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But how about if your hobbies are impossible to pursue on the weekend. I like to take spur of the moment trips. It is impossible to get a real good trip on a 2 or even three day weekend.
In addition, it is more exciting to travel during the weekdays than holidays. Also most modeling jobs are during the week like a 9-5 so it would be hard to do this full time and have a steady office job.
I only like the "normal" hobbies only after doing and exciting job. But overall, I not into just going to the bar or dinner on the weekends.
That is not interesting to me. But I will agree that excitement does not pay the bills sometimes, and I have a decent retirement fund because of office jobs.
Well, as a former model, I know about the issues with timing. Shoots are usually in the middle of the day. But if you're looking to be a model, you're probably hot enough that you can make money from your looks in other ways:
You can work the OTHER kind of 9-5 like my future sister-in-law does. She makes $1,000+ a night in tips working as a Bottle Service girl at a high-end bar. It pays to be ridiculously hot.
Plus, in an office job, you can take "spur-of-the-moment" trips once you're established enough. You can "work from home" from a hotel in Santa Barbara Wine country by responding to emails on your cellphone...and you'll actually have the money to do so because you have a real job.
Plenty of people can make a living in the arts, but it indeed requires "talent," which is not God-given but can be developed through practice. Working in an office requires no talent and no real skill. How can anyone feel satisfied not truly giving their best to the world?
Most people drink and watch TV. Some of us don't have a choice. I tried the liberal arts thing, but the opportunities to make money are just too few and far between. When you get into your late 20s, get married, or start feeling that itch to have a house and a family, those 9-5 jobs don't look so bad.
I worked retail, where my hours were all over the place. I could never have a life because my schedule never matched up with family or friends. I did an 8-430 job this summer and loved the schedule. When you get older that is something that is important, being able to see family and friends, plan for events, and not get home super late.
Also, most of us don't live in LA or NYC or Chicago, so there really isn't much of a market for art or writers or anything like that. And thanks to the internet, most of that can be done long distance for pennies which further undercuts our ability to survive.
9 to 5 office jobs provide a level of stability, predictability and routine. Not everyone has the hustle in them to be their own boss and make money on their own terms. Being self-employed is only cut out for a minority of people. Most people rely on the routine of having a job. Having a big open schedule to do whatever you want is a scary thing for most people. Many people who lose their jobs quickly descend into alcohol and drug addiction because they are not good at managing their own time to be productive people by any stretch.
Also, it is quite hard to make money off the arts in many arenas. For example, making a living off music is damn near impossible these days because in the era of the internet, music is free. Also, unless you are being pushed by the mainstream music machine, your music probably ins't going to be heard by more than a few thousand people even if its really good. And the catch 22 is that having your music promoted by record companies means that they will be taking the lion share of all the money you earn.
Trying to make money as a visual artist is even harder. Unless you are a web developer because every company needs a website in this day in age. My friend from high school is a starving cartoonist. He has a lot of hustle and passion and is constantly drawing comics and cartoons everywhere he goes in his little sketchpad. He charges hundreds of dollars a piece on his artwork. Yet, he probably makes less than minimum wage despite all his ambition, drive and gumption.
As a visual artist you could make money by starting your own clothing business. Where I'm from in the Bay Area, people are big supporters of local musicians, artists and independent neighborhood clothing lines. But not everywhere in America is like this. Most places in America are clothed by Walmart or Ralph Lauren.
But ultimately, you need to spend money to make money. Especially if you are going to make money in the arts. If you are a digital artist, you need the latest computer and computer design programs. If you are musician, you need to record your music and music videos professionally. But spending and having money being necessary in order to make money is not limited to entrepreneurship. Just to get a job these days you are expected to at least have a well maintained insured car with gas in it at all times and a college degree among other things. Someone who is truly broke without a dollar to their name is probably going to stay that way unless they do something drastic.
Last edited by LunaticVillage; 10-17-2014 at 11:11 AM..
Yeah, I feel you. I'm trying to discover whether anyone legitimately wants one of these jobs or it is just a practical route to financial security. I know not everyone will end up doing what they love, or even like.
