20
Jul
2004
8:39

Prison or sanctuary?

So some friends of mine are putting in a good word for me at a company that I’ve wanted to work for since I moved here. As far as “jobs” go it would be about as good as they come. In fact it would be one of the jobs I have been actively pursuing. However, something dawned on me last night that is also kind of scary. If I did end up getting this job, I would not want to leave it. That sounds like a good thing, I’m sure, and it is in many ways. However that puts a scary angle on my acting/film crew/music work. If some opportunity arose, I would not leave my job to pursue it unless it was a proverbial “big break”. If I got some kind of offer for a month long PA job, acting job, music tour, etc., I couldn’t take it because I sure wouldn’t quit such a great job for a temporary gamble.
So this raises the question, “Which is more of a prison: a job you hate or a job you love?”
Now to be fair, I would still pursue it all to the best of my abilities and work around my job as much as I could, while also being far happier at my job and outside of it, but still it’s a scary prospect in some ways. Considering I haven’t even had an interview yet, I realize this is putting the cart before the horse, as it were, but I’m a ponderous guy.

3 Responses

  1. Andy says:

    Having had both now… I’d still have to go with a job you hate being the bigger prison. Having a job that I love makes me feel like I can reach my dreams. Having a job I hated just made me miserable and dreamless all the time, so it wasn’t like I was getting anywhere then.
    Would I leave if something big came along? I don’t know. Still, just being happy all the time has improved my art in every way and given me energy to do things I wouldn’t have done before.
    The whole “being miserable so you can create great art” thing is ridiculous. When I was miserable, my art sucked, my writing sucked, I sucked.
    As far as personal experience goes, it’s always better to be in a work situation where you are happy, and, when the time comes to leave, it’s more like a graduation than a break-up.
    Andy

  2. CosmicAvatar says:

    I agree with pretty much everything Andy said.

  3. Simon says:

    And I agree with both Cossie and Andy. Yes.

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