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.

Bernie Shine

My first career was being an attorney. I still keep my license, but haven’t practiced in decades. My friend, the late legendary magician Dai Vernon, said that it is important to find something in life that you do out of the pure joy of it. For me, as it was for him, it is magic– it is what gets me up in the morning and keeps me up at night. To excel at this, it helps to be reclusive and a perfectionist, couple with being a bit obsessive/compulsive and an insomniac. Read more>>

Daniel Gowans

Honestly yes, I think about this almost every day, in fact probably since I first started composing 14 years ago and probably will continue to! But actually, I don’t think it’s a bad one. In fact, to me, most artists seem to lose their comprehensiveness and efficacy the more they estrange themselves from the rest of the world and become one-lane focused. I find that exploring the world is actually one of the best ways to further enjoy being a composer: I’ve been a volunteer firefighter, helped deliver a baby, write highschool STEM curriculum for one of the largest homeschool curriculums in the world, perform at Carnegie Hall, play baseball with friends, visit nursing homes, hiked the Rocky Mountains, been a wedding officiant, helped break a world record…and the list just kinda keeps going. However, each time I consider something different, Read more>>

Joe Taveras

There’s not a single part of me that longs for a “regular job.” That thought faded long ago—burned off by the pace, depth, and responsibility of the life I now live. Over the past three months alone, I’ve been to Los Angeles, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Dubai. And now, I’m preparing to document the opening of the largest private art studio in Jordan’s history—a landmark moment not only for the region, but for the global New Renaissance movement that’s been unfolding. Read more>>

Shi Hyoung Jeon

Of course, there are times when I wonder what it would look like to have a regular job — a steady paycheck, predictable hours, weekends off. The only period in my life that resembled that kind of structure was during my military service in Korea. It wasn’t exactly a job since it was mandatory, but it had a solid routine: morning training, scheduled meals, designated breaks, and guaranteed sleep time. I remember feeling confined, yes — but also surprisingly clear-headed. There was something grounding about that rhythm. My body felt healthy. I had time to read, reflect, even write a little. That experience made me realize how important daily routine is — not just physically, but mentally as well. Read more>>

Nina Martine Robinson

I am the happiest I have ever been in my artists life. I get to come into work everyday and do something I love. After many years of cobbling together enough opportunities to make ends meet, I finished up my BA in Studio Arts at the age of 53. I was working at a retail job that I had been doing for 20 years and I was ready for a change. I have always been a maker, doing craft fairs, pop-ups and having my textiles in gallery and gift shops. In 2018, a local textile artist came into the shop where I worked to put up an ad for part-time stitchers. I made the leap in early 2019 and I know that taking that chance saved my sanity and has given my the space to work on my own artistic practice. Read more>>

Yianni Sines

Pursuing the arts has always felt inevitable to me. From a young age, I had an overactive imagination, and the idea of a creative career didn’t just feel right, it felt like the only path that made sense. As a child, it seemed just as straightforward as any of my classmates who wanted to be doctors or engineers. I saw it as a craft I would develop over time, something I’d eventually come into with the same certainty and structure. Read more>>

Devery Gara

I worked for the Schenectady County Public Library for years before opening the Art Shoppe, and I absolutely loved it. I loved my coworkers and the community, and I do miss that sometimes, but the community that has been built here is more than I ever could have dreamed, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love my customers, and I have made so many friends over the past 2 years that the store has been open. May 16th is the 2-year anniversary! The arts community in Schenectady is amazingly supportive, kind, and just inspiring to be around. I feel so lucky to get to be a part of it. Read more>>

Dominique Turner Rambo

I couldn’t imagine doing anything else outside of being an artist/creative. When I attempted to, God revealed to me that I should take the narrow path. Read more>>

James Cummins

I am happy as a creative. Before comedy I was working at a warehouse and it wasn’t a bad job but it felt like life was gonna be so long I had no passion no purpose no hope, finding standup comedy gave me all 3 of those things. Read more>>

Ava Sali

Pursuing a career in the arts comes with a lot of sacrifice. A sacrifice of normalcy, time, money, social life, and the perception of “success” according to some. Despite all of the turbulence I have experienced on my journey to where I am today, there has not been a single moment that I have wished for something else. While another career may have come with security and the approval of others, I am positive that without dance I would never feel like me. Regardless of the pressure and countless opinions that were voiced about my choices, I came to the conclusion that if this is the one life I am given, I am going to do what I love to do. I knew that I made the right choice when even after a 12 hour day of training, shooting, rehearsing, or performing, covered in bruises and blisters, exhausted out of my mind, I still am filled with the utmost gratitude and happiness. Read more>>

Sacred A. McEwen (Sacred Fantasy)

I am happy as a creative. Creativity is self-expression and soul. It’s truth is raw form. Without art the world would lack essence! It would be dull and unexciting! So no, I do not think about having a “regular” job. I choose to only do what I love and when I become overwhelmed with being in the public eye as an artist, I retreat more into my day spa, Divinity Massage & Oasis Spa. Here I can take a much needed break from the constant act of performing and curating events! I simple just allow myself to be while I’m servicing my day spa clients. I am still able to share my creations with them, but in a smaller more individualized setting! Everything I do tends to be poetic in some form. Read more>>

Kweenie

I spent years in art education, working my way up to the point of running a creative arts department.
On paper, I was winning – climbing high, respected, successful. But inside? I was burnt out, boxed in, and slowly vanishing. The systems were broken. The culture? Even worse. A narcissistic boy’s club enabled by women who’d sold their souls to climb the ranks by stepping on others (you know the type?) Read more>>

Alan Peterson

I’m a creative/artist that also has a full-time job. When I officially finished my four years of undergrad at Syracuse University in the Summer of 2013; and then truly decided to dedicate my life to becoming a successful comedian/mogul, I had a full-time job the entire time. From 2013 to now. And having that “safety net” or stable income (although not much at all) has allowed me to live VERY modestly, but also most importantly, invest a portion of the funds I’m earning from my full-time job, right back into my creative/artistic endeavors. Matter of a fact, I would say having a full-time job can only help you as a creative/artist. I firmly believe that. I reject the idea that in order to truly be a “master of your craft” (specifically in entertainment) you need to have it be your one and only. Read more>>