people who LOVE their day job? do they EXIST?
August 27, 2013 8:06 AM   Subscribe

Hope me break a mindset! Please tell me about anyone you know or have heard about who loves their day job.

I'm looking for examples of people pursuing passionate careers (artists/writers/performers/creators/ect) who are bringing in the money with a different job that they love (a.k.a. their day job). What is their career, and what is their day job?

The more examples, the better! Thanks!
posted by mirileh to Work & Money (41 answers total) 50 users marked this as a favorite
 
I myself am in your boat -- definitely not in the category you're looking for -- but I'm recently inspired to start looking for new day jobs after spending the weekend with two friends:

- my wife, a freelance graphic designer by night, who LOVES her job as a conservation biologist / environmental scientist by day.
- our old college friend, an amazingly talented singer & actor, who's loving his new job as a product manager for a television/media company.

Both have undergraduate degrees in what became their "side" jobs, before they found their new day job/career.
posted by jeffjon at 8:12 AM on August 27, 2013


A director I know is a coordinator for events planning for the MS society in New York, and I once heard her enthuse that "you guys, I actually have a day job that I find fulfilling!"

I think the key is to figure out what your artistic career is, and then find a company you would want to work for and spin it thusly.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:13 AM on August 27, 2013


My younger brother is right smack-dab in the corporate rat race and ADORES it. He's a finance director at a consulting company, and he just loves crunching numbers and working with clients. He's going to school in the evenings to get a law degree, not to practice law, but to move into a CFO position.

On the other end of the spectrum, one of my theater friends works at a cart in a mall, selling those scented pillows you put over your eyes. She loves being out in the open, talking to people all day long, and the fact that her only responsibility is making sure the cash register is balanced at the end of the day.
posted by xingcat at 8:15 AM on August 27, 2013


I saw a glassblower retire after 30 years on a Friday, and go to work somewhere else on Monday.
posted by thelonius at 8:15 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


I had a high school teacher who had a reasonably popular side gig playing in a band with a friend of his. He was a PhD and taught chemistry and anthropology at our school during the day, and several nights a week he and his buddy would grab their guitars and go play in bars/restaurants downtown. He did this for years.

He retired at one point from teaching high school to open an ice cream shop (yeah), but taught a college course and still kept up the band. He came back to teach high school when I was old enough to take his classes (because he liked me).

Now, who knows what was going on inside his head during all this, but he always seemed like the happiest dude. He seemed to genuinely love teaching. He seemed to genuinely love making ice cream. He seemed to genuinely love playing music.

I've just now googled the guy to see what he's up to these days, and it appears he's also an avid competitive tennis player, too. (Which makes sense, as I now remember he was also the school's tennis coach.)
posted by phunniemee at 8:19 AM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


A friend of mine is an actor (stage, film, voice), and a documentary producer. His day job is as a freelance grant writer, consulting with nonprofits. It's stressful, but he loves the flexibility it affords him. He's good at it, and he likes doing things he's good at.
posted by entropone at 8:20 AM on August 27, 2013


I am a writer who simply adores my day job as an online community manager.
posted by gone2croatan at 8:31 AM on August 27, 2013


I work in civil rights litigation. I wake up every morning so, so excited to go to work.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:32 AM on August 27, 2013


(oops, I forgot to say that I'm a theatre writer and poet)
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:32 AM on August 27, 2013


I write software for a living. At this point, they call me an 'architect'. In the place at which I currently work (been here for 8 years), I helped created an environment for developers that I love and that the other engineers seem to be pretty happy with too. I've been doing this kind of work full time since 1990 except for a point when the start up I worked for folded and I couldn't find work in my area and I taught to pay bills. On most days I have my day more or less planned out before I get out of the shower and I look forward to hitting the ground running.

