Since I started this blog last August I have been conflicted as to the direction I want it to go in. I love reading blogs that have a balance of personal posts and posts featuring very inspiring things (and sometimes these two things coincide with one another). While Post Grad Hair Cut started out as completely personal I feel its been heavy on 'the posting about what other people are doing' side of things as of late.
That being said I need to take a break it bring it back to personal. Way personal. We're going to do a 180 (thanks) here. I like to think, as most of us do, of the blog world as a community. It is precious to me the sincere support a blogger will give to another without ever having met them face to face or spoken on the phone. So please bare with me as I let some of this out.
I have been facing a major life transition in the past year. It has been coined as a 'quarter life crisis'. While I feel the dramatics of this label do not necessarily aid in conquering the underlying meaning of it, I do find it appropriate. In the past year I have faced many changes both in my relationships and my career. Let me give you a little background.
I graduated last May with a degree in English. I live in a city saturated with creative, unemployed, underemployed or self-employed individuals. After five months of searching for a career-type job I settled on the first one that gave me an offer. A month ago that job ended and sadly not on the best of terms. In October I applied to do a program starting this September that would teach me design skills that I am passionate about having. I have had my mind set on going to school in September. Recently I started a process of applying for some funding for this program that requires proof that there is indeed room in the labour market for another graphic/web/communications designer. In Vancouver, there doesn't seem to be.
So what do I do? Before I knew this funding existed I had resolved to myself that I would pay for school with a student loan. When I found out about the funding I was definitely excited. When I embarked on the process of applying for it, I started to realize that maybe I won't be able to find a job after I graduate, let alone secure the funding to prevent the loan. So now I am rethinking if school is an appropriate choice.
I am conflicted between two schools of thought: 1. Do what you love and everything else will fall into place. 2. Be realistic. You've been to school for five years, time to get a job and stick with it.
I would love any insight or personal experiences that anyone has to share. If you want to email me, feel free or leave a comment for others to read too.
Let me reiterate, I appreciate everyone who reads this blog whether regularly or not. I appreciate all of those people whose blogs bring me so much inspiration and joy. Thanks to everyone.
22 comments:
I say do what you love. You never know maybe at the end of school the market will have turned around or maybe you will have discovered a new way to make use of your skills and knowledge and passion. If you just take the first office job that comes along you will always, always, always wonder "what if". Most likely that won't happen if you go back to school. Is there a smaller, less expensive program? That way you can get into the work force and do what you are passionate about? I find that the friends who say they'll just get a job temporarily until they figure out the "passion" part end up staying in that job and being miserable for way longer than they ever intended. Go after your dreams! The rest will work itself out!
I applaud you for being open and honest, and also for staying true to yourself by bringing this blog back to a personal note.
I wish I had wise council to offer you, but I'm afraid that I'm in a very similar position. I graduated in May with a degree in Psyc. and have been working in a coffee shop ever since. I don't know what I want to do yet - find a "real" job, go to grad school, start a business? I think the best solution I've come up with is to remain content where I am until the answer is clear. I/you have plenty of time to figure it out. Things will surely work themselves out with time' it's remaining content in the limbo period is the real challenge.
Best of luck to you, and I do hope you will keep us updated!
I love your blog, you have so many neat things to share!
i love this post. so open and honest. i would say stick with doing what you love. sometimes it can take a long time to get started, but then things click into place. good luck, we're all rooting for you!!!!
It's a dilemma, for sure. If your primary goal is to find a stable job, you might need to change your field of study. If your primary goal is to do something that will fulfill you personally, you should go for no matter what. Does that mean there will be a financial reward in the end? No, and most likely you'll be in the same position you are in now, job-wise.
I graduated eight years ago, thinking my career path would be something I enjoy and that is stable and I could do what I really love on the side (photography and writing). Unfortunately, my career has been hanging on by a thread as print journalism has gone down the toilet. I'm still hanging in there, but I'm not sure how long it will take for the Titanic to sink. And then ... what will I do?
I think you hit on a topic that many of us are struggling with right now. I wish there were a clear-cut answer or surefire path.
In the same boat (big, big boat) as you and lots of others. I'm just about to graduate from my second degree (library and information studies) and am already starting to think about courses and programs that will help me get one of the rare jobs in the field I am coveting (in this case something that combines film and librarianship). I'm having a really hard time finding jobs that sound great to apply for, and when I do it's disheartening knowing how many other (very qualified) people are also applying. I also considered doing some kind of design program, but the cost seems insurmountable given how much I already owe. I've decided to try to learn a bunch on my own, be enthusiastic and try new things, as a way to develop skills that will hopefully complement whatever it is I come to do, eventually.