We joke in my office that no one EVER sets out to do what we do. (Public Procurement.) No one has ever said, "Gee, when I grow up, I want to oversee the bid and RFP process for a transportation agency!" It's a job you end up in because that's where life went.
I'd love to write full-time. I've had a few articles published, as well as a couple of short stories in obscure lit mags, and just like everyone else, I'm working on my Great American Novel. But the day job pays the mortgage, buys the food, put the kid through college, and provides a pension.
I did it for a short period of time. It is a lot of pressure to keep something up and running with little risk. Especially when you have a family. I realized I have no desire to work for myself and have that much pressure on my shoulders.
Honestly, society is strongly biased towards 9-5 employees. Just try renting an apartment, or even getting on a lease with roommates -- they are very skittish of people who aren't the status quo salaried employees.
Even banks. The bank I'm with requires a minimum balance of $2000 at all times in your checking account, unless you're on direct deposit -- favoring employees.
Even regular people think of starting a business as a side hobby, rather than the full-time commitment required for success. It's as if being a traditional employee is the 'meat and potatoes' of life, and everything else is a side dish.
Given that the world is set up strictly for 9-5 cubicle employees, I'm not surprised that people would feel the need to conform to that.
It is so much "cooler" to go into the arts in some capacity or start your own business, and much more rewarding. What motivates people even to consider working the typical cubical job for a for-profit organization like an insurance agency?
I don't understand why people would choose this career path over working for themselves or doing something that benefits humanity, like law, politics, academia, or medicine.
I'm assuming you are very young and inexperienced. I have one of those un-cool office jobs that require no talent.
It only requires a graduate degree in engineering, many years of technical experience and the most satifying part of all is I get to see the products I help develop and design every day on the streets. And by the way it pays 6 figures.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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My "9-5" job is actually 6:30-2:30, and my direct reports (who have cubicles) all work different hours, and have either 1/2 hour or hour lunch at their preference:
7:30-3:30
8-4
9-5:30
9:30-5:00
10-6:30
Others here work 4-10s, or 4-8s and 4-10s with every other Monday or Friday off.
I started here after 16 years running my own business, and find it nice to have a regular pay check and great benefits, only working 40 hours a week. Before I may have made more some months but others barely made the payroll, and most weeks it was more like 60+ hours. On the artistic side, I do a few different things such as stained glass and woodworking that I have sold online or by consignment on the side to satisfy the need to be creative and have a little extra vacation money.
I think you have an incredibly unrealistic idea of what work is, and especially what any job in the arts is.
I was a photographer for about a decade, and by most measures was successful at it. I had many gallery shows, was included in many museum exhibits, and received a number of grants. Even with all of that, I had to do some commercial work to pay rent. The amount of time I actually spent doing photography was about 5% of my time. The rest was spent marketing myself (to clients, galleries, etc.), networking, doing accounting, scheduling, cleaning (office, studio and equipment), writing and rewriting artist's statement, and doing legal work (contracts and usage rights).
When I switched to a full time job I more than doubled what I made every year, and nearly doubled the amount of time I had available to do actual photography.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cryinbaby
How can anyone feel satisfied not truly giving their best to the world?
Well, as a former model, I know about the issues with timing. Shoots are usually in the middle of the day. But if you're looking to be a model, you're probably hot enough that you can make money from your looks in other ways:
You can work the OTHER kind of 9-5 like my future sister-in-law does. She makes $1,000+ a night in tips working as a Bottle Service girl at a high-end bar. It pays to be ridiculously hot.
Plus, in an office job, you can take "spur-of-the-moment" trips once you're established enough. You can "work from home" from a hotel in Santa Barbara Wine country by responding to emails on your cellphone...and you'll actually have the money to do so because you have a real job.
Eye candy is an illusion as you can't eat it. Hot only works if you are hands on or slipping $$ bills into a G string. Drunken men and young boys may drool over but when you mature it is no different than the poster of Farah Fawcett from back in the 70s.
Hey, I was young once, I know.
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