My side gig is music. I can't pursue this as a career. I would love it if it were my primary gig, but I'm only moderately talented and can't (nor do I want to) compete with the serious pros. Still, I can't not make music, so I limit myself to one routine community band and one part-time brass quintet. More than that and the family suffers. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to play lead trumpet in a local production of West Side Story, which I jumped at, but not without first running it by the Mrs. Even with fair warning, the reality of me coming home from rehearsals at 2AM wired and then calming down enough to sleep at around 4AM to get up at 6AM was stressful. I couldn't pass up playing this.
posted by plinth at 8:37 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


I know quite a few professors who love their jobs so much that they keep their offices and still hold office hours (I have no idea who for) once they are retired. Probably they also keep mentoring and researching to some extent, without the hassle of having to be on committees and other administrative stuff.
posted by epanalepsis at 8:38 AM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


I don't know that I LOVE my day job, but I find it damn enjoyable.

I work in a casual office, I can sit at my desk and fiddle fart around, I have a reasonably challenging role and I like the folks I work with.

Let's face it, no matter how talented you are, most of us need a day job. Might as well have a fun one!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:39 AM on August 27, 2013


I know someone who is extremely happy working as a scientist, has said that writing books -- there have been several, all published by major publishers -- and articles for papers like the Washington Post, NY Times, etc., is what really gets the juices flowing.

The same can be said for someone else, though this person works as a college professor.
posted by ambient2 at 8:44 AM on August 27, 2013


I'm a musician.

During the day I teach music. At night I'm a freelancer/studio musician/play in an opera orchestra. During the day it's not even my main instrument I generally teach... I mostly teach the dreaded recorder that makes your head ache, and sing nursery rhymes with screaming sniffling pre-schoolers.

IT. IS. THE. BEST. FUN. EVEEEERRRRR. And it's challenging thinking about how best to engage these students in music in the best way.

(I taught English as a second language for two years (to adults), I grew to be OK with it... But the first year I HATED it, and cried every night... Gimme a recorder and 30 naughty naughty year 2s any day!)
posted by jujulalia at 8:46 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


I love my day job. I write and illustrate proposals for state programs and commercial projects. We're a small consulting firm, so I get to do a lot of corporate projects as well, like training, presentations, marketing, etc. I like variety. By night (and by this, I mean early morning), I write YA and children's fiction. Both require curling up with a laptop, so work and play look very similar.

Not terribly fond of my new boss, though, so we'll see if I keep loving my job.
posted by mochapickle at 8:51 AM on August 27, 2013


I sell vintage clothes. I get to go treasure-hunting, and then play dress-up with life-sized dolls. It's really fun.
posted by nonasuch at 8:52 AM on August 27, 2013


I really liked my job managing an IT Helpdesk at a university. Interesting people, dynamic environment, constant learning, and some sense of mission - being part of providing education. Lots of opportunity to try new things, improve processes, improve service. IT support combines the technical with my social work background, and I generally enjoy it. Managing people, less so, since some people are a pain in the butt. Dealing with constant budget cuts, reorganization, downsizing, etc., is depressing. I'm a sometime workaholic, and don't mind long hours.

Then I got a new Director, who didn't value the Helpdesk, or my work. Over time, he became increasingly hostile, to the point where my health was seriously affected, and I finally left. Even a job you like a lot can be wrecked by a bad manager.

I used to teach computer applications to adults who were going from welfare to work, and to other adult learners. Mellow environment, adults are pretty motivated, opportunity to be creative, and a strong sense of mission. I had a terrific boss who did her best to help me deal with the miserable pay. A great job can be enhanced by a great manager.

Best job ever - owning a bookstore before the days of Amazon.com. Buying a business was terrifying and exhilarating. I never learned so much, so fast, in my life. Books are wonderful, and the book community was wonderful - sales reps, staff, customers, etc. Great physical environment. And I made enough to live on. I sold it when life changes necessitated.

