Day Jobs: Real Ones/Dream Ones

Ren · Jan 20, 2009

Not sure if this is the place to post this, but it was the best place that came to mind.

If you are not a full-time writer, what is your day job?

What do you think would be a "dream" day job for a part-time writer? I don't mean necessarily what is your dream job, but a job that you think would be good for someone wanting to get their writing career going. Jobs that spawn ideas, jobs that provide enough time off to write, jobs where you could write on the job... things like that.

Day job: Unemployed and frantically looking for ANYTHING.

Dream day job: Taxi driver. How could you fail to fill up the idea tank with a job like that?

Greenify13 · Jan 20, 2009

Ren said:
Not sure if this is the place to post this, but it was the best place that came to mind.

If you are not a full-time writer, what is your day job?

What do you think would be a "dream" day job for a part-time writer?

Day job: Unemployed and frantically looking for ANYTHING.

Dream day job: Taxi driver. How could you fail to fill up the idea tank with a job like that?

Day job: full-time mom, part time writer, lol

Dream job: I would accept any job right now, but I am looking into schools for Criminal Investigation, Lab specialist...

LadyVonFright · Jan 20, 2009

Day Job: answering and directing phone calls for a large accounting firm, and booking meeting rooms for everyone in the firm. (its enough to suck the creativity out of you, and it has!) and I try to write when ever I can but its difficult to find the time.

Dream Job: survivalist

CaroGirl · Jan 20, 2009

Day job: Full-time technical writer for a web-based software product.

Dream job: Full-time fiction writer. In the absence of that possibility, I suppose doing the same job I'm doing now, only doing it part-time and from home would be great. It's boring enough to give me lots of time to daydream and the p/t aspect would give me time to write down my ideas; time I don't have right now.

LaurieD · Jan 20, 2009

Day job - medical transcriptionist (from home). Lots of opportunity to be creative in one's head while doc after doc drones on and on. Can be coma inducing though...

Dream job - assumming that writing full time is merely a pipe dream, my dream job would be photographer - traveling the world taking breath taking shots for $$$$

DeleyanLee · Jan 20, 2009

Day job: Executive secretary to a physician/division chief at a major hospital

Dream job: I've got it right now. Great boss, reasonable pay, good people, just enough job to stay awake for all day.

Even if I sold, I wouldn't give up the day job. I couldn't afford to give up the bennies and the steady paycheck. It would also be detrimental to my writing, since my day job is pretty much my major contact with the outside world and constant reality check.

Kathleen42 · Jan 20, 2009

Day Job: I work in the marketing department for an IT company.

Kitty Pryde · Jan 20, 2009

Day job: science editor for a dietary supplement company

Dream job: One of the following: Full time writer/mom, puppy fuzziness inspector/chocolate tastiness assurance officer, pediatric physical therapist

alleycat · Jan 20, 2009

Day job: Working for a major structural engineering firm.

Dream job: Still being determined.

bsolah · Jan 20, 2009

Day Job: I work in an office for a not-for-profit charity writing reports on the performance of government funded employment programs using Excel. It's dead boring but my boss is in Sydney and no one in my office knows what my job is. So I spend plently of time on AW, writing, blogging and bludging.

Dream job: This changes all of the time but working at a small bookstore, publishing house or library would be nice.

Diamond Lil · Jan 20, 2009

Day Job(s): temp agency/secretarial work. Depending on the assignment, it can either inspire amusing scenes in my fiction or drain the life and joy right out of me.

Dream Job: Tour guide/travel writer.

MattW · Jan 20, 2009

Day Job: efficiency expert

Dream Job: inefficiency expert

selkn.asrai · Jan 20, 2009

bsolah said:
Dream job: This changes all of the time but working at a small bookstore... would be nice.

Yeah, it's quaint and charming and appropriate. And low-paying. Really... low-paying... *sob*

Day job: Bookseller.

Dream job for writing: Aside from being a full-time writer (duh) the dream job that would accomodate a writing lifestyle, for me, would be a) wildlife photographer *sigh* or b) editor's assistant. When I worked in a publishing house, I wrote so consistently and with such energy. It fostered my creativity like you wouldn't believe.

bsolah · Jan 20, 2009

selkn.asrai said:
Yeah, it's quaint and charming and appropriate. And low-paying. Really... low-paying... *sob*

Day job: Bookseller.

That's my main problem. I'm a crazy spender, so it's a real problem.

