What even is a “regular” job? Semantics aside, the heart of our question is about those moments when the stress of entrepreneurship is mounting – do you ever sit back and wonder what if you had just been working for someone else, what life would have been like without all the stress?

Jada Cianne Arriola

I think any person who steers into a more creative career path or creating a business for themselves always has ups and downs especially doubts. Creatively and passionately having my own business being a makeup artist is much more fulfilling in my experiences and does create an abundance of happiness. My love for makeup was only a hobby when I was growing up that I then turned into a career. However, as the years go by and the economy becomes more expensive sometimes I do ponder on if I chose a more stable and consistent job with income, would that be more ideal now looking at my life through an adults eyes. I love being a makeup artist it was my plan a, b and c. Read more>>

Mariah Vegas

Truthfully, I think about getting a “regular” job every day… My neurodivergent mind craves the structure and routine of a 9-5. But there’s an indescribable feeling of knowing I built my job from scratch using my own vision, creative skills, and interests. Getting paid to do what I love and doing projects I never even dreamed of beats the predictability and monotony of a corporate job any day. Read more>>

Emily Nicolosi

Working as an artist is both the best of worlds and the worst of worlds. First, to have the privilege to create art I consider to be one of the greatest things imaginable! I feel like I am fulfilling not only my own purpose in life, but contributing to making the world a better place because one of my missions with my art is to reflect on what it means to evolve as a human species- in terms of the social and the environmental.  Read more>>

Mark Wangerin

I have been a creative all my adult life. It’s all Ive known. Since the age of 13, I’ve played music professionally… playing for theatricals, recording sessions and touring here and there.

In my late 20s I fell in love with photography, first out of a need to break up the monotony of a music-heavy lifestyle and secondly I needed another skill I could utilize to earn money since I’d never really learned how to be an employee in the normal, real world. Read more>>

Sammy Tampubolon

This is an interesting questions for me since I do have a regular job. The duality of worlds that I am in, everyday, allows me to have a regular job.

I am very happy being a musician. It fulfils me like no other. Like most art, writing, playing, performing music is a completely “selfish” thing. REOG is an heavy metal band with original music. We write the songs we want to listen to, only perform the songs that we want to perform. Ultimately we only need to make me, and my bandmates of course, happy when we write a song. That’s it. Read more>>

Alysia Prosser

I am brought back to the early days of the pandemic where I had lost my job as a digital art educator and almost on a whim, I made a move across the country to the Pacific Northwest. I took the first job I could at a local paint store creating custom paint colors and matches. Read more>>

Kathi Reichel

I love this question because I was confronted with it just yesterday. It was around 7 p.m. when my roommate came home from work, made dinner, and eased into her nighttime routine—watching a show in bed, settling into comfort. Meanwhile, in the room next door, I felt anxiety creeping in. Had I done enough today? Was filming three self-tapes and editing them all day sufficient? I should apply for more castings. Definitely. Right now. Read more>>

Danny Elliott

I do feel genuinely happy about this path most days. I work well as part of a team but overall I’m fairly self motivated. Part of what brought me to tattooing and art in general was the simple idea that I set my own pace. I dictate how hard I want to push myself and that effort is directly related to overall success. Read more>>

Ian Coleman

I am definitely happier now that I’ve made the switch from the life I lived before to my creative life. Some of that is because of my new life but I think a lot of it is because I chose to bet on myself instead of sticking with the path I was on. It was a path that I wasn’t enjoying and at that time the future I saw ahead of myself wasn’t one that I wanted. My creative life has had plenty of challenges though, so it’s sometimes hard to say if I’m happier because of my creative life or in spite of it, though I think it’s really because I decided to make the change. I took the risk, and I made the right choice for me. I needed to make that change to put myself on a path towards a life that I really enjoy. I’ve kept on that path to continually keep working to turn my life into the life I want to be living. Read more>>

Niké Vopalecká

Being a musician is one of the greatest privileges of my life. Music was always a part of my life but I have never seen anyone pursue it as a job. I perceived music as a hobby – until I met a few key people in my life, mentors and musicians, who showed me there is space for me in the creative field. To be able to be on a journey of being a vocalist, songwriter and a creative in general and to do it for a living feels absolutely surreal. Read more>>

Greg Johnson

I’m often jealous of friends who are able to clock in and out of work. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to come home at 5pm every day, turn on the game and make a cocktail.

For the past two years as a professor, my schedule does in fact get out at 5pm. However, there is usually a long drive to an even longer gig or a pile of writing projects with pressing deadlines waiting for me on my piano when I get home. I’ve built my life as an educator, performer and composer. I have friends that do each of these things separately but very few who do all three. When my professor friends are sleeping, I am out performing. When my performing friends are sleeping, I am up teaching. In my free time I try to get as much writing done as possible. Read more>>

Kendra Dandy

I would say that I am generally happier being an artist and freelance creative because I’m a highly independent person who thrives on working alone and setting my own schedule. There’s something deeply fulfilling about making a living from my own creativity and the artwork I pour my heart into. That said, it’s not always easy. Financial concerns often creep in, making me question whether I should give up and pursue full-time employment. Read more>>

Johnny Marx

This is such an amazing question. I’ll be honest, often times I do have fantasies about moving to a little house in the middle of nowhere and just never being heard from again. I guess that’s not “living a normal life”, but yeah, it pops into my head from time to time. When I get real with myself though, I realize that that desire actually has nothing to do with me wanting small town life, but more using it as an escape from the anxieties I face creating. If I’m super overwhelmed by a creative project or feeling stuck, I’m like “maybe this is just too stressful for me! I should quit”. And that feels comforting, for like 3. Read more>>

Nejra Jerlagic

No matter how challenging it can be, I am very happy to be an artist. I think it’s so special to be able to use your emotions for your craft and I love every second of it. I am confident in my answer because I do have an experience of having a regular job. I worked as a quality assurance analyst for 3 years and I have a whole Bachelors degree in IT. However, I was miserable. Don’t get me wrong, jobs in IT are secure and can even be fun, but that was not for me. I am a creative person who sings around a house. I am a writer. I am a storyteller. Going back to art felt like I was reborn. Read more>>

Caleb Mathura

In all honesty, my ability to wholeheartedly say “I am happy” is often tied to the state of my career as an Actor. Through investing more of my time into my own artwork, volunteering and spending quality time with those I love, I’m working towards finding purposefulness outside of my line of work, because I know that everyone deserves to feel genuine happiness regardless of their ‘success’ in any given profession. Pursuing a career in the arts is not for the faint of heart. The frequency of rejection far outweighs those moments of alignment where everything seems to fall into place, and you get that ‘Yes’ that you so tirelessly fought for. As sporadic as those moments of contentment may be, they are well worth the wait, because when they do occur… Read more>>

Andrew Dost

It’s a huge honor to be able to make art for a living. I’m primarily a musician, but that has grown to expand into composition for film, TV, and commercials, visual art, video content, hosting a variety show, and so on. Music was a point of entry for me to tap into a lot of different things that interest me. I get to make my own schedule, focus on projects that excite me, and work with my friends and people I admire. I can’t think of a better fit for my interests and skill set, and also my flaws and weaknesses. It’s scary to more or less be a freelance, self-employed person without a concrete pay schedule, but I trust that if I work hard, and make good things that I feel strongly about, the financial side of things will continue to sort itself out. I’m very happy in this line of work and I love exploring and trying to surprise myself with new ways to tap into that sense of community and joy. Read more>>