What’s a “real job” where I can be creative?

Vesper_Jaye✝️

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My mom was asking me about what I want to major in and what I want to be when I grow up. I told her I didn’t know what to major in and that I wanted to write stories and draw. She said that’s something I could do on the side but it’s not a “real job”.

So what is a real job where I can do stuff like creative writing or drawing or maybe designing? And what would I major in for a real job where I can be creative?
 
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spiritfilledjm

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I think this is the right forum to post this thread in???

My mom was asking me about what I want to major in and what I want to be when I grow up. I told her I didn’t know what to major in and that I wanted to write stories and draw. She said that’s something I could do on the side but it’s not a “real job”.

So what is a real job where I can do stuff like creative writing or drawing or maybe designing? And what would I major in for a real job where I can be creative?

There are plenty of real jobs to be had with writing and illustrating. However, it's a highly competitive market and most are actually contract positions, meaning that you're not an actual employee but contracted to do the work. Your best bet would be to reach out to various comic book companies (assuming that's what you are actually wanting to do with writing and illustrating) and send out your portfolio with examples of your works and hope for the best.
 
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d taylor

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Benjamin Müller

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Don't want to sound harsh, but I sort of agree with your mother. Making a living off of creativity has always been difficult throughout the ages. Penniless poets and poor artists have existed for a long time; very few of these individuals ever made a good living or become highly esteemed in elitist circles.

Check around locally for a graphic's shop and try applying for a job there, otherwise become an entrepreneur, which means you will need a stable source of income by doing something else until your business is on firm footing.

I know locally where I am, there's a graphics shop that does t-[bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse]s, embroidery and car logos -- like the logos you'd see on police cars and such. They do the Sheriff logo on our county's police cars.

Etsy is a good place to try and jump-start a business. You could make your own decals for cars; make stickers; t-shirts etc. If you're looking to do animated work, there's always Youtube where once you get a following you could monetize your videos.

I, myself, want to eventually get works published and be able to make a living that way, but I've been operating the family cleaning business for income while I work on my books.

My only advice as far as college goes is that I don't recommend taking a creative writing course, because you will eventually have to unlearn everything. They teach a lot of worthless, prosy, stuff that is going to get edited out of your final draft anyway. Join writing forums and get real critiques from other writers and avid readers. A creative writing degree is a waste as far as I'm concerned.
 
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Maria Billingsley

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I think this is the right forum to post this thread in???

My mom was asking me about what I want to major in and what I want to be when I grow up. I told her I didn’t know what to major in and that I wanted to write stories and draw. She said that’s something I could do on the side but it’s not a “real job”.

So what is a real job where I can do stuff like creative writing or drawing or maybe designing? And what would I major in for a real job where I can be creative?
I wanted to be an interior designer since I was a child. That is what I became !
Www.mariabillingsley.com
 
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Benjamin Müller

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iluvatar5150

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I think this is the right forum to post this thread in???

My mom was asking me about what I want to major in and what I want to be when I grow up. I told her I didn’t know what to major in and that I wanted to write stories and draw. She said that’s something I could do on the side but it’s not a “real job”.

So what is a real job where I can do stuff like creative writing or drawing or maybe designing? And what would I major in for a real job where I can be creative?

Creativity can manifest in a number of ways. Most folks associate "creativity" with some form of music, visual, or performance art, but I'd argue that the sorts of problem solving that one encounters in engineering, mathematics, hard science, and finance can require just as much creativity. Heck, even some sports can push those same buttons. Different flavors of creativity appeal to different people.

That said, as someone who works in a "creative" field (sound design lead on a video game franchise), you're kinda coming at it from the wrong direction. Asking "what jobs are out there for me?" is great. But asking "what do I major in?" without already having an idea of what you want to do and what makes you tick is a good way to wind up with a mountain of debt and no job prospects. I'm very pro-education, but art/music/design school is a risky proposition and you should have at least a couple years of seriously exploring and working on your art on your own before pulling the trigger. It's good to be malleable in school, but the business is so competitive and the education so expensive that you can't really afford to spend much time fumbling around. If you want to make the most of it, you need to know how work and grow and hustle by the time you get there. For example, nobody goes to Juliard to learn how to play Chopsticks or a major scale or discover that they don't really like practicing for 4 hours a day. You go to Juliard when you already know what you're doing and have committed to making a serious career out of music.

But to answer your question - there are loads of jobs where those skills apply. I make video games and half the people in the building do some version of "creative writing or drawing or maybe designing"; and the other half are engineers who at least have to be conversant in those subjects. TV, film, video games, theater, advertising, UX & web design, architecture, interior design, journalism, fashion, and furniture making all lean heavily on those skills. In most disciplines, a big part of being an academic is writing. Heck, I have a friend who owns a business making custom model train layouts - he and most of his employees went to art school.

