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.

Dylan Hanwright

I’ve been freelancing (mostly) full time as an audio engineer and producer for about five years. In that time I’ve gotten to tour the country performing music and live in a recording studio for two weeks. I get to make my own schedule, work when I want, and do a lot of it from home. The biggest tradeoff of flexibility, however, is a severe lack of security–it can be truly feast or famine as a freelancer, and when work dries up unpredictably, it can be hard not to imagine working a “regular” job. Recently my partner and I got a place of our own without any roommates, and the increase in expenses along with a really slow couple of months drove me to accept a full-time customer service position at a guitar manufacturer. Read more>>

Caroline Stroud

I am very happy overall as a full time creative but just like with any job there are hard days where the grass seems greener on the other side. I had a full time job at a corporate office for one year before taking the plunge into art full time so luckily I do not have to ask the “what if” questions or imagine what a different career would be like. For me, the benefits of being self employed outweigh the cons but there have been some scenarios that make me miss the office days. Read more>>

Megan Crowley

Maintaining success as an artist can be tricky. I’ve experienced exhilarating highs and worrisome lows in the past few years that have left me questioning my choices more than a few times. The biggest issue I face is the inability to turn my brain off and relax at the end of the day. As an artist and small business owner there is always technically something you could be doing to further your success, sometimes simply to maintain that success. Read more>>

Mark Crawford

Being an artist can feel like straying from a walking path to go hacking away through dense jungle with a machete. One one hand, it’s incredibly liberating being able to manage your own schedules, vacation time, which projects you work on, and even when to work on them during the day (or late night). You are the master of your own fate and you determine how fast or how slow you climb whichever ladder you’ve laid out ahead of you. Read more>>

Beorht Lewinski

Lol well I actually do have a regular job. Not one but three jobs. I work as a waiter in a restaurant and I also work from home, Adding to that these past couple of months I’ve been working back to back from New York City to Connecticut. As a server my schedule changes on a weekly basis, some jobs usually give you specific days off in a row which stays the same during the week. but mine is always doing flips and ticks I’m never off on a particular day and I work either mornings shifts or night shift we call those lunches and dinners. Read more>>

Adriano Farinella

I can’t really say that I’ve ever wanted a ‘regular job’ but I have gone through phases in life as an independent working artist when I’ve wished for more dependable and consistent financial security and envied people who receive regular paychecks every week. The idea of knowing exactly how much money is coming to you every week, every month, every year, is so fascinating to me because it’s been years since I had that kind of security. I admit that sometimes I would love it because financial stress can become debilitating and crush my creative spirit. Read more>>

Nora Villalobos

I have been a social media content creator for over 7+ years, and a year ago I moved to La to try to pursue my career even further. I got to meet a lot of content creators which was amazing.  My social media channels also grew at a significantly higher rate, I got new opportunities, and was even added to the site Famous Birthday, which I always dreamed of being on but everything has not been so perfect. Being a content creator in La has been very draining, since there is so much more competition out here, it’s also easier to get more rejections because the social media market is so saturated here. Read more>>

Joey Van Ryan

It’s difficult to label myself as an artist or a creator, I bit of both I believe. I live in the hustle and bustle like any other small business owner who wants to make their brand thrive and be well known. By day I work in the corporate design world, and by night I work on my own stuff. I’m constantly working. I hope one day I can leave my day job and fully focus on brand and going above and beyond! One day at a time, you know? Read more>>

Rachael SaBell

I’ve always been a creative. Everyone is a creative in the sense that we are all human and create things whether they are physical or in our imagination. I’ve always been a very visual person with a big internal world. I would be perfectly content playing by myself just imagining, creating, and exploring. I attended university and graduated with my bachelors in biology. I was the first person in my family to finish college and graduate. With this big accomplishment on my shoulders I naturally went to work at a restaurant to pay off my student loans. Read more>>

Diyar Al Asadi

as a full time artist, i get to explore and create an endless search of what to paint on my Canvas. i had a regular jobs to survive before, I worked long shifts with little to no time to relax.I didn’t like working for someone with no creative free time. I felt The free spirited artist inside me was dying, which forced me to change my career immediately. In 2015 i decided to pursue art full time. I struggled to make it through, I always wonder about the starving artist jounrey, you’re ‘not necessarily starving’ but I was hungry to more creative knowledge. Read more>>

BodaciousThang

I did the 9 to 5 thing for 7/8 years. I was an academic counselor. at a music college. I learned a lot about myself during that time. It definitely helped me build character and I met a lot of beautiful people. With that being said, I would never return back to that lifestyle. Being an artist, especially freelance is a lot of work but I love it so much and it’s the freest I’ve ever felt in my life. Freedom is a hard thing to come by for a lot of people and it took me a long time to get to this place. I can’t take that for granted. Read more>>

Pamela Palma

I am happiest when I can put my fingers on textiles – yarn, thread, cloth – it all speaks to me and soothes my soul. It has always been this way for me. I need to create because it is who I am. Textiles are my thing, my visual voice. Throughout my life I have been conflicted about pursuing textiles as a career and have vacillated between “normal” jobs and my art. It is a struggle to survive financially on art. Yet it is a more difficult path emotionally, Read more>>

Carolina Amarillo

Thinking about a “regular job” is like thinking about another life, as another version of myself. For example, I started my undergrad in Visual Arts from 18 until I was 24; then, from my 24rs until 26s (which is the present), I did a Master in Fine Arts, which I recently graduated. And every day for the last seven years, I have been thinking, “what keeps me here?” Because I have doubted so much about myself that I honestly think this question comes from insecurity. And I would ask it myself out of insecurity, anxiety, and comparison with others. Read more>>

Ali O’Leary

I feel extremely lucky to have found my passions in art and education. I am energized by these fields. Even when I am tired or receive a rejection from an opportunity I am always eager to be in the studio or classroom. As an artist and art professor I do sometimes wonder about the stability that would come with a “regular job.” Honestly it is when I’m doing my taxes that I reflect on all the hours and energy I put into my artistic pursuits that do not always manifest financially. But when I’m in my studio making and working with my students on their projects I feel present in the moment and confident that I am in the right place. Read more>>