career and money

Last night on the hike, I was asked “what do you do?” meaning for work. This always leads me to saying I have jobs and a career. After briefly explaining some of the jobs I said my career was as an artist. There was a comment that I was doing art as a hobby, and the implication that a career should produce money.

I calmly stated that my art practice was much more than a hobby and that is was definitely my career. This led me to question if career was defined as making money. Then I said if making money was a criterion for a career, I was changing the definition of career.

I know for many a career does involve making money, and that is fine for them. But, just so we're all clear, from the Wikitionary website:
Noun
Singular career; Plural careers
One's calling in life; a person's occupation
An individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan.

NO MENTION OF MONEY……FABULOUS!

Because of this dialogue I looked up the definition of career. And after all these years of dedicating myself to an art practice career, I was not wrong. Making money does not have to play any part of ones career.

Nice, how a little clarification can make one feel just fabulous. And if my art practice makes money or not, it's still my career.