So, there is definitely work out there to be had; you just have to be smart about it. It's very much not the sort of thing where you can show up to freshman orientation completely green, expect them to spoon feed you for 4 years, and walk out with a piece of paper that you can trade for a job. You really have to be proactive about maximizing your education, your personal development, your networking, your job prospects. Always think of yourself as an entrepreneur, even if you work in house. Always be hustling. And if you're going to pursue education, do some research ahead of time to know which doors the degree will unlock and which doors it won't. There are a lot of fields where the minimum credential is a graduate degree and anything below that is basically ignored. There are others where no degree is required and people only care about your portfolio.
 
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DragonFox91

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I thought of advertising & marketing, & interior design.

Posters before me mentioned graphic design: my high school offered CAD courses so if you’re in high school still, start taking those. If you’re excelling at it, your teacher will notice & you can ask them for ideas.

The technical writers at my employer, some of the majored in creative writing.

The major itself isn’t so important as how transferrable it is to other jobs. For example, their creative writing degrees allowed them to get technical writing jobs.

If you like creative writing, start submitting works to publishers & editors now.
 
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bèlla

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The biggest questions you need to answer are these:

What holds my interest most between the three? Rank them.
What do I excel at most from best to least?
What is the current market and projected growth? Rank them from most promising to least.

Now you’re armed with facts. You know what you like. What you’re good at. And have information on its future outlook.

Then research the industry. What’s happening. How its changed. What they expect in the coming years. It won’t look the same when you’re there.

My daughter is a talented writer. She wrote stories at an early age and started writing lyrics at 12. I nurtured her talent. She took as many writing classes as she could in high school and college. She went beyond her comfort zone and studied different forms to enhance her proficiency. It wasn’t for naught.

Now she’s a wellness coach and blogger. All she required was instruction in health. She had the other in tow. She makes a living selling her knowledge. So do I.

You have to answer the questions before you can put a plan in place. There’s many ways to accomplish a goal. Sometimes the obvious one isn’t best. But you won’t know until you figure things out.

I had her put things on hold to pursue entrepreneurship. Including school. She accepted less lucrative work to free up time for the main thing. It’s easier to make sacrifices when you’re at home and don’t have the responsibilities of marriage and family.

That went on the back burner too. Learn all you can in this season. While life is simple and less complicated. Take the classes. Go to camps and groups that share your interests.

Milk these moments. They’ll never come again. It’s significantly harder later on. You’ll have more demands. I left the workforce at a young age. But she bested me by five years.

Her plate was empty. She could pursue her dreams relentlessly. She wasn’t obligated elsewhere. That’s why I had her delay the rest. To smooth her path. And it paid off.

Commit everything to prayer. Ask the Lord to order your steps and lead you to the place He has in mind. And follow Him. Doors will open. Knowledge will come. Connections will arise. I’ve lived it.

Good luck. :)
 
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Vesper_Jaye✝️

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The biggest questions you need to answer are these:

What holds my interest most between the three? Rank them.
What do I excel at most from best to least?
What is the current market and projected growth? Rank them from most promising to least.

Now you’re armed with facts. You know what you like. What you’re good at. And have information on its future outlook.

Then research the industry. What’s happening. How its changed. What they expect in the coming years. It won’t look the same when you’re there.

My daughter is a talented writer. She wrote stories at an early age and started writing lyrics at 12. I nurtured her talent. She took as many writing classes as she could in high school and college. She went beyond her comfort zone and studied different forms to enhance her proficiency. It wasn’t for naught.

Now she’s a wellness coach and blogger. All she required was instruction in health. She had the other in tow. She makes a living selling her knowledge. So do I.

You have to answer the questions before you can put a plan in place. There’s many ways to accomplish a goal. Sometimes the obvious one isn’t best. But you won’t know until you figure things out.

I had her put things on hold to pursue entrepreneurship. Including school. She accepted less lucrative work to free up time for the main thing. It’s easier to make sacrifices when you’re at home and don’t have the responsibilities of marriage and family.

That went on the back burner too. Learn all you can in this season. While life is simple and less complicated. Take the classes. Go to camps and groups that share your interests.

Milk these moments. They’ll never come again. It’s significantly harder later on. You’ll have more demands. I left the workforce at a young age. But she bested me by five years.

Her plate was empty. She could pursue her dreams relentlessly. She wasn’t obligated elsewhere. That’s why I had her delay the rest. To smooth her path. And it paid off.

Commit everything to prayer. Ask the Lord to order your steps and lead you to the place He has in mind. And follow Him. Doors will open. Knowledge will come. Connections will arise. I’ve lived it.

Good luck. :)
That’s going to be a lot of hard work, but I’ll try! Thanks for the advice!
 
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Vesper_Jaye✝️

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are you in college now or planning on attending?
I’m in high school, but I’ve taken one online college class, I’m doing another one right now. I’m hoping to do a lot of my first two years of college online and then when I’m ready to go to college I only have two more years until I have four years of college.
are you interested in graphic design?
I mostly draw characters and I haven’t really looked into graphic design but I think I would like it.
 
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