Pursuing a creative or artistic career can certainly be fulfilling, but it’s far from certain. Over the years, we’ve heard about the struggles from thousands of artists and creatives – it’s incredibly challenging and it can be tempting to wonder – what if you hadn’t pursued this path. We asked artists and creatives from across the community if they’ve every had those doubts themselves.

Yasmin Xavier

I’m extremely happy as an artist. It’s a fact that you don’t just flow in this stream of certainty. When it comes to your finances, insecurities, it’s a big thing – it’s a current challenge, trying to approach and try new things, and sometimes feeling discouraged. The constant comparison to others, the pressure to be doing a lot and booking a lot all the time. Read more>>

Steven Schwartz

When I am able to be in a creative state of flow and make music and art I am very happy. It is when I need to deal with my other jobs, the ones that make me money on a consistent basis, that I become burdened or less happy (not unhappy because I really do like my life for the most part). Read more>>

Kelley Mathews

Sometimes life can become very mundane and repetitive. As a stay at home mom of three, our schedules can become predictable, especially throughout the school year. We are beyond blessed for me to stay home and raise our children and with that, to be able to break out of the lull of our routine every now and then. Read more>>

Jackie Knowles

Since I had a “regular job” for nearly a decade before making the leap to fulltime artistry, I don’t have to wonder—I know for a fact that I’m happier on this path. Read more>>

Ailén Videla Ortiz

As an artist, I can confidently say that I am incredibly happy pursuing my passion every day. It brings me immense joy to see my artistic vision come to life and achieve my dreams in this field. I strive to live a life where going to work feels like a privilege rather than a chore. Read more>>

Cooper Kelley

I don’t really know that ‘happy’ is a word I’d use to describe myself a lot. I think that one of the inherent things in being an artist is that we feel everything incredibly deeply. I go through times when I feel like my work is dragging along too slowly. I have days where I feel like my songs aren’t good enough and continuing to write them is useless. Read more>>

Jennifer Hart

Happy is an interesting word to use here. In my opinion, happiness is based on performance, so more times than not I am not “happy” as an artist because I definitely fail more times than I succeed. That’s just how it goes in this career path. With that being said, “joy” to me is a very different thing. Joy is beyond happiness and can be experienced even in the hard and bad times. Read more>>

Ry Malena

Oh, the grass can sometimes look greener, but I’m confident this is what I was born to do. As an artist, living your life should be your greatest and grandest project – the rest are details. It’s not about how much content you can export or how many numbers you can scrape out of the almighty algorithm; Read more>>

Jon Black

I am very happy as an artist. I can look at my analytics and the growing list of DJ’s and artists that I am meeting and know that I am headed in the right direction artistically. I don’t have a perfect life or career but I am happy with it. My music is a delve into my life and perspective, and depending on what’s going on in my life, my music will reflect that. Read more>>

Susan Huang

Absolutely, yes. I have always loved drawing since I was a kid. I would often doodle on my textbook and quietly draw in the corner. Although I have a deep passion for drawing, there was limited information available on how to pursue a career as an artist during my high school years. Read more>>

Karen Rolston

Are you happier as a creative? That would be a definite YES…..I cannot imagine having any other kind of a job. Read more>>

Kiuyan Ran

Yes, I still believe that working in the art industry is the most joyful job. Creativity is one of the most valuable and intriguing aspects of being human, and being able to work in this field is still one of my most fitting choices. Actually, it’s difficult to define what is “ordinary,” but for me, any job outside of the realm of creativity feels “ordinary.” Read more>>

Annie Nguyen

As an artist, I can’t help but feel special and grateful when someone compliments my work and supports my creative journey. However, it’s not easy to always maintain a positive mindset, especially when my mental health is unstable. During long periods of lacking art jobs, doubts about my abilities as an artist start to creep in. It’s a nagging feeling that I’m not good enough, that I don’t deserve to be called an artist. Read more>>

PCF Scuba

Feel like being an artist is the best decision I could’ve made it’s lots of ups and down but overall couldn’t ask God to put me in a different profession. Growing up in Detroit you see many different its rappers and different types of music so naturally it was something I always had a passion for. Read more>>