There's the work itself, the physical environment, the people environment, and the management. You can affect a lot of it, but a lot of it is out of your control. Keep your skills up and be flexible, because the world of work is changing really fast.
posted by Mom at 9:01 AM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


A lot of academics and researchers fit this description. Getting them to stop working after hours, or even after retirement, is a real problem.
posted by bonehead at 9:02 AM on August 27, 2013 [3 favorites]


I write, perform, and promote electronic music. I love my day job in web communications. I also know more people than I can count who do music by night and by day they're head of PR for a video game company or direct television commercials or run a tattoo parlor or what-have-you. There are a lot of people in the world who are artists at night and have day jobs they love.
posted by Jairus at 9:12 AM on August 27, 2013


Before I moved to the US I was a Bookkeeper by day, which despite what the reputation the job has I loved my job organizing a stack of crazy messed up paperwork into a neat organised system was very satisfying to the control freak in me. By night I used to work as a Tour Guide in a wild penguin colony which was also amazing fun, not only did I get to watch Little Penguins, seals and other wild animals all evening I got to be a smart ass know it all and share all I had learned about them with people. While it wasn't a creative career as such I loved teaching people all about the penguins and answering all their weird questions and met some great people AND got paid for it, and if keeping 30 school kids in the dark in on a small island amused & educated & from turning into the Lord of the Flies isn't performance art I dunno what is.
posted by wwax at 9:26 AM on August 27, 2013


I know a doctor (family member) and a dentist (my dentist) who have both done a lot of work in the visual arts as well as being passionate about their practices.

A lot of writers work in some aspect of the books trade, including (in my experience) a high percentage of people who work in bookstores. I have always found bookstore work very creatively stimulating. But sadly, there aren't many jobs left and certainly not well-paying ones.
posted by BibiRose at 9:28 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'm a gene therapy research scientist. It's frustrating, but I truly do love my job and I consider it more of a hobby/skill that I am acquiring than an actual job.
posted by corn_bread at 9:36 AM on August 27, 2013


I'm an aspiring author who works in a very niche IT-related field as a day job. I like the IT stuff enough that I'm going to be starting a Master's degree in it next month and am happy to continue doing it (for now, anyway) until the mythical SS Book Deal sails into port.
posted by anaximander at 9:47 AM on August 27, 2013


I'm a security analyst. I get paid to break into my company's software and locations before people outside the company do. As a kid, I spent time daydreaming how I'd rob a bank and other crazy heists. Now I basically get to do that for a living. I also get to do fun architecture work where I consult on designing software to be bulletproof.
posted by bfranklin at 9:48 AM on August 27, 2013


My wife enjoys making jewelry, but also enjoys her time as a high school math teacher. Some days she'd prefer to stay home, and sometimes she comes home with stories of drama from school, but most of the time I don't think she'd trade it for anything.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:48 AM on August 27, 2013


You asked for a wide variety of examples, so here's me. I am a professional dog walker.
In order to get/do this job I love, I had to engineer my firing from my stupefying cubicle job. Once accomplished, I could put into place this business that I had been contemplating for several months prior to leaving the rat maze.
I am self-employed. The "cons" of this job are few.

The "pros" are too many to mention. The biggest are: no bosses, no surveillance, no "360°" performance reviews, no dressy wardrobe, no cleavage police, no gossip, and no charity solicitations. That's not even a start to the list!
posted by BostonTerrier at 10:04 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


I just started my job as a flight attendant 6 months ago and I love it! I've flown with people who do all sorts of things in their free time- swim coaches, fine artists, musicians, realtors, you name it! The job allows for tons of flexibility and the opportunity to see the world. It's certainly not your typical "day job", but I'm so happy I fell into it.
posted by jaksemas at 10:07 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'm a writer and translator who used to be freelance-only, then got offered a position with one of my favorite clients and took the offer happily. They moved me from technical writing into functional testing (I test both software and hardware), and since then have moved me into business analysis with a strong testing bent. Things aren't always easy, it is a consulting company and contexts can be pretty variable, but I also knew that going in, and have managed to weather and grow through some major stuff. Which is actually a big part of the reason they've entrusted me with more responsibility. I love it. If someone had told me ten years ago that I would be doing testing or business analysis one day, and even enjoying it, I'd have laughed and said "no way". I do work with great people, down-to-earth and who have healthy priorities, which makes all the difference. (All the love in the world for a job can't do much to help a sick system. I feel very lucky, though it did also have a lot to do with turning down several other offers to hire me before this one, then choosing this particular company for the very reasons that their offices were human-oriented and genuinely professional.)

