Using the Creative Process on a Job

I’ve thought long and hard about the topic of suitable careers for Artists and other left of the dial folk. Not all of us will see the day our paintings hang in the Metropolitan Museum. Not all of us will go on a worldwide tour with our rock band.

It’s why I’m a big fan of having a pleasant day job like that in a library. And singing your heart out with a folk band at night and on the weekend.

After I bombed out in my first career in legal and corporate offices, I went back to school for a library degree. While at Pratt Institute I met other students, who were Artists that worked as librarians. Some were studying in the dual-degree program for an MS in Library and Information Science/MA History of Art and Design. This enabled them to work in the library at an art school, museum, or cultural institution.

I recommend getting a job in a library. You’ll need a Masters’ degree to become a librarian. To get a job as a clerk or computer assistant in a public library you don’t need a degree.

For over 11 years I’ve had a niche as a career services librarian. Creating resumes and helping people conduct job searches is a novel way I discovered to be creative on my job. Each resume I create is hand-crafted. A work of art in its own way.

This shows that expanding the definition of what constitutes the creative process can open career doors. Not just doors for Artists. Doors could open for everyone seeking bulletproof job longevity in the age of robots and computers.

I coached a woman who taught herself computer imaging design so that she could get a job as a graphic artist. She told me that traditional photographers aren’t used to shoot product photos anymore. CAD-programs are used instead.

Even accountants are creative in coming up with inventive methods for their clients to cut costs. Individuals working in a traditional job like this can be Artists after hours.

I knew a woman who worked as an insurance agent. She moonlighted as a baker.

More in a coming blog entry on expressing yourself on a job within the protocol of the modern workplace.