If you’re sick of working in a career that seems to stifle your creative side, you’re not alone. For those who love the arts or other creative endeavors, it’s not uncommon to feel stifled if you work in a job that seems to leave little room for imagination and innovation. While you might see your job as a means to an end, it’s okay to consider if there may be a path out there that might be better aligned with your personal or professional goals than your current one. The urge to search for something more meaningful and enjoyable is a perfectly normal response to being stuck in a corporate environment that squashes that spark that makes you feel excited to come to work.
Work with Creativity in Unconventional Ways
Sometimes, you don’t necessarily need to get a new job in a new field to become the creative professional you always dreamed of being. Even if you work in a job that seems like it’s devoid of creativity, there are probably aspects of it where you can get creative. For example, if you work in an office setting, your everyday tasks might not require much imagination, but some activities like planning office holiday parties or working on a marketing campaign may allow you to flex your creative muscles in ways that your standard duties don’t allow.
Although most of us think of creative professions as the arts like music, dance, photography, painting, and related fields, part of being creative is thinking outside the box. If you’re truly a creative person at heart, your creativity will shine through in every task and project that you complete. It may mean that you take extra care on a PowerPoint or you “create” stronger bonds with your co-workers by planning team-building activities that play to people’s strengths in unexpected ways. Before you think negatively about the career you’ve carved out for yourself, you should consider how your talents have uniquely positioned you to do things in that role that are unconventional or unexpected. This will help you market yourself to recruiters and business owners in your desired field if you decide to apply to jobs outside of your current industry to get more creativity in your work life.
Jewelry Designer
For some people, their career needs to be a fulfilling experience that plays to the things they like to do in their free time. If you’ve always been making necklaces, rings, bracelets, and other pieces of jewelry for your friends and family, it may be time to consider a job in jewelry design. Some jewelry designers may start as hobbyists who make their work for the love of it while others might dive into working as an apprentice or production assistant under an established designer, so they can learn more about how the industry works before they try to establish themselves as a prominent figure in it. Regardless of how you try to enter this field, you should know that there may be a high level of competition, and it can be tough to break into this field if you don’t have connections in the industry or a large following on platforms on social media.
Still, if you can’t shake the idea that jewelry design is your path, you may be able to get a job in a related field such as the sales department of a stone supplier so you can afford to keep the lights on until your jewelry business takes off. Even if it’s not your passion to sell things, you may be able to work part-time in a jewelry store selling diamond rings, so you can learn how to market your items and gauge what people find interesting or compelling in commercially successful jewelry stores.
Cosmetology
If you want a career in the trades that allows you to play with hair, paint nails, apply makeup, and express yourself with other people’s looks, you can get into the cosmetological field. While some cosmetologists may enter the field through an apprenticeship, most cosmetologists take classes in this industry and sit for an exam for certification once the appropriate amount of hours of coursework and practice are completed. If you want to specialize in a certain area of this field like nails, you can take nail tech classes to gain extra experience and certification that may help your application stand out from the crowd if you apply for jobs that require these skills.
When you want to become a cosmetologist, you should look into the laws and regulations for your state or region. Some states may have stricter laws regarding who can practice cosmetological arts while others may be looser about their regulations. Although you may think that you can open a business from your home and start cutting hair or doing nails without any training, the truth is that you’ll almost certainly need formal training before you can get into this field since you’ll be working with people and potentially be exposed to diseases and pathogens through your tools.
Fashion Designer
For the fashionistas out there, a career in fashion design can seem like a no-brainer. Although you might think that this job entails sketching when the mood strikes you or creating pieces that are luxurious for fashion shows, you may find that it’s more complicated than popular television shows on the subject make it seem. As a fashion design professional, you can either take classes on fashion design to prepare you for this career or you can dive into designing fashion without formal training. The choice of how much education you’d like to pursue is a personal one and you should consider how much it will cost to get an education before you commit to a fashion design program.
Before you become a designer, you may look at deceptively simple items like the Longchamp net bag and think that you could make something like that with the right tools or knowledge. As with any creative field, though, fashion design requires you to think outside of what you know and tap into the unknown to create novel designs that are unlike any other. Some of the best designs aren’t flashy or complicated. They may feature simple silhouettes that withstand the test of time and make them a classic in the wardrobes of people of multiple generations, which is every fashion design professional’s dream.