I still write and translate on the side, and very much appreciate how my day job frees me to be more picky in choosing clients and projects.
posted by fraula at 10:44 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


You might want to read So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport. He systematically takes down the 'follow your passion' myth, including a very compelling argument for why it will actually make you less happy at your job, and then provides a framework for thinking about your work that is much more likely to lead to job satisfaction. I've made three of my friends read it in the two weeks since I finished it and they're all raving about it too. Check it out.
posted by squasher at 10:59 AM on August 27, 2013 [13 favorites]


I work for a nonprofit advocacy group and I have several colleagues for whom this is their day job and they seem to really enjoy it. Some of them do work that's somewhat similar (ie, they have a writing-heavy job and are writers in their free time) and others less so (ie, the data manager who's in a band).

I think the key is that they're working for an organization whose mission they believe in, but none of them are particularly ambitious when it comes to their day job. None of them is trying to become an executive director or something like that, which allows them the freedom to be firm about setting boundaries and keeping time for their passions.
posted by lunasol at 11:23 AM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


I have a good friend who is avocationally a game designer/historian but pays the bills as an independent tutor for various standardized exams. He's very good at both of these, and I think that his interests have fed into each other--he enjoys taking apart the standardized exams to unpack the "rules" and strategies that go into them, and his gift for teaching has led to some adjunct gigs in game history.

My dad spent 30 years as a tenured professor of biochemistry, running a research lab and teaching medical students, but for much of that time also ran a business on the side as a dealer in antiquarian books with a specialty in natural history and science (first using mail order catalogs, then then internet, so he didn't need a storefront). He's been retired from the sciences for years now but still buys and sells books pretty regularly.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 11:56 AM on August 27, 2013


Media-love what I do, daily.
posted by ladoo at 12:04 PM on August 27, 2013


I am a former journalist who went back to school for teaching and love my day job as a K-3 French teacher. I get to be creative, work with people (and kids!) and have a steady paycheque and predictable routine. I still dabble in writing projects and make some decent side income, but I am a much better and happier writer when I am not hustling for a job, any job, in order to feed myself.
posted by JoannaC at 12:07 PM on August 27, 2013


I don't know if I would say I LOVE my job, but I like it quite a bit, I'm really good at it, people above and around me recognize and respect my work, and I love the team I work with. I don't know that there's anything that could make me LOVE any office job that I have to go to every day - but this is definitely the closest I've ever come.

When I'm not procrastinating horribly, I spend my free time on creative writing. When I'm at work, I'm usually still writing - newsletters, brochures, ad copy, web copy, etc, for a non-profit company doing really valuable work. It's not "fun" writing, but it's certainly not the worst way I've ever paid the rent. I'm as happy to go to work as I'll ever be going to a job that requires an alarm clock.
posted by kythuen at 2:48 PM on August 27, 2013


That’s me! Or, almost me – my Etsy shop is empty and my blog has only one post on it (from over six months ago!). Anyway, I work for a progressive local government office (like working for Berkeley City Council, say). I’m sort of an internal reference librarian who liaises with the public – if you want access to government paperwork or copies of things, you get sent to me, and I decide what you can have and get it for you. Some of it’s comforting and routine, some of it’s completely random. I have a good boss, lots of autonomy, a window, a high threshold for ‘boring’, and am pleased by small things – like reviewing building files from the 1950’s that have blueprints that are blue (!). I like research, promoting transparency in government, helping people, and protecting privacy – I feel good about what I do. I have a steady paycheck, a routine, and great benefits.

I also have a BFA in Photography, and need to re-stock my shop with postcards, hand-bound books, zines, etc. I am also learning to draw =D I like being able to make what *I* want, even if it doesn’t sell amazingly well (or gets bad reviews or whatever). My goal is to make a few K/year extra and allocate it to plane tickets!

My aunt is an escrow agent at a real estate company by day, and plays cello in a philharmonic and a quartet evenings and weekends (and teaches private cello lessons). She did this very much on purpose. I'm not sure she loves her day job, but she's been doing it for decades, so it's not terrible!