I feel like the most important thing (which is a lesson I am constantly learning) is to have faith in your own ability to do things. I have this awful tendency to feel unqualified to do something until I am overqualified. Then I look around and see all of these people who know less than I do thriving because they just dove into it. Can you dive in to something? Get involved somehow, somewhere, with people who need your help and don't mind that you don't have much experience? The paycheques will come.
And yes, those magic words: it will all work out.
my favorite blogs have a personal element to them and i appreciate your honesty with this post. we're here cause we like 'ya and happy to give a listen and an encouraging word.
i think the answer is do what you love and be realistic. the job you took probably didn't work out because your heart wasn't in it. can you imagine going on like that for 10 years? people do it all the time.
there's always room for more talent and the world is wide open thanks to the internet.
we just saw a movie that was so powerful to me because even after working for many years, i still struggle with 'what do i want to be when i grow up?' it's called 'the secret in their eyes' and the main premise is how we all have a passion and it really can't/won't be denied. we can try, but ultimately we're going to follow it or just be miserable. but, it's never too late if we're not afraid. for me, fear has been the enemy.
hope that helps and keep us posted. sorry so long.
xo, c
Figuring out a way to make a living out of something you love is difficult and takes a huge amount of risk. I always felt that I played it safe: university followed by a few comfortable years working in a record shop. Then after being broke & felt that I was floundering I managed to get a full scholarship, learned a bunch of things and then found a job that I had a love hate relationship with. When I got laid off I had to fend for myself but managed to make a life that I feel comfortable with. I don't make a ton of money, but I'm happy and I'm doing what I love. That's the most important thing. Don't worry about trying to find the answer, it takes time and growth but you'll find it if you keep searching.
Hey. We're in a pretty similar position, you know. I haven't gotten it all figured out or anything, but the attitude I've taken is 'keep on working and grab hold of everything half decent that comes your way'. Everything's got a silver lining, even if it's not solid silver.
For me, this means accepting a job offer in a field I never saw as being my ultimate career, but it's keeping me busy and I feel energetic and productive, plus I'm meeting really cool people in unexpected places. AND, if anything, it's given me extra incentive to push the more creative side of my life forward.
Hope that helps in some way.
i think you mean 180 degrees ;)
do what you love. do what you love! someone once told me that the desires in your heart are there for a reason...and that they'll remain there in some form until they're fulfilled, or at least explored. explore. life is short, and spending its precious moments lost in "would've, should've, could've" because you didn't explore something sounds so dreadful.
but. that being said...i completely understand the draw of a paycheck of security. :)
so, i, like everyone else, have no easy answer for you! but, as tacky as it sounds...listen to your heart. :)
Whatever you decide will the right choice.
I know after I got fired, I severely looked for a job. I was overqualified or didn't have enough experience. I decided to do freelance work and haven't looked back since.
I really enjoyed reading this.
I don't really have very much advice to give in this area. I never had a chance to go to college after high school and always just got a job that paid enough for me to pay my bills. As I got older, I found that I had a lot of interests but they would never be things I could turn into a career with any longevity. After taking a year off of working to pursue a venture I thought might work out, I went back to getting a job just to pay my bills. That job quickly turned into the best opportunity of my life and I am being put through school to get my degree in Accounting and I'm doing work that is interesting to me. And the kicker is that I never would have imagined myself in this line of work. But I'm happy.
I tend to have to force myself to think about what has to be done and at the same time remember that if I have time to do the things I enjoy, then work is work. If I can pay my bills, get fulfillment from hard work and still have time to pursue my interests, then that's the best situation for me.
Sorry to ramble on...I wish you the very best of luck, whichever way you choose to go. :)
I am about to graduate from photography. Last year there were 20 people in the class this year there are 43 the year behind me there are 60. Times this by all the art schools and courses just in England and there are hundreds and thousands of photographers!
So everyone says to me are you scared? Yes, a little I am scared that I am not as good as all those thousands. But as far as a job concerned I can not begin to collate the number of transferable skills I have. This is the joy of a design course you learn so much, often with out realising it because your research is all around you constantly. I think of how many lovely things I have seen today, on blogs, adverts, etc. And I think well someone must be making those things? We have yet to design a machine which is creative I think it is the last area of profession where we can be certain of jobs for ever!
Of the hundreds of people who are doing photography, there are hundreds and hundreds of more people going to each university and doing each course every year. Because there are millions more people each year. As the world grows we will be needed! At least thats what I keep telling myself! :)
I'll get back to you in 6 months and see if my theories are the same!
I think a lot of your readers are in the same boat right now, and I know I'm one of them! Unfortunately I don't have any advice, but I enjoy your blog and can't wait to see the personal projects/posts that you plan on making. Good luck and remember!: This too shall pass.
What an honest post!
