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.

Allison Nordahl

I am incredibly grateful that I’m able to act and express myself in my favorite way, but I have worked ‘regular’ jobs, staffing weddings and as a math tutor, and I know a lot of other actors also have to work other jobs. Unless you’re already a successful actor, getting a regular job is really common amongst the actors I know. I have a ton of respect for creatives that also have a regular job, which stems from my experience growing up in public school and having to balance hard classes and extracurriculars, which felt like a job to me with my responsibilities as an actor. So if anything, I applaud artists and actors that balance a regular job with their true passion, even if we are all happier as creatives. Read more>>

Rylan Burns

I’m happy to say that I am indeed happy as an artist/creative! Although, I do sometimes think about what my life would be like if I went down a less creative path and pursued something simpler. I considered the classic jobs like policeman and fireman when I was a kid, but I also found myself drawing on every piece of homework I received. Soon those drawings would turn into ideas, and then characters, and then into worlds and eventually comics. It became pretty clear to me that I was into art, and since that realization in my school days, I’ve always found myself drawn to the more creative kinds of careers. Read more>>

Eve Alas Morán

I think that sometimes when things get rough, it’s completely normal to ask yourself that question—should I move to a regular job where maybe I can make more money and have more stability?
When you get audition rejections or no job opportunities to do what you love to do, it’s really normal to ask yourself, “Is this what I’m supposed to be doing?” Read more>>

Melissa Rubin

This is an interesting question…First, and foremost, I am happy being an artist and creative person, because, well, it is who I am. It is the legacy I was born into. I come from a line of professional artists: my grandfather, Hy Rubin, who was a Romanian immigrant in the early 20th century, came to this country as a young boy. His family was among those who were suffering from persecution and his property and home was subject to looting and attack during the pogroms. His family came to the States, settling and creating a new life on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Read more>>

Lucas DeLong

I am, without a doubt, happiest as an artist. While I’ve had thoughts about getting a regular job, they never last long, I always go straight back to making art.

Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to make art, and what kind of art went through a lot of changes. From fashion, to comics, to animation, all I knew for sure was that I wanted to do something creative. However, when I was a late teenager, I stopped telling people I was going to be an artist. I’d either say I was going into psychology, or that I was going to work a random retail job just to get by. Read more>>

Kyu Ho Lee

The last time I thought of this was when my artist friends asked me, “if you weren’t an artist what kind of work would you do?”. I think it’s a fairly common question artists ask each other, as a way to get to know one another or to imagine some alternate reality when being an artist becomes hard. And most of the time I don’t really think too much about whether I’d be happier doing something else. I simply answer, “I think I would want to be a paramedic, a librarian, or maybe a therapist?” But even as I write this I’m thinking how hard it would be to be a paramedic or a therapist. Read more>>

Tori Ichikowitz

This is a really funny question to me because I get asked so often, “Don’t you ever just want a stable pay check or some routine?” And genuinely, my answer is always no!

They say if you can wake up and live with yourself doing any other job, then you are not built for this career and I tend to believe that is true. This industry is about passion and talent and inspiration but more than that, it is about this incessant hunger to create that cannot be fulfilled otherwise. Read more>>

Bella Castillon

“Am I good enough?” “Should I just do something else with my life?”, “What’s all this effort for? Is it worth it?” These questions –more like intrusive thoughts ending with a question mark– are always in the back of my head; our work–and I guess our success too– as artists and/or creators depends so much on the outside eyes of the world that we cannot help but let the thought of what other people would think of us consume us; we are in constant communication with rejection and naturally, as sensitive human beings, we cry and we hurt and we doubt and we start to wonder. I’m assuming this is a common collective feeling among artists, I might be wrong, all I know is that this is how I feel. Read more>>