My mom is an Applied Behaviour Analyst by day, and a seamstress/costumer by night/weekend. She LOVES her day job.

A friend of mine manages a small high-end restaurant in Brooklyn, but is also a writer (fiction) and journalist (has a Master’s). He really LIKES his day job.

My dad was a software engineer (laid off/now retired) but was and still is a member of an A Capella group run by his cousin. They *charge* for performances, and are already booked out for Christmas! My dad didn't love his last day job, but he LOVES programming and still does it for fun. He loved other day jobs he had over the years when he was programming (and not managing programmers).

I also know some people with small farms that combine it with a day job – one was a journalist for the local paper, and another was a hospital dietician/nutritionist. Both had Master's degrees and got a lot of satisfaction out of the "day" job.
posted by jrobin276 at 4:06 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Along with the Cal Newport comment - If you google something like "Why following your passion/loving your day job is not a good idea" LOTS of articles come up. If you MeMail me I can send you a links to my personal faves (Ask A Manager, Forbes.com, blog.penelopetrunk.com, edition.cnn.com, freemoneyfinance.com, the middlefingerproject.com), which are all trapped in my Pocket account on my phone (but easy to 'share'). Um yes... I keep these saved in my phone to re-read as needed, when I've come across one too many 'insperational' posters on Pinterest, haha!.

Honestly, it's such a huge relief!
posted by jrobin276 at 4:16 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'm a public librarian by day and love it. I love feeling that I'm helping people and for me, the security of a government job is great. Plus, it's part time with benefits! On the side, I act and sing in a band, fiddle with photography and writing poetry. I'm more of a dilettante than a professional artist, but I've always got story time to perform if I need an audience!
posted by Jandoe at 4:50 PM on August 27, 2013


What is their career, and what is their day job?

Might not be quite what you are looking for, but I've known quite a few people who get most of their income from teaching the thing that is their creative passion.

Teaching is going to be a completely different environment and skill set than performing or creating.
posted by yohko at 7:41 PM on August 27, 2013


I don't precisely fit this:

people pursuing passionate careers (artists/writers/performers/creators/etc)

but I DO LOVE my day job.

My creative endeavors fall strictly into the avocation / vocation / hobby / pleasure category. I write songs, play guitar and a little piano, enjoy learning to sing jazz standards, and enjoy learning to draw; I also love pursuing learning for fun and pleasure, so I'm currently studying Japanese, listening to French and Spanish podcasts to practice those languages, and exploring history by reading biographies before bedtime. These are not careers, but they are semi-serious pursuits that give me enormous pleasure, and I like working toward goals and seeing myself make visible progress.

My day job is web consulting - specifically, building websites using Drupal. Drupal is an open-sourse content management system. My work is unbelievable fun - I'm always learning new things, always coming across new challenges as my clients throw new requests at me, always collaborating with other people to determine the approach that will achieve what they want within whatever constraints (time, budget, feature set) they have.

I like it so much I do it in my spare time. I'm constantly coming up with ideas for websites I want to build in Drupal. (I usually build 70% of it and then get waylaid by a paying project.) I contribute to the Drupal forum and community when I can (I haven't had as much time to do that this year, unfortunately). I've posted a couple of my Drupal-based hobby sites to MetaFilter Projects. Nearly every day, I exclaim aloud about how much I love Drupal because it lets me implement something so effortlessly and elegantly.

Does that qualify?
posted by kristi at 8:13 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Also, I haven't seen grumblebee on MeFi for a few weeks, but he's had some great things to say about his creative pursuits (directing theatre) and his day job (computer programming), which he says he likes. He posted some comments in this aspiring actor AskMe; if you have the time and inclination, checking out some of grumblebee's posts could be well worth your while.
posted by kristi at 8:22 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


My dad totally loves his job as a civil (traffic) engineer, really enjoys his workplace and coworkers, and would go in every Saturday if my mom left him. The best thing you can do is to ask him about parking garages and traffic circles.
posted by jschu at 8:58 PM on August 28, 2013


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