I hope my story can be helpful: I went to school for illustration. When I graduated, I fell into the animation field. Now I design backgrounds in Photoshop for preschool TV. The job is more of a utilitarian gig. The art directors and network have all the say, and sometimes I feel like I'm just re-arranging the same elements for different shows. I have been trying very hard to continue developing my own work, but it's a challenge to fit it in. My day job isn't ideal, but I've been flexible enough to go with it and I've met some great people and learned a lot. Your day job doesn't have to define you! I still think of myself as a pen and ink illustrator first, a digital technical designer second.
I'm pretty happy though, and I think it's all about finding balance. It helps that I have a lot of friends in similar positions and we make sure we're all making art outside of work.
I've considered going back to school to try and become an independent artist countless times. The costs always deter me. One option I'm still considering is simply taking a year off and contacting a few mentors to check in with once in a while while I work on some projects (I really want to do a childrens book!)Creatives are so sympathetic to those who are starting out. Maybe find a few designers you admire, in your area or not, and see if they'd be willing to give you some guidance. Things like grades and degrees don't really matter in the visual arts...your portfolio has the first and final say.
Good Luck!!
Oh how I wish I had some words of wisdom for you, for me and the other readers who seem to be in the 'stable income' vs 'follow your heart' tug of war!
What I can say is that in my experience taking the in-the-mean-time job paid the bills but killed me inside. It is hard to keep those creative juices (which you obviously have) flowing when you are spending the majority of your day doing something you don't enjoy.
Take a look at this post on Scoutie Girl, I think it will speak to you: http://www.scoutiegirl.com/2010/03/embracing-abundance-breaking-the-scarcity-mindset.html
best of luck and keep us posted on your decisions.
xo
p.s. I really love that you are taking a more personal approach to your blog and based on the other comments I am not alone;)
I love the honesty here.
I have to say and along with some of commenters, i'm in the same boat too. Right now I have a job, that well I don't really like and has nothing to do with anything I really want to pursue. This is the job that I was going to do while I find my 'real career'... I'm still waiting.
But I've been really thinking about lately and even know it's hard to get the job that you love... even just getting there is a mean process and believe me I HATE job hunting. But I still am optimistic that one day I'll find it and everything will fall into place.
I don't know if this is any help, but its nice to know that there are people trying to pursue there dream... even if difficult.
good luck :)
i say go with what you love. easier said than done - yes. but i like to think that things happen for a reason and this may be the perfect opportunity.
i was recently (as in 48 hours ago) laid off and am now struggling with a similar issue. i have been wanting to go back to school for the past couple years but never quite found the time. now i'll definitely have the time, but not the money. so do i take this as a sign to finally do what i want? or do i instead focus on finding the first thing that will pay the bills? i don't know yet.
good luck to you, whatever you decide!
p.s. i'm with you on the more personal stuff on blogs too. i think i've been purposefully avoiding being too personal on my own blog lately as i had a feeling my recent change of career plans was coming, so i was busy just throwing up stuff up there that was nothing to do with me personally. i found this post of yours quite refreshing so you've now inspired me! so thanks :)
wow, it was like reading my own posts of late! i too graduated sorta recently (06) with a degree in Poli Sci. i used it for a few years and decided it's not what i want to do. financially it makes sense for me to keep my current job because it's a good pay with great benefits but life is too short, as cliche as that sounds, and looking back at the end of my years, i want no regrets. so i've been completing pre-req coursing and this summer i'm applying to an accelerated bachelors of nursing program. i have to take out loans to pay for it, the job market in my state isn't great for new grad nurses but i figure i'm already a step ahead of the pack if i'm simply in the field that i want to be in. the rest? life has a funny way of always working itself out. go for the gold and best of luck!
Hmmmmm...Well, in my opinion, you may never have another chance to really do what you love. You get older and your priorities shift. There may be mortgages, children, etc, and then there may be no time for you to go after something you love. If you think there's a chance you may eventually regret not going after your dream now, then I say go for it.
Best of luck to you! No matter your choice, everything happens for a reason, and things will work out. :)
i, too, have a degree in english. i wasn't able to follow my creative dreams at the time because, well, i needed a paycheck! I had loans and bills and all that other stuff. while i tried to get into an agency to write copy, i had no experience. so i took the first job that came along, doing software and database administration (yuck) which i did for about three years. i then noticed that a copywriting position at that very same agency from before had opened up. No, i still had no writing experience, but the tech experience paired with my education turned out to be enough. i'm still learning the ins and outs, but that previous disappointment i felt was indeed and opportunity. i don't know if this helps you, but just know that sometimes when it seems things are working out terribly wrong, they are actually falling right into place.
I dealt with the same thing this year, and considered just sticking to the job market when I heard an NPR program that basically alluded to the fact that most people in our position (aka just graduated and out of jobs, looking for ideal situation) go back to school because they have no other money making options. In 3-5 years when everyone (all of us, meaning) graduate, even with the economic state in an upturn, we'll be in the same position.
Do what you love, but do some of the grunt work so you can do it full time. We're young.
Post a Comment