-- Posted by ForeignFishes at 2:30 pm on April 6, 2008 I want to be a writer. But I'm not entirely sure of how talented I am, nor if I could ever be a part of the literary world that is well-known and respected enough to actually make a living off of writing.   So I'm pretty sure I'll probably end up waiting tables for a good portion of my twenties and thirties, writing my novels on the side and sending them off to various publishing firms. I am mostly okay with it. I can't see myself in the corporate world much at all, and could never do a cubicle job. My mother told me that she'd be rather upset if all I did after college was live as a starving-artist. Do you have aspirations in a highly competitive, impractical career area? Is working a shit job with hopes of making it big a waste of your life?   So do you wait tables until you get published or die...or do you give up and do something that isn't your passion? -- Posted by sadnessness at 2:33 pm on April 6, 2008 i want a job that is satisfying, but knows where it ends. i dont want to be spending all my weekends playing catch up, which is what rules out teaching. i think i want to be a journalist -- Posted by dunebug at 4:03 pm on April 21, 2008 Most of the older generation would probably argue that wanting to be passionate and happy with your job has led this generation to being lazy and spoiled. We don't like to do anything we don't enjoy. But I personally think it's sad to work a job for years and years that you hate when you have the option to change. If writing is your passion, go for it. I think it's amazing and beautiful when people are working in a job that they really love. And you can see it in the rest of their personality as well, it just makes a healthier person. People get depressed, grumpy and unhappy with life when they work jobs they don't like. I personally don't aspire career wise, I don't see the point to fight fight fight for months for an extra $2-$6 raise only to get booted out for a 20 year old after like 20-30 years of faithful service. It's just not a passion for me and I'm trying to live in a way that allows me to follow my passions. -- Posted by halfinsane at 6:40 pm on April 22, 2008 Well, I believe that you should try to have a reasonable fall back, just in case you don't make it in your writing career. Try to be a writer but have a back up plan somewhere in the "corporate world". You don't want to be waiting tables all your life. If you get stuck in a job you hate, at least make sure it pays good. They say that money doesn't buy happiness, and I'm a firm believer of that, but; in all practicality, it can help. -- Posted by Blackadder at 2:43 pm on April 27, 2008 What I find interesting is that getting published is the dream.... surely it is better to write for the sake of art itself than for the acclaim? -- Posted by ForeignFishes at 1:54 pm on May 4, 2008 Quote: from Blackadder at 2:43 pm on April 27, 2008 What I find interesting is that getting published is the dream.... surely it is better to write for the sake of art itself than for the acclaim?   My point is that it's incredibly hard to make a living off of writing. I'll write for the sake of writing regardless of what I end up doing in life, but ideally I'd like to get paid for what I love to do. -- Posted by QueenOfGeeks at 5:34 pm on May 5, 2008 Quote: from halfinsane at 6:40 pm on April 22, 2008 Well, I believe that you should try to have a reasonable fall back, just in case you don't make it in your writing career. Try to be a writer but have a back up plan somewhere in the "corporate world". You don't want to be waiting tables all your life. If you get stuck in a job you hate, at least make sure it pays good. They say that money doesn't buy happiness, and I'm a firm believer of that, but; in all practicality, it can help. I agree with this, other than the money doesn't buy happiness. It really does. However, it doesn't buy you a job you like. Still try to write novels on the side. That's what I'm going to do, but I have a passion for more than one thing, so I plan on pursuing as many as I can. I suggest you do the same. If you have a passion for something else as well, go for it. If not, get better pay.