Member Article

A Nation of Hobby Jobbers

ALMOST nine-tenths of Britons have considered taking up their hobby as a full time job, according to new research.

A survey of 1,005, published in The Hobbies, Dreams and Jobs Report, carried out by beabetteryoucourses.co.uk, found that 89% of Brits have considered making their pastime their full time job.

Sports-mad Brits are most likely to consider pursuing a career as a personal trainer (65%), with careers in photography (48%), writing (37%), fashion and styling (33%), and cooking and hospitality (30%) also popular amongst aspiring hobby-jobbers.

However just 3% of the population, (approximately 1,569,786 Brits) have followed through with their intention and made money from their hobby.

65% of Brits cite financial insecurity as the main reason for not pursuing a career in a field they have a genuine interest in.

A lack of job security also ranked as a concern, with 54% claiming this was a factor when converting hobbies into full time jobs.

Almost half (47%) were put off by social pressures from friends and family, whilst 1 in 3 (35%) felt too settled in their existing career to make the change to another industry.

Simon Bubb, managing director at www.beabetteryoucourses.co.uk, said: “Seeing just a small percentage of UK adults have switched industries to pursue their passion despite such a large amount considering the switch is disappointing. Most professions include a considerable amount of transferable skills so moving into a new sector doesn’t mean starting from square one.”

“Taking the plunge and starting a new career can be daunting, but with the right business guidance and support network it is not a difficult task. Taking a considered look at the industry and what training required are sensible first steps.”

Interestingly, women and those aged 25–34 were most likely to embark on a new endeavour.

Be a Better You is the UK’s number one personal trainer course provider, and offers REPs accredited personal trainer courses and fitness instructor courses around the country, as well as online at www.beabetteryoucourses.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ursula Hutchinson .