence on one employer or one industry. It links professional value to capability rather than designation.For students entering uncertain labour markets, this adaptability is an asset. Careers now extend across decades and multiple sectors. Building a base of skills rather than anchoring identity to one role creates room to adjust without starting over.Passion still matters. But as a long term strategy, passion alone is insufficient. A resilient career is less about discovering one perfect label and more about developing capabilities that open multiple paths.Students who build options instead of chasing a single title may find that fulfilment follows, not from one dream job, but from the freedom to pursue several over a lifetime.