Just to clarify, I ADORE writing my novel! I'm madly in love with my characters and the Norse people in general. But it wasn't a hobby at first. It was a practical project designed to keep me sane and to allow me to stay home with the kids. It's first and foremost a job I can live with.
OTOH, I studied lit because I had always loved to read. I decided to go for my Ph.D. and become a professor so that I could get paid to read. Sounds great, right? But during grad school, I read so much for work that I quickly began to shun bookstores and libraries. Books were not for fun anymore. Even now, some 10 years later, I don't read for pleasure like I used to. I enjoy books once I'm buried in them, but I'm not nearly as motivated as I used to be to open the book in the first place. I think that's sad.
Better to find a workable career that you can come to love, I think, then to risk killing a perfectly good lifelong hobby. Though I know that's contrary to much of the wisdom out there, it's my take.