Regi Drake

I’m very happy doing what I love. The idea that I can support myself through music is a very rewarding feeling. That being said, I have thought about how life would be if I’d have a 9 to 5. It can be a comforting thought to know you’ll have a consistent income, guaranteed holidays, and a routine that you can count on 9 times out of 10. I’ve heard so many of my peers say that having a paycheck that you can always see coming sounds blissful, and I won’t lie, it surely does. Read more>>

Emerson Pimentel

Making music has made me the happiest I’ve been. I know what it’s like working part-time/full-time jobs, and I also I understand the importance of those jobs to everyday society. Being able to work in an industry where I fell in love with my craft is the best thing to ever happen to me. Read more>>

Marc the Prophet

I definitely am happy as an artist but it isn’t always the easiest to stay that way. I love music and I love the process but things like writer’s block or someone not communicating with you on a collaboration can be really frustrating. As of right now, I do have a regular job to help finance my artistic career and sometimes I think about if I were to stop music entirely and only work. Read more>>

Yuanyuan Liang

I am never interested in a regular job. The designer job brings me the greatest excitement. I live for it. It’s a blessing to wake up smiling cause I am doing what I love. I’ve worked very hard to get there. Lot of the time, I do not only think about myself as an artist. I consider myself more of a designer. Read more>>

Jonathan Roy

“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” For me, this is true to an extent in the DJ industry. Don’t get me wrong, I am beyond happy to be an artist/creative. The ability to express myself through live DJ sets and mixes while making a decent career out of it, I’d say that’s a win-win. Read more>>

Nathan Kwan

This is a loaded question. Personally, I struggle with finding happiness in my art many hours in the day. I feel guilty when I’m not working and I’m always on guard for a potential idea. Happiness truly comes in waves as a creative because you can never “turn it off”. Read more>>

Jessica Conway

I am extremely happy as a designer. I couldn’t see myself doing anything. but interior design. Do I sometimes wonder how it would be to work a “regular job”? Absolutely. When it comes to me being caring, nurturing, helpful, and personable- I don’t have to worry. Read more>>

Kelli Horan

I do have a regular job. A good ole 9 to 5 job. I haven’t found a way to viably work as a full time creative to pay my bills. So, I pursue my art and filmmaking outside of my work hours. I do wish that I could do creative work full time, but I think that’s increasingly becoming more and more difficult for people as cost of living, materials, and access continue to go up. Read more>>

Sammy T. Anderson

Being a professional creative has always been what I wanted. Of course, that doesn’t come without its share of doubts. Fortunately, I have always been relatively confident in what I was pursuing, and vowed to never let money be the driving force behind my life. Read more>>

Aniyah Johnson

Creating content makes me extremely happy. Its just as rewarding as any other job I could have right now. Being that I have experience working a “regular job”, I don’t think I’m missing anything. I know eventually, I will commit to additional career paths, but I never plan to stop creating. As a content creator I’ve not only gotten to express myself and build a community but I’ve learned so much about professional development. Read more>>

Teri Hearte

I won’t lie, it’s extremely difficult. I absolutely love being a comedian and content creator but money gets tight sometimes. I can make a lot at once or none until who knows when. I always wonder if leaving my 9-5 as a preschool teacher was the best decision. When I have a great weekend of performing or my content has a check attached to it I feel like I’m on the right path. Overall, I’m happy and blessed. I’d rather this problem than having a job just to still be broke. Read more>>

Autumn Fraser

I’m very happy to be a full-time artist! It’s always been a dream of mine. Previously, I had a “regular job” that I was sure I would be at forever. It was mostly great; I love and miss my co-workers. However, making the change to pursue my art career is the greatest decision I’ve made for my career. Read more>>

Katie Mack

I love this question. All of my life I kept thinking “well if this whole artist thing doesn’t work out, I’ll get a regular job and then it will be easy”. Come to find out, all of this whole life stuff and identity stuff and making a living stuff, it’s all hard. I decided to choose my hard. Was my hard juggling projects all at once, or sitting in a windowless office all day? Read more>>

