to job or not to job: that is the question
in the week that my computer died, i panicked. i felt like a useless lump on the couch with no internet and no hours billed. so i started looking for "real" work (once i got my computer back). and because my applying was a knee-jerk response to being idle, i got immediate responses. one from a monthly magazine and one from a marketing group. having been on the interviews, let me break it down in a list of pros and cons:
magazine pros:
it's grass-roots, paid for with advertiser money
laid-back atmosphere
perks, like free entry to fun-runs and free merchandise from advertisers
many things to do
magazine cons:
it doesn't pay a lot because it's paid for with advertiser money
it's a real 9-5 job, with maybe weekends
it's not easily accessible by public transportation, or "easy" as i've been used to over the years. it would require a train switch or *gasp!* riding the bus.
marketing group pros:
pays well
small department, it would just be me and the manager, who works from home 3 days a week
many things to do
close to train
marketing group cons:
it's a real 9-5 job
they have cubes
i would be the only one in the department, with exception 2 days a week
i'm going to go ahead and say that i like not having a real job. as annoying as it gets looking at these same white walls and those same fighting cats, they're MY white walls and they're MY fighting cats (actually, OUR white walls, OUR fighting cats). i can do laundry when i work on a newsletter. i can go to starbucks and do that flyer. the work i do is for ME, for clients i love to work for. i find the printers and the paper and the images. it's all me. and when it's done, i did it. it wasn't a department or someone handing me an assignment. i find a lot of satisfaction in doing this freelance thing that i haven't had in a long time. i guess i just worry that i'll never save any money to buy a house or ever have anything to retire on if i don't get my head out of my ass and get back to work. isn't that how we're all trained? i tell people that i'm unemployed, but i'm not really. i'm a DESIGNER, dammit. i can design anything i want! you wanna book? i can make you a book! you wanna sign? i can make you a sign! you wanna calendar with your daughter's picture on every month? i can make you that calendar!
maybe i should hold out for my freedom for as long as i can. any opinions out there?
magazine pros:
it's grass-roots, paid for with advertiser money
laid-back atmosphere
perks, like free entry to fun-runs and free merchandise from advertisers
many things to do
magazine cons:
it doesn't pay a lot because it's paid for with advertiser money
it's a real 9-5 job, with maybe weekends
it's not easily accessible by public transportation, or "easy" as i've been used to over the years. it would require a train switch or *gasp!* riding the bus.
marketing group pros:
pays well
small department, it would just be me and the manager, who works from home 3 days a week
many things to do
close to train
marketing group cons:
it's a real 9-5 job
they have cubes
i would be the only one in the department, with exception 2 days a week
i'm going to go ahead and say that i like not having a real job. as annoying as it gets looking at these same white walls and those same fighting cats, they're MY white walls and they're MY fighting cats (actually, OUR white walls, OUR fighting cats). i can do laundry when i work on a newsletter. i can go to starbucks and do that flyer. the work i do is for ME, for clients i love to work for. i find the printers and the paper and the images. it's all me. and when it's done, i did it. it wasn't a department or someone handing me an assignment. i find a lot of satisfaction in doing this freelance thing that i haven't had in a long time. i guess i just worry that i'll never save any money to buy a house or ever have anything to retire on if i don't get my head out of my ass and get back to work. isn't that how we're all trained? i tell people that i'm unemployed, but i'm not really. i'm a DESIGNER, dammit. i can design anything i want! you wanna book? i can make you a book! you wanna sign? i can make you a sign! you wanna calendar with your daughter's picture on every month? i can make you that calendar!
maybe i should hold out for my freedom for as long as i can. any opinions out there?
posted by mikraas at 9:01 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home