Jump to content

I've been thinking about this a little bit lately


Snatch Steal

Recommended Posts

Recently, I uploaded 3 videos to Youtube for the sake of being able to share my Smash replays with people in Discord. The process made me feel strangely accomplished in spite of not actually creating anything. I've also been working on a "program" in Scratch for several days now, and I can easily see the improvement with each change I make. 

 

But somehow, every time I see esports or novelists or successful people who get to do what they love and don't need to be another brick in the wall, it bemuses me. Why can't everyone live that lifestyle, and why does anyone who lives it right now deserve it? 

 

Most of the time, it comes down to "work." But what if you're like me and the only thing you can really muster is a passable book? Books are a dying art, considering how much more effectively and easier movies, TV shows, and video games convey the same message. Reading a book takes so much effort and dedicated time, whereas watching a movie or playing a video game requires very little effort on part of the consumer to enjoy.

 

I can't program. I've been in computer science and introduced to HTML, CSS, Javascript, and now Python. Every effort I make to improve and change where it matters amounts to nothing. If you've seen my art you know this well.

 

Basically I'm afraid of becoming an adult and needing to rely on myself because the career path I'm headed in is extremely unstable and generally useless. I don't want to end up being a basement baby or starve because I can't afford to pay for myself, but those seem to be my trajectories.

 

How do I avoid this fate? Should I be something I'm not, or should I give up on my ambitions? If I want to be recognized for what I create, how can I profit from it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It'll go fine. You won't starve, there are too many measures in place to prevent that. Even if you made a concerted effort to starve yourself people would notice, intervene and you'd be hard-pressed to do it. That said, the wilful self-sabotage route is the antithesis of what you want to do. The more open you are to support with the transition to adulthood where you can get it, the sooner you can be self-reliant. 

 

There's no shame in taking up jobs for the sake of jobs (food preparation, clerking, cleaning etc) while doing what you want to do on the side, but as you mentioned there is some shame in completely depending on your parents. If the job search is a struggle then that's what government aid is for and it saves your parents money while pushing you into paid training programs and the like that can prepare you for a job and open your eyes to possibilities, so there's no shame in that either. 

 

For me, university was a strain on myself and everyone around me so I dropped out after my first year and am very happy I did. 

 

I wouldn't have your heart set on a particular career path, if you can get into a situation where you get paid for showing up and following clear instructions (a job) then that's a wonderful thing that gives you a lot of confidence, momentum, and leverage. Once you have that you can do what you want on the side and if what you want turns out to be profitable then you can ride that wave. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, the whole "do what you love, and you'll find a way to make ends meet" is just a huge funking lie. While many people do indeed make a career out of what they are passionate about, that isn't the case for most, and that's completely okay.

 

Do what allows you to do what you love. If you want to be an author, that's great, but it does not need to be how you make your living. As a matter of fact, aside from the very highest selling of authors, it often ends up as a supplemental income, with the author either having another job to pay the bills, or having another person supporting them.

 

So don't stress over finding a career that defines you. Working for the weekend is a common, acceptable, and most importantly worthwhile way to live life.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It'll go fine. You won't starve, there are too many measures in place to prevent that. Even if you made a concerted effort to starve yourself people would notice, intervene and you'd be hard-pressed to do it. That said, the wilful self-sabotage route is the antithesis of what you want to do. The more open you are to support with the transition to adulthood where you can get it, the sooner you can be self-reliant. 

 

There's no shame in taking up jobs for the sake of jobs (food preparation, clerking, cleaning etc) while doing what you want to do on the side, but as you mentioned there is some shame in completely depending on your parents. If the job search is a struggle then that's what government aid is for and it saves your parents money while pushing you into paid training programs and the like that can prepare you for a job and open your eyes to possibilities, so there's no shame in that either. 

 

For me, university was a strain on myself and everyone around me so I dropped out after my first year and am very happy I did. 

 

I wouldn't have your heart set on a particular career path, if you can get into a situation where you get paid for showing up and following clear instructions (a job) then that's a wonderful thing that gives you a lot of confidence, momentum, and leverage. Once you have that you can do what you want on the side and what you want turns out to be profitable then you can ride that wave.

