[takabesan]

SITUATION: I graduated last year and was one of the very lucky few to land a high paid salaried position the day after I walked the stage. I thought the job was going to be awesome (and it was for a bit), but after a while, I realized like any 9-5 gig, it became monotonous and mundane.

DREAM: I want to be a filmmaker (my major in college/ultimate goal in life) and live in Hollywood where my family and friends are residing.

OBSTACLES: However, the current job market is awful; I'm afraid I won't find a job and thus, no money; being an artist in today's world is demoralizing; ironically, money gives me a lot of freedom, but it also entraps me.

Dueling thoughts:
-It's been only ONE year. I'm 23, but I don't want to lose my youth to a cubicle...I'm bored to tears at work. Most people are office people, others aren't. I fit into the latter.
-I feel like I don't do anything in my off time. Just drink, eat, shop, play video games, watch movies (it was great for a while, but now it's gotten boring)
-PERSONAL: I don't have a gf here, any kids, relatively no college debt, and about 6k saved up (not much).
-Not going to lie: I really enjoy having money to spend. I like the freedom to go out to eat, travel, shop, etc. If I quit, I can say bye-bye to that.
-Fortunately, my co-workers/management are nice, but the overall morale is that they enjoy their 'cubicle' lifestyle and I can't adapt to that.
-Realistically, most filmmakers don't make movies until they are in their 30s.

Most people would say keep the job, save money and move back within another year or two, but presently, I am unhappy, bored, lonely, and have this aching desire to get started on my dreams now. Even if I'm working as a production assistant, at least I'd be working in a field I'm interested in. Like I said, I don't want to waste my youth, but at the same time, I don't want to be poor (my parents are both retired).

What are your thoughts?

[optimize990h]

takabesan, I understand what you mean, I heard of someone who has gone through a different course of life like the one you are considering. That person, sadly, never got married, but got fulfillment from work.

It is a dilemma to go all out for it or not. You have to play it cautiously if you want a family in the future. The best thing is to work out a parachute plan, so you have an easier transition to your dream.

The parachute plan is like a survival kit of what you will need if your position was terminated. It will be based on your own specifications/needs.

The most ideal thing would be to be transferred to where you can pick up contacts through networking. For example, make contacts with those have went through that process to change professions.

I stop right now, these are just my suggestions. I am not the person who went through such a transition, so I stop here. Good luck on whatever you decide. Hopefully, there will be others who will provide feedback.

[Inedible]

Originally Posted by takabesan

What are your thoughts?

Most people aren't cubicle people. It starts looking good after enough time getting by without enough money.

You have money, now. You will need money to make movies. It is like wanting to be a musician - you have to have a demo CD and get studios to listen to it. In your case, I think there is a different technical term for a short movie that you use to demonstrate what you can do. You don't have to be in Hollywood. The money you have now can go toward cameras, lighting, props, costumes, and scenery. Some of those happy cubicle people might like to be in a YouTube video or two. That's right, you can have your own YouTube channel and you can start collecting hits / views to show to producers later on. If you can get your cubicle people to help you in their spare time it might even make your time at work together easier to get through. And before you are ready to shoot video, there is still just plain blogging. It is harder than it looks to keep coming up with things to write to keep a blog going. It isn't like responding to posts in a forum like this.

And youth lasts a lot longer now than it used to.

Originally Posted by takabesan

SITUATION: I graduated last year and was one of the very lucky few to land a high paid salaried position the day after I walked the stage. I thought the job was going to be awesome (and it was for a bit), but after a while, I realized like any 9-5 gig, it became monotonous and mundane.

DREAM: I want to be a filmmaker (my major in college/ultimate goal in life) and live in Hollywood where my family and friends are residing.

OBSTACLES: However, the current job market is awful; I'm afraid I won't find a job and thus, no money; being an artist in today's world is demoralizing; ironically, money gives me a lot of freedom, but it also entraps me.

Dueling thoughts:
-It's been only ONE year. I'm 23, but I don't want to lose my youth to a cubicle...I'm bored to tears at work. Most people are office people, others aren't. I fit into the latter.
-I feel like I don't do anything in my off time. Just drink, eat, shop, play video games, watch movies (it was great for a while, but now it's gotten boring)
-PERSONAL: I don't have a gf here, any kids, relatively no college debt, and about 6k saved up (not much).
-Not going to lie: I really enjoy having money to spend. I like the freedom to go out to eat, travel, shop, etc. If I quit, I can say bye-bye to that.
-Fortunately, my co-workers/management are nice, but the overall morale is that they enjoy their 'cubicle' lifestyle and I can't adapt to that.
-Realistically, most filmmakers don't make movies until they are in their 30s.

