I recognize myself in your description. I did an intern in a small office where I spent most of my time redrawing logo’s. They offered me a job & hesitantly I agreed thinking I’d keep my eyes open for a more creative job. Now my job description has expanded to -mostly making the layout for dull advertisements in cheap papers/magazines- & every now & then (whenever we get a more “creative” task) designing a logo or housestyle. I have to say that in my case I’ve changed my opinion of what I want to do & now actually enjoy dull assignments. When I graduated from high school I was very excited about finally going to art school, but everything about it disappointed me to a level that I stopped drawing for a couple of years (I used to draw manually & wanted to become a cartoonist ever since I was a kid). At that point, I was getting some recognition for my comics, but I wasn’t able to do anything with it ’cause I lost the will to draw. Currently, I’m constantly drawing in my spare time & LOVE the fact that you don’t have to make any compromises. You’re your own best judge & personally I always have trouble communicating about my designs with people who know *** about it. I keep my dull job just to escape from the risc of losing my hobby. I don’t know if this makes any sense to you at all, but let me put it this way: if you really enjoy being creative, no job will stop you from doing so except maybe one that requires you to be creative and compromise in your designs. A lot of people here will probably disagree with me, but my advice is: don’t mix business with pleasure!

I hear you, Asvetic. Been there, felt that. Comfort is the enemy!

One way I got out of that was by switching jobs, but since you can’t do that just yet, I have a few suggestions:

If there is some specific area of design that you’ve always been particularly keen on and want to get into in Philly, start preparing for that now by giving yourself assignments to do in your spare time. You can also look at it as a portfolio-building endeavor.

Another way would be to sign up for a design-related workshop or class — something that would get you in touch with like-minded individuals, teachers, etc., who could offer you a fresh perspective on design. Since you are here on Typophile, I suggest a letterpress class, but it could be anything that would get you out of the box you are in. (Maybe you could even do some informational interviews at other studios where you now live.)

Also, just remind yourself that you won’t be in that job forever, and that things aren’t hopeless. :-)

Get out of the office and get inspired. Go spend a week in Philadelphia; visit your family, check out the museum, root around in old bookstores, watch an opera. Creativity is a subconscious process that requires constant fueling, it sounds like you need a lot of fuel.

Yep, my first Fiction writing teacher told us that he decided, when he realized that what he really wanted to do with his life was write, that he needed to find a job that would not be satisfying, and not use any of his creative juices so that he would be motivated to write, have the creativity to do it, and keep his ambitions of writing.

He worked on train gangs up north, but that left him too exhausted to write, so he ran away from there and became a taxi driver. He wrote his first novels that way.

But of course, that approach removes the comfortable living.
I can relate, too. I’m in a job with no hope of going anywhere better, and I am rapidly running out of things to learn, but it pays the bills and so I’m not entirely motivated to shake up my world right yet.

K.

...I lost the will to draw.

In a nutshell... yes!

I remember in college, I was such a cocky jerk about design. I had a lot of my profs in my pocket. I was outspoken and made a point to comment on everything any chance I got. I found most of the design projects were “easy” and I wouldn’t put as much effort as I could/should have. After school I felt I was OWED a job in a well established design house, oh the reality hit me VERY VERY HARD! My father actually found me a place in his company and for the last 3 years the confidence I had in college slowly suffocated under the shear boredom of my work. I’m not under-appreciated for my talents, but I’m not necessarily challenged either.

I know a lot of people would kill for my position, and I shouldn’t complain, but I have this feeling I’ve “sold out” and not in a good way.

I don’t want to do what I love for a living. What I love has to be protected at all costs.

When I was a professional musician it fundamentally changed my relationship to music and it took me years to repair that after I changed careers.

So I’m a musician at heart and I design for a living. It’s a very good compromise for me. I really like design and take it very seriously, but when someone tells me to move the logo a quarter inch to the right, it’s annoying but it doesn’t hurt my heart…

In the meantime back in my bedroom I can play whatever I want whenever I want.

peace

It is easy to think a “dream job” will just visit you one day soon and all will be well. The truth is, any job is work and much of it is not fulfilling and creative. Dream jobs rarely happen and some of those dreams evolve into nightmares. This is not a design career issue. It is an any career issue. You get paid to do the things someone else either can’t or does not want to do. Much of it is not fun, all of it is work. You are already planning a change which is good. Realize that wherever you go, it will never be like school again. You pay them to go to school—they pay