 

I think this is what my dad did. It took him 30 years but he did it.

 

Just wait, when machines take over the regular paying job, there will be a humanistic renaissance. I am counting down the days and am waiting for it to happen.

 

Yeah robot socialism will be either amazing or the end of the world. I have reason to believe either outcome but obviously the first would be helpful at the least

 

Honestly, the whole "do what you love, and you'll find a way to make ends meet" is just a huge funking lie. While many people do indeed make a career out of what they are passionate about, that isn't the case for most, and that's completely okay.

Do what allows you to do what you love. If you want to be an author, that's great, but it does not need to be how you make your living. As a matter of fact, aside from the very highest selling of authors, it often ends up as a supplemental income, with the author either having another job to pay the bills, or having another person supporting them.

So don't stress over finding a career that defines you. Working for the weekend is a common, acceptable, and most importantly worthwhile way to live life.

Time to get a sugar daddy

 

Well that’s all a nice sentiment so yeah thanks everyone

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As much as I believe that I am going to live the way I desire to, I am coming down to where I am going to be more of an adult than just one in school. I am getting paid to go to school, basically, as long as I study Literature and Philosophy. I want to be a scholar, spending my days reading and criticizing writer/thought itself. I work on thesis after thesis, mainly around social notions and regards without contingency toward classes. It is fun and I am love doing it, but I need to get out in the world and take on actual jobs that I can live on, once I am done with my Undergrad work. 

 

I am nervous as hell, but I have so many connections and know my own worth that help to determine where I make ends meet, where I can function within my own works. That is what I got to do, more than most, is build the connections that can help build me up and have me find places where my work is also a passion. I still get to maintain my passion along the way, too. I just got lucky, but I can give some advice: Put yourself out there. Not just your art, but also with your personality. Make friends and figure out where you stand in your own heart. It helps to find a focus with yourself, as to what you want to work toward. Everything becomes a side job, only as a means to make your true passion be what you want to get anything from. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right now I'm working to be an author/writer, and absolutely the thought frequently crosses my mind if I just won't be successful enough to make that my career. There's a lot of luck required to make it in that industry, but if that's my passion I shouldn't let the possibility of it not falling through to hold me back. I'm doing my best to keep my head up and make it happen.

 

Realistically, I'll probably need to get a day-job, and that's okay. I might just end up being a copy-writer for advertisements or promotional material, or something much less glamorous, but at no point should I ever let that discourage me from following my passion.

 

With the idea of "do what you love/make ends meet" isn't the way to say it, in my opinion. I've worked a number of jobs, and I think it's more accurately something along the lines of "You can love doing almost anything with the right attitude/people". Out of the jobs I've worked, the only one I absolutely hated wasn't so much because of the work (I disliked the actual work but I got used to it). It was more because of the dumb hours and that my coworkers were the worst ever. I work now driving a truck doing pick-ups and deliveries, and I can genuinely enjoy my work most of the time. It's not the cushiest and hardly the most glamorous, but the only part that will ever annoy me significantly is the sheer inconsistency of my schedule.

 

If you need to find work that's nothing more than something to pay the bills, that's okay. You can still live a happy and fulfilling life with that work. There's dignity in work that's nothing more than something to make ends meet, especially if it's to provide for people you love.

 

 

Also, I'm not sure there's a line of work where anyone isn't afraid of their job security until they've "made it" and gotten the job, and often times even then. It's a scary world out there, so just remember that you're not alone in that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm mostly content with working a dead end job, honestly. More free time would be nice, but I don't need to enjoy every moment of my life. The things I enjoy aren't things I need to get paid to do, and they're things I find fulfilling even though I can't fully dedicate myself to them.

 

You haven't failed at life just because you don't enjoy your job. My job just buys me time so I can improve elsewhere without having to focus on survival.

 

I'm not saying to give up your hopes and dreams- I certainly haven't- but I was just woefully unprepared to pursue them, and now I have the time to prepare myself better because I'm not constantly worried if I'll have a house by the end of the month.

