Do you ever wonder what life would have been like had you chosen a more standard path? Does everyone have these doubts sometimes? We wanted to find out and so we asked as many talented artists and creatives as we could and have shared highlights below.

Kasey Claytor

As a creative artist I have wavering thoughts about just this. I came from a background of a military family who kept and held steady jobs their whole careers. They always told me to do what I wanted as long as it made me happy and I could support myself. Through this I’ve always had a strong work ethic. I’ve pursued many jobs that just never fulfilled me in the way my career does now. Read more>>

Kirsten Krupps

I am actually a creative on the side in addition to my marketing day job. My blog and social platforms allow me to express myself while staying fresh on all the current content marketing trends. It’s win-win. I will admit that sometimes if life is busy or if I’m swamped at work during the day it can get hard to find the motivation to do my own stuff. I’ve definitely been experiencing that the last few months and am hoping to get back to my usual routine soon. In addition to content creation, Read more>>

Karrin Shriner

I have worked regular jobs since I was a senior in high school. During college, I couldn’t work due to being a student-athlete. When I stopped running track and just did school, I started working regular jobs again. I never felt fulfilled working those jobs. It just felt like I went to clock in and clock out. I knew it wasn’t serving my any purpose or helping me elevate. Before the 2020 covid-19 lockdown, I was presented with the opportunity to become a model. I tried to get signed during high school, but due to my school and sports schedule I didn’t have the time. Read more>>

Jadeley Louis-Jean

Coming from the flip side of this question, i currently do have a regular job- well two. For me, regular jobs have always felt like a placeholder for me. A stepping stone until i reach that top of the mountain that i’m climbing towards. I am happier as an artist. Doing the work i want to do gives me a sort of fufillment that i can’t achieve working a regular job. To be honest, being an artist is a whole job and often times more laborious and time consuming than a regular one. i believe it comes down to passion. There is a passion you get doing something that you love that you can’t find doing a job that your heart isn’t into. i think about this everyday… Read more>>

Rachel Hellmann

I love being an artist. I love that I’m on my feet most of the time and every day looks different. Whether it is trouble shooting on how to construct a new joint in the wood shop or figuring out how a site-specific piece will relate to a new architectural environment, I am always problem solving. When I was younger and imagined myself working full-time as an artist, I imagined that my daily tasks would primarily be composed of creating work. Read more>>

Sneha Dama

Absolutely! I can say with confidence that I’m truly doing what I love. I’ve had my fair share of 9-to-5 experiences, and those certainly come with benefits. Being able to have a set schedule, enjoy evenings and weekends after finishing a set of tasks, and feeling financially secure with a regular salary are all perks of having a “regular job”. Starting a small business or creative venture can have the lure of being exciting and adventurous, but it, of course, does not readily come with these benefits. It requires stepping outside of your comfort zone, being ready to accept a shift in your financials at the beginning and wearing multiple hats. You’re the accountant, the marketer, the operations lead and overall a business of one as an entrepreneur. The grind really is 24/7. Read more>>

Terrell Reese

I am happier than ever being a full time artist. To wake up each and every day with the ability to control all of my time and what I do with it is an unparalleled feeling of relief. It makes me feel like I could float. I do, however, hear the ramblings of a regular 9-5 in the background day to day. I suppose they whisper to keep me on the ground. As much as I wish my ears grew deaf to the beckoning of a regular job, the need and desire to attain one is still very much current. Read more>>

Taylor Alexander

This question has come up for me quite a lot recently. It’s an incredibly uncertain time for those of use trying to make it in the music industry. We’re trying to balance our passion for creative work with having to become experts on changing and seemingly arbitrary algorithms and social trends to remain in the game. As much as I think about pivoting to another career I’m not sure that I could ever fully stop writing and making music, it’s just the way I’ve always communicated with myself and I can’t see myself doing anything else.  Read more>>

Jasmine Williams

As an artist I often have to ask myself what happiness means to me. In all honesty, there are moments where happiness is financial security and stability. There are also moments where happiness is fulfillment. Most of the time I find myself seeking fulfillment, knowing that stability will come one day. When I feel my financial security is in jeopardy the first thought is “go get a job”, “Apply on Indeed and Glassdoor Now!!” Being fully transparent, the last time I had this thought was very recent, as in a few days ago. As a singer, Read more>>

Melissa Sims

I absolutely love what I do! I am so thankful and feel so blessed that I am able to create full time. That being said, I sometimes think that if I had a regular job, I would have stability. The path of an artist is not easy. There is not a clear cut way to become a working artist. I know how to do certain things and if I want to learn something else, I can find classes to learn, but turning that knowledge it to a secure living is not that easy. Read more>>

Armani Yett

Yes, it has its challenges though. I’ve worked a regular job before, the security was nice, but I was miserable. I actually think about getting a regular job often. Pursuing a creative career pushes you to the edge of insanity in my opinion. There’s these highs and lows constantly. One week I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be another I feel like a failure. The last time I thought about just getting a regular job was when I was late on my car payment and I realized I would have to pay my upcoming rent with my credit card. Read more>>

Kate Holliday

I love being an artist and honestly couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I get to constantly work with new people, travel and create the most amazing projects. Most importantly, I have freedom. I have the freedom to choose my clients and have the freedom to determine my own schedule. I recently worked part time in a talent agency as the New Faces Director, and though it was part time, I still had to adhere to a somewhat consistent schedule. Read more>>

