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age
26-29,
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writes: I need some adviceYou see, I'm an artist at heart right? basically a writer.I go to a highly respected creative arts schoolto study creative writing. Its like college course stuff for high school students.I'm in my first year and I'll be going to this school until I graduate. So, by the time I graduate I won't really have to go to college to study creative writing because I would be facing the same things I've been taught.So what I need advice on is that...I'm under alot of pressure because just like any other aspiring artist I have big big dreams like one day I would like to write novels and win the Pulitzer prize or somethingor do what Stephanie Meyer did and have my book turned into a movieI wanna make anime type stories and stuff too,but I also know that in reality its going to be difficult for me to accomplish this because I'll have to put food on the table when i grow upMy dad tries to give me advice, he keeps talking about getting a minor in art and then go into the medical field or study biology or chemistryor go study for lawon the other hand, my teachers and my friends,like when I tell them what my dad suggests theyd always ask me if I think I would be happy doing thatand honestly I really wouldn't So, I took it upon myself to look for well paying jobs for creative people and I came across film and studio editingBesides writing which is my strongest talent, I had always had a knack for like...going on windows movie maker and making up cool videos with my own choice of music and video clips and I'd post it on youtube and people would think it was really cool.So, I feel like once this creative writing thing is over, I'd go to college and get a bachelor's degree for media and film and since film editors are usually freelance I would have time to work on a storyBut then..when I show my dad he tells me basically that film editors dont really make any moneyHe tells me that he doesn't want me to have an hourly pay but a salary pay,meaning that he wants it to be easy on meHe says that when you are on a salary, you could stay home and still get paid or if you're sick then you could still get pain but if you have an hourly wage,unless you call in sick, you won't get paidand I won't get paid unless I work. But I really really don't think that I would even mind that, I honestly think that I'd be happy this way but its hard when you have a dad telling you all these things about money and salary and being a doctor and doing this and that. Sometimes I get so sick of hearing about money. I know its important but jesus friggin christ, what about me just being satisfied with my life? I don't care about being rich, I honestly don'tSo, if anyone of you could please give me some advice on how to go about this then please do soI feel like I'm stuck in between a rock and a hard place career wisebecause I want a job that allows me to be creative.(Go figure)
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reader, Nime  +, writes (24 September 2011):
 I'm sorry, but your dad's just being realistic. You love being creative, writing, expressing yourself through art? Fancy that. Most of us love to be creative too, and would love even more to do it for a living. In fact, that's what many (far too many) of your peers plan on doing, just like you. We've got hundreds of thousands of students graduating each year in art, art history, literature, writing, creative writing, etc, because they're so passionate about these subjects. (Or more likely, passionate about the fact that these subjects aren't 'hard'. I mean, why would you want to bust your ass in a science for 4 or more years when you can sail through an art or writing degree and express yourself the whole time?)
But the fact is we can't all be artists and authors and psychologists. You talk of well-paying jobs in art and writing, but... wait a minute, WHAT jobs? Honey, take note of our economy. We are in a depression right now. The job situation out there is a DISASTER. I graduated two years ago with a bachelors from a top school and most of my peers STILL can't find jobs. It took one of my friends (graduated with an art degree) two years to find a job *bagging groceries*. The fact is there are virtually NO jobs out there, ESPECIALLY for those who lack specific skills -- and by that I don't mean writing skills!
At least consider what your dad is saying. I truly feel bad for my friends with these worthless degrees in art and writing and their thousands (or in some cases hundreds of thousands) of dollars in student loans. I, on the other hand, graduated with a degree in the sciences and found a job right away (using no connections) with nice benefits and a starting salary (at 0 years of experience) that is more than 400% of what any of my non-science friends make. And believe me they are not happy; despite what you think now, you will neither sustain yourself on nor have the time for art and creativity when you can't pay your bills!
A
male
reader, C. Grant  +, writes (24 September 2011):
 Kiddo, the best advice I ever got was to keep your options open. It's really true that a thousand plus people are putting their stuff out the on YouTube every day. Yep, one or two of them are brilliant and will get to make a life from their art. You might be incredibly talented and maybe one day your stuff will be discovered and be successful. But if you have other talents, if you have the smarts to be one of the things that your father thinks you could be, then going for that doesn't cut you off from your art. On the contrary, kicking ass in law or medicine or whatever opens the door to allowing your creativity to ferment.
Keep your options open. If you have talent academically, go for it. Being able to pay your bills means you can pursue your art.
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