Cassie Duncan

I couldn’t be happier to be a stand-up comic! There is a feeling I can’t describe when I am able to connect with an audience and make them laugh at jokes I wrote! I do wonder what it would be like to have a regular job. I would probably be able to go out to Chipotle without checking my bank account. Read more>>

Jake Loban

Making a living as an artist is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever accomplished. I’m very happy doing it. I don’t ever have to wonder what it’s like to have a regular job because I’ve worked several of them in the past. From being a dishwasher, doing construction, warehouse work, telemarketing, being a barback, I’ve done all sorts of work. Whenever I feel burnt out I think back to my previous jobs and it gives me an instant reality check. Read more>>

Joseph Rusnak

I find myself asking this question quite often. I believe that I’m happy with my work. Over the past few years I’ve heavily indulged my “fun” music project, Glo Phase, which in doing so can make work music really seem that much more like work. For me it definitely requires a constant discipline in balancing the two. Read more>>

Glenn Bolton

Yes! Even though there’s less stability (with both money and time), I am happy with the life I’m building as a creative. I’ve spent most of my adult life working regular jobs so there’s no mystery there. I appreciate those days for all the lessons I learned, but ultimately it wasn’t for me. Read more>>

Guy Wolfus

Being a programmer is considered by many to be a common occupation, but I think that in many workplaces even something as common as that can be very creative, so I wouldn’t say that having a regular job and being creative can’t go hand in hand. In my case, programming is used as part of a creative collective, whether in game development or an animation studio, and it’s not very ordinary at all! Read more>>

Charles Grace

Am I happy as a creative? That depends on the day, haha! I would say happiness comes and goes. What I can tell you is that I am compelled to create. It’s like a bad tattoo that I cannot cover up or hide. Writing songs, practicing, and performing are integrated into my daily life. Read more>>

Tamara Spencer

I am happy as an artist/creative! I know what it’s like to be self-employed as well as working a regular job while doing your craft on the side. Most of us are exhausted from our regular jobs and feel guilty when we want to rest because of feeling like our business, our craft is neglected. Becoming a full-time artist/creative is my goal for this year and I will make that happen! Read more>>

Erin Diener

I have always had an urge to create art, and have never been satisfied doing anything else. In addition to being a fine artist, I also teach barre fitness classes at Neighborhood Barre, which I have now done for 10 years. I guess you could call being a fitness instructor my “normal” job, but it still is a job where I am able to be creative- just in a different way. Read more>>

Grace Manning

I thought this was a particularly interesting question because it’s one that I’ve asked myself so many times over the course of my artistic journey. As is the case with many creatives, I was working a corporate job when I started painting on the side. Read more>>

BJ Massa

I wonder all the time what it would be like to have a regular job! I’ve had a lot of different jobs after graduating from college. I spent two years as a flight attendant traveling internationally all across the globe. Then I spent ten years working in NYC, first in publishing and then as a buyer for a major department store. Read more>>

Arleen Silva

I am happy as an artist. Deciding to work for myself was probably the scariest decision I’ve ever made but I can’t imagine going back. In my previous “regular” jobs I worked for some not so great people in some not so great environments and I felt like I was capable of doing so much more with my life. Read more>>

Shanie Schwartzman

The simple answer is yes, I love what I do, however that doesn’t mean I haven’t questioned this choice more than once and probably will do so again in the future. It isn’t an easy career path and rarely is it as glamorous as it seems. Read more>>

LG Williams

Yes, I am a Los Angeles-American artist and global-nomadic creative. I enjoy the freedom and self-expression that comes with the calling. Being a self-professed ‘Capitalist Realist,’ post-consumer, post-truth, trans-dimensional artist is thrilling. Read more>>

SAMSON THE STRONG

As one of Orlando’s aspiring Gospel/ CHH artists it is always hard trying to get your song or project on the radio or in front of label executives, but I wouldn’t trade this for the world. After all the adversities I have overcome in my life I believe whole heartedly that this is what I was created to do. Read more>>