 

I'm a lot happier for it. Life seems a lot longer when you don't have such short term time limits.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A lot of people have said things and this might be somewhat redundant but...

 

Hi I'm Cow and I'm 24 years old. My desire is to be able to write SOMETHING that'll get out there. Be it novels or other kind of creative writing I still don't know. But at the moment I've got a regular entry level job to pay for things and...really it's fine. The main thing to try to do, in my limited experience, is find a job that you don't hate and is stable and allows you some time to do things besides that job.

Of course I constantly worry that I'm not spending enough time trying to do my writing but, hey, as long as I get to write and not have no money I should be okay.

 

Another thing I could say is if you're worried about books dying out then you could try your hand at other kinds of writing as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I'm making a modest living (somewhere north of 40k) with just Javascript, HTML and CSS, so....

 

But yeah I wish I could just make music for a living but I'm such a lazy funk I haven't been able to even write any songs.  Combine that with a terrible inability to save money and even being 24 making a livable salary, I still live at home.

 

But something that I'm learning right now that I think will help, is to not think about the big picture too much.  I mean, obviously, have a plan, but don't only stress out about the end goal.  All you have right now is the remaining hours in the day.  How can you use those hours to better yourself?  How can you use those hours to make a tiny step toward your goals?  Do that.  Stop procrastinating, and make a tiny step, today.  Don't focus on how small of a step it is or how many more steps you'll need to take.  Just walk.

 

As for creative writing, I HATE to tell you this, but DO NOT rely on making a living doing that.  Get a job and write stuff on the side.  If anything you write takes off, great!  If not, you still have a job.

 

Best of luck mate, I'm right there with you. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As much as I'd like to design video games for a living, I can't write code that well except for basic Java/C from required coursework [and it's been a while otherwise], there's no industry for it down here (period) and it's an off/on job (work day/night and product is either a pass/fail).  

 

[i have limited career options that'll pay off due to cost of living and again, lack of viable industries here (anything else besides tourism, agriculture, infrastructure and medicine would require moving to mainland)]

 

Granted, I do have a part-time job at the water park on the weekends as a cashier (well, that's what I'm "technically" classified as, but a lot of it lately is doing running orders at the food court and occasionally ride attendant stuff). Minimum wage, but they're flexible with schedule and the people there are usually good. This is just to get working experience (because this is the only job I have actually had) and a bit of extra money for myself while I try to finish up for my engineering degree that WILL be paying my bills and all.

 

I do worry about how my life will change after I get my degree and start going into the field [if this is really what I want to be doing], but I'll have to hold off on thinking this until after I get my foot into the door with internships and whatnot. Currently I'm not because of getting through the program first. 

 

 

But this is about you, so...

 

===

You don't have to give up your dream of doing what you want, but just be aware that it may not pay your bills or be stable enough so you don't end up filing for unemployment or relying on an additional job / someone else. This also depends on where you live (how much does stuff cost, is there a big enough industry for what you're doing, etc). You have to make a decision based on your environment and if your lifestyle can support you in there; it's not something we can help you too much in.

 

Like people mentioned already, you shouldn't keep it as your main job. Granted, there apparently is a field for professional gaming (if that suits your interest and you can get in by playing Smash or whatnot), but as it's a new field, there's no guarantee that it'll last long enough as a stable career. Not everyone is cut out for the gaming industry or be the greatest writer of all time; you won't be the greatest, but at least you can try to make a decent attempt at it on the side. 

 

 

All of that said, you should start planning ahead right now because there's only so much your parents can keep supporting you while figuring out what to do with your life. I apologize if I did end up sounding more pessimistic than everyone else in here, but yeah, balance out your dreams with reality (as we can't speak for what your circumstances are). Nothing wrong with doing the things that you love (it's important that you find something you want to be doing, rather than something you don't and just need for the money), but just make sure that you have a backup plan in case things go wrong (have other people help you out, or just do it as a side job and get something else that can fill in the rest). 

 

You'll find something that you like that can help you keep food on the table; just a matter of finding it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...