Most people would say keep the job, save money and move back within another year or two, but presently, I am unhappy, bored, lonely, and have this aching desire to get started on my dreams now. Even if I'm working as a production assistant, at least I'd be working in a field I'm interested in. Like I said, I don't want to waste my youth, but at the same time, I don't want to be poor (my parents are both retired).

What are your thoughts?

i think that you should just follow your dream. but where are you going to go after you quit your current job?

[Permanent Pajamas]

Be responsible. Keep your job. There are a lot of people who have no job. Save what you earn. Invest wisely.

in this economy, you should hold out a little longer. and i agree with permanent pajamas, many people don't have jobs and it's hard for some graduates to be finding jobs and considering that they have to pay back their loans, oh boy, i wonder if they'll ever be able to.

[H3rmit]

>Not going to lie: I really enjoy having money to spend. I like the freedom to go out to eat, travel, shop, etc. If I quit, I can say bye-bye to that.

Do you like it more than making films? Seems like it, since that's what you're spending it on. Make a bunch of films, and don't move until you have a solid plan for developing a larger fulltime film project and understand the risks/opportunities.

It can be done. One of my co-workers made several shorts while working fulltime.

[Confusedinomicon]

Why don't you save money to buy equipment and make short movies on youtube or something? You can create in your free time and if your channel becomes popular enough you can quit the job you have now. It would also help you gain experience and maybe network with other young entrepreneur's who have made youtube their living.

Or any other media outlet that you have access too.

Be creative!

[jadzea]

Can you find a job doing what you are doing now in Holllywood and work on your film career on your off time until you are able to go without an income for several years? That way you can work on your dream and not be destitute.

[tigerlily84]

There's a book I read a few months ago called Quitter: Close the Gap Between Your Day Job and Your Dream Job. The author is Jon Acuff. I highly recommend it to you. You've already received great advice from the other posters! Basically, you should have a plan. There's nothing wrong with quitting, but be smart and have something in place before you do anything rash. But I think you already knew that. I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do! Let us know how it goes!

[takabesan]

First: thank you all for the replies and helpful advice.

Originally Posted by H3rmit

>Not going to lie: I really enjoy having money to spend. I like the freedom to go out to eat, travel, shop, etc. If I quit, I can say bye-bye to that.

Do you like it more than making films? Seems like it, since that's what you're spending it on.

You know...you're absolutely right. I think it's because I sort of fell into the allure of having money since I didn't have it for the first 22 years of my life (I grew up kinda poor and college wasn't exactly the most affluent of times). I don't want to make excuses, but going from a classroom setting to 40-50 hours a week in a couple sucks my creative soul dry. Whenever I come home, I just want a cold one and some sleep, which is why I take pleasure in the little things like food and travel. Movies are still always on my mind regardless and every weekend, I force myself to write at least 4 hours on scripts.

Originally Posted by Confusedinomicon

Why don't you save money to buy equipment and make short movies on youtube or something?

I actually do have a channel. Since high school through college, I made 20 short films and garnered many awards - however, the only "big" festival I got into was the LA Film Fest, the others were smaller venues but still, I felt so happy and proud to be part of something I was passionate about.

I think I just feel like I need to be forced head first into filmmaking mode since the town I live in has a pretty non-existent film community; mainly just students. Currently, I'm looking for a job in LA, but the market is super competitive (the last job I applied to with my skill set had 300+ applicants)

Originally Posted by heyitsme7

i think that you should just follow your dream. but where are you going to go after you quit your current job?

That's what I'm struggling with. If I don't find a job in LA, I'll probably (like many college grads) move back in with my parents and try to find film sets that are hiring PAs who'll work for little or no pay and even that's not a guarantee. I might even go to grad school for film, but I don't want to be 100k in debt since I currently owe peanuts from my undergraduate.

My heart tells me: it's going to happen anyway, why not early so I can take the bullets while I'm young rather than settling and attempting to do this when I'm in my late 20s. My brain (and you other posters) are right: in order to do things that I want, I NEED money. No way around it.

I knew some of the most successful, well-known people in the business when they were just starting out. it wasn't so easy for them either. But they never quit.

If filmmaking is what you truly want to do, you have to plan on a lot of disappointment, rollercoaster rides, hard work, hurry up and wait and using your resources to improve your career goals. ALSO, it does not hurt at all to partner up with someone with the same goals.

You admit to enjoying a somewhat lavish lifestyle; of course, enjoy for a little bit but don't get too used to it. Don't waste your money. Set some goals and a timeframe. Time goes by quicker than you think.

And to be quite honest, I hate to burst your bubble, but it's all about who you know and who you know, knows. And if you are a player. You have to have something people NEED to work successfully in the business.

(and by the way, it's the cubicle people that pay your salary)

Best wishes to you!

