Is it natural to wonder what life would have been like had you chosen a different path? Is it common? We asked many artists and creatives from all over the country if they’ve ever wondered about whether they should have pursued a more standard career path to see what we could learn from their stories.

Adri Norris

I’m definitely happier as an independent artist. I’ve had jobs before, and for me, they have all been traps, hinderances to my life goals. While working for other people, I realized quickly that there would always be a ceiling on both my earning potential and on my professional growth. I once worked in an office for three years under a boss who thought it was ok to regularly yell at and belittle his employees. After three years, I capped my earnings out at $15 per hour. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I left that job and ventured out on my own. I had no idea what I was doing. Read more>>

Tammy Varela

I feel like I’m truly myself when I’m creating art whether it be cakes, sugar, painting, etc. As a young child, I always loved drawing, painting, or anything I could do to let my imagination run free. This is exactly why I chose to go to college and get my BA in Fine Arts. After school, I really struggled to find my niche in the art field. So much so that I decided to go into retail management which was not an easy task.. Read more>>

Mong Bui

I already had many “regular jobs.” I worked in the food service industry and retail throughout my time in high school and college. After graduating, I had a salaried job, an hourly office job, and an independently contracted office job for a few years, all in the business marketing field. I always found myself unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and sometimes even depressed, when I was working in these environments, having to answer to someone else. Read more>>

LYNX

The last time I had this thought was when I was in the graduate art school. I was copying the both the Old Master’s paintings and the contemporary master artists. I try to convince myself that the act of painting and surrounding myself with artworks is what make me happy, but that wasn’t the case. I was trying to figure out what is the purpose of my life! Because there was no purpose and no direction to shoot for that is the reason why I am going in a circle and suffer so much. Read more>>

Dominic Bloomfield

I often times swing between wanting a job and keeping my foot on the pedal- I honestly find this to be the hardest part about being an artist. The routine and motivation that comes with the typical 9-5 feels more real and concrete than the one i have to create for myself in order to get any sort of work done. It’s easier to respect your boss’ deadlines than it is to respect the deadlines we set for ourselves, but maybe that just speaks to the level of respect we tend to have for ourselves, Nevertheless, I wouldn’t trade these tribulations for the world. Read more>>

Brien Adams

As an Artist I am happy but not every job I get as a photographer is an art form. Sometimes it is a very straight forward boring typical portrait that needs to get done with a time schedule and a deadline. As opposed to other jobs which I can be the art director and have 100 percent total freedom and trust in my client, However not everyday I am making money off of photography but it has picked up a lot. On the side, I am also painting houses which is a dirty hot sweaty job and most photography jobs are done on the weekend so I have had very little free time lately! Read more>>

Tony Domenick

I am in the middle of this balancing act right now. For years I was officially self-employed, working for different music education programs, making music in churches, singing with professional choirs, teaching private music lessons. After a move from Denver to Oakland and back again 4 years later, I was struggling to make as much money as I wanted to be making now that I was married and getting ready to have a baby. I took a job as a choir teacher at a middle school, which provided benefits, a salary, and a reliable schedule. Read more>>

Paul Gee

There is struggle in every walk of life. Whether it’s mental or physical we all have to overcome something. That being said being an artist and a creative is something I am born to do. Yes, there are mental struggles. Doubts, questions concerns, and uncertainty. But I am more than confident in my gifts and my purpose, I am very sure I am happier now, than if I were to be working a 9 to 5. Lucrative or not. If I wasn’t doing what I was doing now I wouldn’t feel whole. I wouldn’t feel complete and I wouldn’t feel like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. Read more>>

Maria Diez

I truly enjoy being a Creative! And yes, I do sometimes think about what it would be like to have a regular job again. I personally have had many job titles in the last 16 years of my life, from a Nutrition Consultant to a Promotions Manager, to then Executive Assistant to a CEO, and even a preschool teacher once. And I feel that all of those titles with its duties were parts of my life that I needed to live through and learn in the process of building who I am today. Becoming a creative full-time has not been as glamorous and easy as one might think it is, and honestly at times I’ve come close to caving in and looking for a “regular job” again. Read more>>

Will Ingra

I’m really lucky to make a living as an artist right now. It’s something I’ve done intermittently since college, and it hasn’t always been enjoyable. When I was finishing school in Athens, GA a few years ago, the wages for students and even grads were (and still are) almost comically low. The school paid me $7.25 an hour to be a glorified janitor, so when I got a liquor store job at $8.50 an hour I thought things were looking up. The reason I turned Land of the Freak from a semi-active tumblr account into a brand with several product lines was purely out of financial necessity. Read more>>

Thais Maya

I can not even imagine how my life would be if I had a regular 9-5 job. I’m a model and actress. I always loved my profession, since I was teen. It’s not an easy path, with so many ups and downs, but since the pandemic started, there weren’t many opportunities available; no auditions… nothing. I then started to think if I should start looking for a different kind of job, maybe working from home for a company, or anything that could help me making some money during those hard times… It was then that I realize that I had to find a different solution to that! Read more>>