Recently I have been slugging through my workdays unmotivated and dying for the weekend. I know.... me and everyone else, right? Well I got to thinking about the possibility of being not so much happy, but fulfilled by my job. Personally, I graduated from Tyler School of Art with a BFA in Fine Arts/Painting and a head full of optimism about finding a job where my creativity and art skills could help me be a part of something special. Didn't quite pan out the way I had planned professionally, but it's actually been great personally. I have an awesome wife and three beautiful kids, a modest house and the kind of personal satisfaction most people would kill for. It's just those 8 hours a day that are sucking the life out of me. I could actually deal with the sacrifice of my professional life if I were making decent money for my time, but this month to month struggle has got me thinking it may be time to fly. (By the way I am a trade painter, and it's not because I love the irony.)
My question is first, does anyone out there really enjoy their work? I was raised very blue collar so the concept of enjoying your work is still very foreign to me. I am the first in my family to go to college though, so I always thought it would make my folks really proud if I could break the cycle of hard labor and be the first to really enjoy the American dream. You know, do what I want to do and get paid well enough to live comfortably. By the way, the idea of talking about this aloud is even hard. I live around a lot of tough nuts that don't appreciate my eclectic free thinking about employment.
Secondly, does anyone out there have a job that has to do with conceptualizing/creativity or art in general? I never had a chance to take advantage of my schools resources for job placement because I was very involved with finding a job and apartment for my daughter and wife. (She was born during my senior year.) I would love to hear what's involved because as sad as it sounds I don't know what I want to be. I'm game for outside the box ideas to, I just want to use my brain and creativity when I am at work.
Third, Is this unrealistic or selfish? Like I said, I'm a happy guy. I may have no money but I do have a lot of love and I'll make that trade any day. Is it too much to ask to have both though? I don't want a ton of money, just enough to fix the car when it breaks and start saving for the kids college. It's really more about personal satisfaction with my profession that I would be after. A couple extra bucks than I make now would do fine.
Please feel free to shoot off anything you would like in response to this. Explain your job to me, tell me anything. Like I said I can't go around talking to my friends about this because they always make me feel like I think I'm special for even considering anything bigger. We are a hard people over here and we keep our dreams to ourselves. I think any dialogue on the subject could be very therapeutic for me. Either way I feel like I am at the threshold of a big change and I would love a chance to feel less awkward about it. I love informed decisions. For good or ill, thanks for letting me clear my brain out.
My question is first, does anyone out there really enjoy their work? I was raised very blue collar so the concept of enjoying your work is still very foreign to me. I am the first in my family to go to college though, so I always thought it would make my folks really proud if I could break the cycle of hard labor and be the first to really enjoy the American dream. You know, do what I want to do and get paid well enough to live comfortably. By the way, the idea of talking about this aloud is even hard. I live around a lot of tough nuts that don't appreciate my eclectic free thinking about employment.
Secondly, does anyone out there have a job that has to do with conceptualizing/creativity or art in general? I never had a chance to take advantage of my schools resources for job placement because I was very involved with finding a job and apartment for my daughter and wife. (She was born during my senior year.) I would love to hear what's involved because as sad as it sounds I don't know what I want to be. I'm game for outside the box ideas to, I just want to use my brain and creativity when I am at work.
Third, Is this unrealistic or selfish? Like I said, I'm a happy guy. I may have no money but I do have a lot of love and I'll make that trade any day. Is it too much to ask to have both though? I don't want a ton of money, just enough to fix the car when it breaks and start saving for the kids college. It's really more about personal satisfaction with my profession that I would be after. A couple extra bucks than I make now would do fine.
Please feel free to shoot off anything you would like in response to this. Explain your job to me, tell me anything. Like I said I can't go around talking to my friends about this because they always make me feel like I think I'm special for even considering anything bigger. We are a hard people over here and we keep our dreams to ourselves. I think any dialogue on the subject could be very therapeutic for me. Either way I feel like I am at the threshold of a big change and I would love a chance to feel less awkward about it. I love informed decisions. For good or ill, thanks for letting me clear my brain out.
