day job

英 [ˈdeɪ dʒɒb]

美 [ˈdeɪ dʒɑːb]

n. 日常的有薪工作; (白天的)正职

习惯用语

don't give up the day job

别放弃白天的正职（别放弃老本行去尝试没有把握的新事物）
used to tell sb that they should continue doing what they are used to, rather than trying sth new which they are likely to fail at
So you want to be a writer? Well my advice is, don't give up the day job.
这么说你想成为一个作家了？得了，我劝你不要放弃老本行。

牛津词典

noun

日常的有薪工作；（白天的）正职
the paid work that sb normally does

柯林斯词典

PHRASE 不要放弃正职
If someone tells younot to give up the day job, they are saying that they think you should continue doing what you are good at, rather than trying something new which they think you will fail at.
1. It's a kind way of telling aspiring novelists, 'Don't give up the day job'.
  这是劝诫立志成为小说家者“不要丢了正业”的一种温和方式。

双语例句

Like the others, his main reason for attending the training session is to help his day job.
米德沃斯来上这门课的主要原因与其他人一样，都是为了方便自己的日常工作。
Getting it down in words was very hard, even though I considered the act of explanation my day job.
即便我想用文字解释我日常的工作都很难。
Nothing wrong with thinking about the future, but some enterprise architects have got a day job as well.
思考将来没有错，但是某些企业架构师也已经找到了一份日常工作。
It's safer to stay at your day job.
停留在你现在的工作上比较安全。
In her day job, she advises small businesses on problem solving and growing profits.
她的本职工作是为小企业提供咨询，包括如何解决问题和实现利润增长。
The disadvantages are also clear: if you get caught by your boss misusing resources or getting distracted from the day job, there will be trouble; and a business run in your spare time will never receive the focus and devotion it needs to be truly successful.
劣势也是明显的：如果老板发现你滥用资源或者不专注于平时的工作，你就会有麻烦；你利用业余时间经营的生意永远得不到企业真正成功所需的关注和投入。
Eventually he managed to line up a few retailers to stock the loom, and quit his day job.
终于，吴昌俊说服了几家零售商购买彩虹织机，然后他辞去了工作。
Don't give up your day job.
不要放弃你的白天正式工作。
It is the main area of responsibility in your day job.
这也是在你日常工作中最主要的部分。
And my day job is that I study ancient Greek tragedy and then try to teach it to undergraduates.
白天我研习古希腊悲剧，晚上把这些教给本科生。