Architecture
When you’ve already had a career in a related field like construction, it can seem like a good idea to take what you know and apply it to something like architectural design. Some construction professionals may have had to take designs in architecture before they were able to work in the construction industry, so this can be a great way to use previous experience and knowledge to transition to careers that allow greater creativity. If beautiful building designs make you swoon, you’ll love to plan out where to put ceiling beams in software and how to solve architectural problems for a living.
For those who are considering this line of work, it would be a good idea to see what the educational requirements may be to qualify for most of the jobs in this field in your area. Some architects may not have to get a degree in this field, but many architects find that formal education and qualifications can be beneficial when you’re looking for a job in this industry. Depending on where you live, you may find that this industry is highly competitive, so looking into your job prospects before you commit to taking on debt for a bachelor’s or master’s degree in architectural design or related majors may be a good idea.
Art Connoisseur
For someone who’s always loved fine art, it can sound like the dream to conduct fine art appraisals for a living. When you appreciate the finer things in life, you’ll probably also appreciate helping others who love fine art determine whether a piece may be valuable now or in the future. If you want to work in a museum, having a strong knowledge of current and past art trends is a necessary part of getting this kind of work.
If you want to combine your love of writing with your love of art, you can pursue a rewarding career as an art reviewer or critic. When you see art with a critical eye, it can be exciting to get your thoughts out about the latest art or artists on the scene and shape the view of the art world with your opinions. When you want to be an art critic, you should think about what your approach will be in critiquing art. Will you be warm and open to new ideas or a staunch traditionalist with a high bar for pleasing you? The answer to this question and more relies on your sense of who you’ll be as a critic in the art world.
Social Media Manager
With the rise of social media platforms, many creatives are finding that it’s exciting and rewarding to pursue a career in managing social media for themselves or others. If you have a gift of getting followers to engage with content or creating viral moments on social media, you can offer your services to companies that are seeking a professional who’s skilled in social media management. The beauty of working in this field is that almost every industry requires social media services nowadays. From hospitals to schools to private law firms to everywhere in between, you’ll find that social media managers are hot commodities in most fields.
If you’re transitioning to this field from another one, your previous career may be more of an asset than a hindrance to hiring. After all, places with specialized lingo or audiences like non-profits may need a social media manager who understands how to leverage specific keywords to attract an audience and build a following to support their mission. When you’ve worked in industries like healthcare or education, it can also be helpful to use that experience to work in settings like hospitals or universities as a social media professional since you’ll have a working knowledge of what matters to stakeholders and target audiences in those fields.
Content Creator
When you have a way with a camera on your smartphone or other device, you might be able to make a lucrative living by doing work on video marketing. Since content is king to most social media companies, they’ll seek out qualified candidates like yourself to do their content marketing. While it might seem like content creation is an over-saturated field, audiences constantly demand content in this day and age so you will be in high demand for this career for the foreseeable future.
Tattoo Artist
If you love to draw and have a lot of tattoos, you may consider a career in the tattoo industry. While those who faint at the mention of needles may not be the best fit for a tattoo shop, folks with a strong stomach for that type of thing will thrive in this environment. If you want to become a tattoo professional, you’ll need to see how your local tattoo shops tend to take on apprentices and new candidates for the role.
If you have a history of making stick and poke tattoos, some shops may value that experience while others might turn their nose up to it. You’ll never know if a tattoo shop may be open to taking on an apprentice until you try. If you do want to become a tattoo professional, you’ll want to approach tattoo shops with a professional portfolio that showcases your drawing skills in multiple styles and other contexts like tattoo flash drawing.
When you already have an established career in another field, it can be difficult to pivot in a new direction or trust that it will pan out. Sometimes, those who have worked in an industry for a long time may feel like they’ll lose money and time if they decide to change careers now. While it can be scary to venture out into the unknown and take on new projects in another field, it can also be rewarding to show yourself that you’re capable of growing in ways that you never expected to be possible.