But I like my romantic ideas about working in a bookstore, or owning one. In fact, I want to be Bernard Black.

Barb D · Jan 20, 2009

Day job: migraine sufferer. Seriously. I have them every friggin' day, and sleep a lot. My good hours are in the late afternoon/evening. (And yes, I've tried every medication/treatment known to man, including electrodes implanted in my head.)

Dream job: the job I'm on disability from: computer scientist. Loved my job. Truly hope to get back to it.

Tigercub · Jan 20, 2009

Day job: Right now, long-term unemployment and quickly going down for the third time.
Dream job: Actually, what I've been doing most of my working life is pretty close. I've been a writer/editor for 20 years -- technical, business, science. I guess my dream job would be to stay home and write (and edit) and get a good income doing it. Novels, nonfiction, user guides, short stuff, greeting cards, anything with letters in a row, really.

kuwisdelu · Jan 20, 2009

Current Job: Student. Yeah...

Planned Day Job: Should graduate with MS in Stats and BS in Physics. So...probably doing statistical work somewhere. I want something to pay the bills...and by pay the bills, I mean pay for a room full of expensive suits and bleeding edge electronic playthings.

Dream Job: Just writing, full time. I've always harbored dreams of being a brilliant theoretical physicist, but day by day that becomes both increasingly unlikely and unattractive. I'll prefer to be a brilliant writer, if I can manage ever that. I'm allowed my dreams...

ghsb12 · Jan 21, 2009

Day job: personal assistant.

Dream job: CIA

Virector · Jan 21, 2009

Day job: Full time University student, feeling too lazy right now to get a part-time job...

Dream job: {Film maker, best-selling author, music producer} all at the same time... It's far fetched but hey, it is a dream job(s), right?

Ken · Jan 21, 2009

...I supplement my writing income by temping. I'm signed up with two agencies. One has so-so jobs, but whenever I need loot they always have something available. The other agency gets me high paying assignments at good companies, but doesn't always have assignments available. Between the two I can work just as much as I need to to pay my bills and have a maximum amount of time to write.

StancyMcKatt · Jan 21, 2009

Current Job: Looking for A Job

Dream Job: Something that pays my bills, and allows me to put some money in savings.

NeuroFizz · Jan 21, 2009

Current: University Professor (Biology/Marine Biology/Neuroscience)

Dream: I'm a lucky man--I have my dream job (although I've had to work my a$$ off to get where I am, and I have to continue to do so to stay where I am). If I had to give up writing right now, my creative self would still be fulfilled with the research and teaching parts of my current job, in fact the researsh part dwarfs my fiction and poetry writing in terms of creativity. But to add to the dream, I don't have to give up writing, so it makes it that much better. I just wish there were more hours in the day because right now I don't sleep much.

Spiny Norman · Jan 21, 2009

Tech support. They're currently trying to get us all to quit. See, laying us all off would cost money, so the financially sound decision is to make work conditions so unpleasant that we cannot work there anymore. Naturally, trying to change jobs is almost impossible right now in this economy. So a lot of us wind up working shifts like 2 pm to 11 pm with Tuesdays and Thursdays off, and never seeing our families.

My dream job right now would probably be anything else. Thank god I have a book deal and a loving girlfriend. Otherwise this would be unbearable.

Zipotes · Jan 21, 2009

Real: Work in a Daycare
Dream: Full-time Writer (quit real job

)

Kate Thornton · Jan 21, 2009

Day job: retired from it, but still work it part time: federal investigator/security consultant

Dream job: always had it - it's one secret to a happy life.

I write and paint and schedule my days in a more leisurely fashion now, but I always loved my work and missed it badly when I became disabled. Now I am very fortunate to be able to work it a bit still.

I could write full time if I wanted to - but I love writing part time. It gives me more discipline and structure and keeps me productive. Full time anything can take up too much time if you let it.

PS If you hate your job - or even if it is just unsatisfying - please consider training for something interesting that will fulfill you more. I know times are tough right now, but even in good times everyone should do the work they love, unless their situation is a temporary means to that very end.

Day Jobs: Real Ones/Dream Ones

I'm not clever enough for this...

Fair Maiden of War.

Living the dream

aka Skwirrel

Writing Anarchist

crushing on fictional characters

i luv you giant bear statue

Still around

AW's Resident Commie

Company Man

Rawr.

AW's Resident Commie

Revolutionize the World

The only one

The grad students did it

Still Happy to be Here. Or Anywhere