Contrary to the dreary commonsense image of work, some people find it immensely appealing, even when it results in a meager living. A significant part of the explanation for this anomaly is love for the core activity of the job, such that the typical participant would do it without pay were it not for the need to make a living. Certainly, that person does not despair the resumption of work following a holiday. In other words, in this sense, all these occupational devotees are amateurs.

From this backdrop, the idea of occupational devotion, or devotee work, was conceptualized (Stebbins 2004/2014) and incorporated later in the serious leisure perspective as one of the two serious pursuits (Stebbins 2012). The other pursuit is serious leisure itself, with both forms being anchored in activities that are immensely appealing and fulfilling. Despite such desirable qualities the serious pursuits constitute a minority of all work and leisure activities, these two domains being dominated by disagreeable work and hedonic casual leisure activities.

The devotee occupations serve as full-time or part-time livelihoods for people fortunate enough to have found them. Such work has so far been observed to exist in four sectors of the economy: the liberal professions, consulting occupations, skilled trades and small business proprietors. In ways to be set out in the coming chapters, devotee work roots in serious leisure, and many participants in the latter have no desire to pursue the former. Moreover, some of those who do “quit their day job” to try to make a living at their leisure passion fail to achieve this dream and are forced to return to pure amateur, hobbyist or career volunteer status. That is, these aspirants fail to make enough money to live as they need to, whether at a level of poverty or nearpoverty (e.g., the starving artist), passable living or comfortable living (Stebbins 2004/2014, 92–93).

Furthermore, neither type of serious pursuit offers an unalloyed life of positiveness. Both are hugely attractive, even while the enthusiasts invariably face some costs and unpleasant requirements that weigh against the powerful rewards. So it is that, unlike casual leisure, perseverance and effort number among the defining qualities of the serious pursuits.