UAE: How professionals are balancing their work and hobbies to monetise their passion

Khaleej Times

16-02-2025

Should compensation trump creativity? There is a debate among UAE creatives — there are those who attempt to blend their interests and monetise their hobbies to justify spending time on them. While some succeed at it, others say it defeats the inherent purpose.
'Monetising my work feels like a natural progression,' said Dubai resident Tuqa Al Ayoubi, noting the time and resources she put into photography meant that getting paid for her efforts was the next logical step.
A PR professional by trade, Ayoubi's love for photography started early. She told Khaleej Times: 'Growing up, I always had a camera in hand, always capturing moments big and small. It helps people see themselves in a way they might not have before.'
Ayoubi credited her Sophomore year social circle with truly bringing her work to fruition, saying it allowed her 'to preserve precious memories into beautiful, lasting creations.' Despite this emotional connection, as she poured more resources into her hobby, making money from it seemed natural.
Many UAE-based photographers agree with her sentiment as online photography groups have devolved into freelance photographers advertising their services.
Despite landing several paid gigs, Ayoubi said her free photoshoots with friends reminded her of why she fell in love with the hobby in the first place. 'It's easy to get swept up in the momentum of striving for professional success, leaving little room for personal passions,' she added.
Photography, however, took a backseat between nine-hour work days, four-hour commutes, and saving weekends for friends and family. Instead of forcing herself to turn her hobby into a side job, Ayoubi 'chose to take a step back rather than compromise the quality of my work,' as she plans to 'return to it when the timing feels right.'
Finding financial gain
After putting down her teaching credentials for the day, Furat Abdeljaber finds herself at home between the vocals of her choirs and the smashing boots of her Dabkeh group. Dabkeh is a Levantine folk dance.
The daughter of a Dabke instructor, Abdeljaber credits her father with passing his love for the Palestinian dance down to her and her siblings. Abdeljaber's current place of employment, the American University of Sharjah, is where she first sang professionally in 2019, although she began much earlier.
'Both singing and Dabke provide me with a sense of peace and fulfillment,' she said.
The adjunct professor admitted that she's been able to pursue both her hobbies because of her part-time work, 'I would rather work two part-time jobs and have time for personal interests than work full-time and risk burnout,' Abdeljaber added.
There had been times when she considered monetising her hobbies, particularly singing. The singer eventually decided against pursuing this path, saying, 'keeping the passion alive is far more important than pursuing financial gain.'
Abdeljaber emphasised the importance of having a creative outlet outside of work. She only paused her hobbies when circumstances made them physically impossible, such as studying abroad without access to a Dabke group.
The right balance
While Ayoubi and Abdeljaber chose to separate their creative outlets from their careers, others have embraced this mixture and thrived, albeit with certain modifications.
Aya Younis, a former teacher and current adjunct professor, has been drawing for as long as she can remember. For Younis, loving a movie or video game always meant creating an art piece dedicated to it. Once she got good enough at it, commissions began flowing in.
The 23-year-old said her hobby has been difficult to maintain with the added stress of work and hobby monetisation. She added that at the worst of times, her commissions and social media insights didn't just correlate to her success but became it.
Upon starting out as a teacher, Younis said she found herself neglecting her art, 'I denied myself the opportunity to creatively express myself and practice what I've always loved,' she said. Eventually, this burnout caused her to put it on pause altogether.
'I've often fallen victim to the mentality that success is only achieved through monetisation and that the only progress or achievement that matters is one that can be financially measured,' she said.
Still, balancing between creativity and business is an art in its own right. Huda Al Ayoubi, like Younis, is an illustrator, but instead of shunning the financial aspect of her hobby, she fully embraced it.
At 29 years old, Huda has turned her creative outlet into a source of income, working with companies such as Apple, MG Motors, and Adidas. The art director said the corporate rat race has conditioned people to believe that ' Everything you create and consider valuable can be seen as a potential opportunity.'
Despite it being her career, Huda's passion for art remains unchanged. 'it's a way to express myself, process feelings and ideas, and bond within my community. It still helps me work out my thoughts productively,' she said.
Both artists recommended shifting to a physical art medium, away from digital, to forcefully separate one's art from the digital 'hustle culture.'
While creativity can be financially lucrative, it doesn't have to be. Some might be able to turn it into careers or side hustles, but ultimately, art is a pursuit worth doing for its own sake.
Huda's final piece of advice for creatives is worth pondering for those who are worried about wasting their potential: ' It's normal to feel FOMO about missing that, even though there's no actual need to.'