Ok..
My goal in life is to live off my drawing. I know im not skilled enough yet but I hope to be in a year or two. Im still learning.
I just got a call asking me if i want a full-time help-desk position earning 40k AUS dollars. Help desk isnt what I necessarily want but then I think am I just following the dream sort of thing and I will never get a job with my drawing... so I think something like web-design or graphic design job would sort of suit that path more as it has more creative input.
To put things into perspective my mind is clashing in that I want to have a creative job, it doesn't matter about shitty pay or do I want to follow a path that is working a mindless job but good pay. The thing about the IT job is there is room for promotion down the line.
I will still find time to draw I am sure but it will be less time. I currently have a casual job but it only pays about 22k a year and I dont work much but its easy work and I can also draw while at work while I do the other work.
Bah life is hard and shitty lol
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Why not take the job for now and use your spare time to try and do some of your own graphic design work, like hire yourself out to do some side jobs via craigslist or other postings to try to build yourself up a portfolio of stuff
That way when you want to switch you can switch
People switch careers like every day man
Take the job. Practice your art. And MAYBE...MAYBE someday someone might pay you money for your hobby.
Thank you, Rubacava!
Go from there.
Yes i have a degree and experience that allows me to pick up a job anywhere from video editing, animation to grahic and web design. I want a more creative career path than help desk and It support thats all.
I think I answered my own question anyway. Ill take it if I get offered it. I've never had a fulltime job before and I have always wanted one. I can always still search for other jobs I just feel that to work for someone you need a loyalty to them and give them years of commitment. I get told many times you dont but I still dont like to leave people stranded if im like.. yeah.. Im quitting after a few months working for you
they get over it faster than you will
Here is where you're wrong. Your degree doesn't means shit. Sorry to be blunt, but you don't get a job in creative fields with a degree. You get it with a strong portfolio, and contacts within the industry.
Take the 9-5. Practice your art while doing it.
Don't worry about that, I'm not in my field now but am working full-time and applying to positions in my field. How committed are you to working on the path you want? Trust me, if you get a position in your field you won't feel abd about leaving the other place. If you have to worry about money it will be harder but if you can afford to work part-time then you have more options. I'm looking for full and part time positions in my field and if I find one I'm blowing away my current crappy job.
I did all my homework in downtime during the school year and now I'm killing time posting on here while some user reboots her computer.
So you may be able to work on your art while working at a help desk.
artists need to eat as well
Don't the best ones starve?
The best solution is to get a semi-flexible job with low requirements and not much afterthought. For example, try waiting tables at a busy restaurant. Spend a couple hours a day on your portfolio.
I'm not saying your life will be guaranteed to work out like I described, but it happens to more people than it does to successful people. I know everyone wants to think they have the skills to make it as an artist, but you need more than a degree and willpower to make MONEY doing it. You need to put in hard time and make it the focus of your day. It's hard to make it the focus with a full time job with benefits etc.
In reality, I would still take the job if I were in your position. However, there's always the other side of the coin. If you take the job, write a log or a list of things you need to do for your portfolio, otherwise it will NEVER get rounded out. Taking the job means you need to be extra diligent at home.
Take the job. You never know what the IT job will bring, either. Jobs bring contacts. My job is taking a graphic design direction, and it started as a filing clerk position. All you need to do is do your job to your best ability, and whenever you see an opportunity to show your art or apply your creativity to better something, DO IT. Then SHOW your boss, tell them WHY it helps and suggest other projects you could work on. Before long you'll end up being the Graphic Designer, despite not having any experience.
Also you would be surprised how often you can find time to draw at a desk job.
You're no longer an artist if you're starving.
This. One of the most important things you can do is network, and this applies to ANY job. And mully is also right that sometimes, more often than you may think, one type of work will branch out into another.