How Artists Can Let Go of Survival Jobs

If you're a creative artist at heart, it may be difficult to earn a good living from your art. Whether you're an illustrator, painter, sculptor, singer or writer, undoubtedly you already have a survival job and it's a dull and poor-paying, 9-5 experience. And that's the problem, the job is for survival, and that's about all you can expect.

I know, because that's what I experienced day after day, year after year as a struggling writer. I deliberately sought out jobs that required very little commitment from me so I could devote my energy to my writing. In return I received very little pay. After a while I got tired of asking my family and friends for money to make up for my own lack.

I was in debt up to my eyeballs and using my credit cards to cover basic living expenses. I had several artist-friends and the constant topic of our conversation was getting our big break. The thought of it was exciting; it's what we all wanted and we worked hard for it daily.

But around the time I neared 30, I noticed that our conversations had begun to change. No longer was the big break the most important thing-everyone, myself included, had more pressing issues. Like establishing a home and a family. And debt and survival jobs didn't figure into that equation.

To make matters worse I was carrying a boat load of student loan debt so the thought of going back to school for several years and getting another degree wasn't an option. I felt trapped in my day job, which didn't give me benefits or health insurance either.

I realized that I needed a better job. A high-paying job. A job with a future. And the ugly truth is that the urge to trade in my creativity for a steady job became stronger and stronger every month. Finally, I got to the point where I was ready to give up my art; and based on my past conversations with artist-friends I knew this scenario happened all the time.

After much internal struggle, I decided against giving up my creativity. I thought it was better to have a solid career, which would give me the emotional and financial stability I needed to write before work in the morning or after work in the evenings and during weekends.

Once I made that decision, I discovered there were lots of options available too. Yes, going back to school for another degree or an advanced degree is a popular choice. The number of Law Schools, MBA programs and MFA programs has increased substantially over the past decade. However, that wasn't the choice I made.

There are short-term options available, such as getting training in a specific field, like technology.

Suddenly I woke up to the fact that technology has been a hot field for at least two decades. More and more new fields are popping up every single day and they're a good choice for artists. So I got myself into a short-term training program and a few weeks after that I had my first job offer. I didn't need a degree in Computer Science either to break into the tech-field nor did I need to be all that tech-savvy.

What I needed was the willingness to dedicate myself to studying an hour a day even while I worked my survival job. And the best part is that I didn't have to sacrifice my writing to do it.

Why? Because learning about technology didn't suck up time from practicing my craft. Contrary to popular belief you do not, let me repeat, you do not have to give up your art to land a good career. The only thing you will give up is the survival job and the financial problems it produced.

Erin Roux is the author of "No More Starving Artist: Five Low-Tech Careers to Get You out of the Poorhouse". This ebook offers information on careers that any Starving Artist can get with a few weeks of training and self-study. Erin has used these methods and nabbed a low-tech career, still practices her writing craft and has escaped the Starving Artist trap for good. You can get more information at ( http://www.no-more-starving-artist.com )

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