[crazyincanada]

My two cents - from experience? Keep the day job FOR NOW, and set an end date for yourself. No one else needs to know it, not even your employer. Get rid of the cable, the game system, the distractions. You get off work, then you make movies. You can eat, sleep and shower, but your non work time needs to be devoted to your dream. Don't waste time on the internet (which is so hard to give up, BTW). Write. Film. Repeat. Once your hit your quit date, evaluate if you can quit & go Hollywood, if not, set achievable goals and set a new date. Don't get stuck in comfortable - nothing gets accomplished when you're comfortable, there's no motivation. Good luck!

[demarco]

It doesn't look like you've logged in since this last post, but maybe you get e-mail notifications for us replying to your thread. If so, update us? It doesn't matter if you've stayed with your current job and did nothing to get into film production. There's no shame in having pushed that off.

I'm 23 and in a similar situation. It's pretty scary having graduated and feeling like I'm now stuck to a cubicle job, as if my dreams are in the rear view mirror. I have a fear of wasting my life. But I've been unemployed, and those days were worse. Hoping to make a life outside of work that I can maybe ease into professionally one day. Wish you the best of luck if that's still your dream.

[jan16th]

Originally Posted by takabesan

SITUATION: I graduated last year and was one of the very lucky few to land a high paid salaried position the day after I walked the stage. I thought the job was going to be awesome (and it was for a bit), but after a while, I realized like any 9-5 gig, it became monotonous and mundane.

DREAM: I want to be a filmmaker (my major in college/ultimate goal in life) and live in Hollywood where my family and friends are residing.

OBSTACLES: However, the current job market is awful; I'm afraid I won't find a job and thus, no money; being an artist in today's world is demoralizing; ironically, money gives me a lot of freedom, but it also entraps me.

Dueling thoughts:
-It's been only ONE year. I'm 23, but I don't want to lose my youth to a cubicle...I'm bored to tears at work. Most people are office people, others aren't. I fit into the latter.
-I feel like I don't do anything in my off time. Just drink, eat, shop, play video games, watch movies (it was great for a while, but now it's gotten boring)
-PERSONAL: I don't have a gf here, any kids, relatively no college debt, and about 6k saved up (not much).
-Not going to lie: I really enjoy having money to spend. I like the freedom to go out to eat, travel, shop, etc. If I quit, I can say bye-bye to that.
-Fortunately, my co-workers/management are nice, but the overall morale is that they enjoy their 'cubicle' lifestyle and I can't adapt to that.
-Realistically, most filmmakers don't make movies until they are in their 30s.

Most people would say keep the job, save money and move back within another year or two, but presently, I am unhappy, bored, lonely, and have this aching desire to get started on my dreams now. Even if I'm working as a production assistant, at least I'd be working in a field I'm interested in. Like I said, I don't want to waste my youth, but at the same time, I don't want to be poor (my parents are both retired).

What are your thoughts?

Instead of wasting your off time playing video games, shopping...perhaps you should use that money and make small films. Test your ideas on a small scale. Hardly anyone just packs up and goes to Hollywood and makes the great film. You have to show people you have "the eye" for filmmaking. Use your present job to provide seed money to start a project. If those projects take off, then you would not have the those dueling thoughts of staying or leaving because you will have outgrown your present job. Good Luck

[Webgoji]

What Jan16th said. ^

Use your job to pay for food and stuff so you can work on what you really want to do. The starving artist is a romantic idea, but it actually sucks. Being able to pay bills and pay for food is much cooler. So yeah, keep your current job to support your film making.

[Onward2wards]

I can relate to this, as I am finding my own life feels stagnant and I am itching for changes in almost every area, including career! The two things that have held me back are impatience and fear. It is critical to not let these mess things up for you.

These kinds of transitions seem to paralyze a lot of people. You are not alone by any means! I agree with the other posters who suggested making scripts and short movies / demo reels in your spare time, getting those out on the internet (youtube, deviantArt, cgsociety, etc.), and networking all you can. I have heard many stories of creative people getting breaks that way. You just have to keep at it. Don't think of yourself as stuck in a cubicle, think of yourself as a budding creative professional just starting out, building a long term career.

If you currently have discretionary income, invest it in your future career and save up for that big move to LA. You have to "keep the dream alive" in your mind or else it is VERY easy to get demoralized and stagnate. As for the job market being awful, for creatives it seems ALWAYS awful, in that there is a lot of competition and a need for persistent networking. (I know, I used to be a production assistant). That doesn't seem to stop people from getting creative work, though. Be persistent and determined, and keep believing in yourself. I wish you all the luck in the world!

[HourHand]

Keep your day job and work toward your future. You're in a great position to figure out how to get yourself into your dream job. Save money and start planning and researching. Start projects and make your beginners mistakes now.

What a fantastic position to be in! Congratulations!

HourHand