Valery Martinez

Yes! I have no doubt in my mind that my career as a make artist is my path. I use to work a corporate America job and I didn’t hate it, I was an administrator and I think I was good at my job, I’m a very detailed and organized person. I just didn’t like the routine, everyday is the same nothing changes, I also didn’t like the 8 hours in one place sitting at a desk doing computer work. I like to finish my job and move on with my day. Read more>>

Alexis Najarro

I think I had always known that I would pursue a creative job. Being that I grew up in a very artistic household, I always thought it was something I was supposed to do. Even growing up as an above-average student, I always gravitated to the arts no matter what assignments or track I was on. When I was in college and a little bit out of college, I tried to work several regular jobs; from secretarial desk work to delivering pizzas, but I was never able to stick with them longer than six months. Instead, I decided to work at several different dance studios at once. (There was even a time I worked at 5 different studios in 4 different cities at once to make ends meet.) Read more>>

Erin Blue

Okay so I have these thoughts veryyyyy often. A lot of us creatives go through similar thought processes when it comes to that particular choice we made originally. For me, this is my passion. I literally could not imagine doing anything other than creating a soundtrack to the lives of others. I couldn’t see myself NOT giving all of my artistic energy to someone just to see them smile. However, full transparency? It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. It’s easy for some people to just go to work & make a living and be satisfied. I’d have stable income, yes. Read more>>

Wavy Bagels

On most days, I feel happy and grateful for the path I’ve chosen as a creative. But then there are days when I’m frequently scrolling through my Facebook page and see old friends with regular jobs and now they have a spouse, children, the house with the picket fence and a cute dog. Not saying these things are not obtainable through my ventures, it’s just a little harder to get there being an artist from my experience. It takes courage and faith to commit to doing what you love while starting your own family; A monthly paycheck is easier to believe, but I know for a fact I would not be happy clocking in. Read more>>

Carol Ella & Avery Echols N/A

The truth is, we think about getting regular jobs ALL the time. We both have the ability to go back to our careers in film/TV production whenever we’d like. So, of course, we weigh those options, especially when we face financial struggles. Finances have been the biggest sacrifice we’ve had to make for our business. Turning away from well-paying careers that we genuinely enjoyed has been an extremely difficult decision to make. Read more>>

Johnathan Lee Iverson

If this pandemic taught me anything, it taught me to be happy and responsible for who and what I am. I have known since I was a tyke, that I am not designed for “regular.” I was always rather irregular to begin with. Always the tallest, lankiest kid in class and heaven forbid, I had no inclination nor real ability in sports. When I realized I was a singer it changed everything for me and opened doors I had no clue existed. The last time I considered a regular job is when I made the mistake of getting my insurance license and working for a financial services company. Read more>>

Naomi Rose

I am extremely happy as a creative for the simple fact that I’m living my passion while walking in my purpose. There have been a few instances where I’ve thought about what having a regular job would be like. These thoughts have come up in moments where I felt my creative talents were being overlooked, my income wasn’t where I wanted it to be, or my days weren’t organized. This led to constant thoughts of how much stability I could have working a 9-5. Read more>>

Devayani Vaishnav

It gives me immense satisfaction earning full-time living as an artist. I am a creative person by nature. It started from my early childhood coming from a family where art was encouraged may that be vocal, music or other forms. With family’s support and strong education in fine arts, I continue to try to hone my skills in my creative journey as an artist. I like to paint so I can illustrate my thoughts, my experience as a child growing up close to nature. On the other hand, being an artist makes one feel different. One, essentially none of my friends are artist so becomes somewhat difficult to “fit in”. Second, from an earning’s stream perspective, my friends have regular job earning continuous and stable money. Read more>>

Kek Biel

Music brings me joy because of the emotions, stories, and connections that it exposes me to. As an independent artist I really don’t have a choice but to balance a regular job and a passion, the biggest hurdle was to step out there and make myself vulnerable. Anything you put out there is for the world to see and hear! Not to mention starting off from point Zero literally! Read more>>

Brittni Lawrence

That thought has crossed my mind several times. So much so that I struggled to write this article. I thought that it might be safer and more convenient if I got a full-time job and put my business on the back burner. However, I love being creative. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything other than what I’m doing right now. The joy I bring to my clients is irreplaceable. Being an artist brings me so much joy, that I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I don’t get the same fulfillment at a regular job that I receive as an artist and small business owner. Read more>>

DeMetra Dixon

You know… my son asked me, “Are you happy?” and my response was, ” I’m grateful & blessed, but I cant say that I’m happy.” He then stated, “So when are you going to start painting again.” That hit me extremely HARD. Here it is May 2022 and I haven’t painted ANYthing since August 2021. Backstory: I got Covid Pneumonia Sept 2021 and was sick until January 2022. I was not painting at all and when I got better health wise, my mental was taking a beating from life because i was still dealing with the side effect from Covid called confusion. Read more>>

Tiny Spoon Lit Mag

We are extremely happy being creatives, while navigating the daily grind in our desk jobs, we turn inward to the magazine as a source of creative solace and appreciation. At times it becomes a lot of effort, but we find joy in writing, creativity, nurturing other’s creativity, and holding space in community. This allows us to feel supported in our creativity, while supporting others and reminding ourselves of our passions. Read more>>