How to change careers

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I'll try to keep this short.

I am currently in a technical position and thoroughly miserable. Recently having discovered that I am very likely on the Autism Spectrum, I am suddenly aware of how my behaviors and perceptions have sabotaged my chances for success in ANY endeavor. I have also discovered a talent for producing artwork (I can't post a link yet because I don't have enough posts. If you are REALLY curious, Google Iridescent Dreamscapes to see what I'm doing)

What I am facing is the potential of being a successful artist, but the probability that I end up in yet another train wreck.

I am utterly clueless on how to navigate the 'real world' in a way that allows me to realize my goal to retire as a working artist.

I'm feeling defeated before I even start.

Yay.

Man, you've no idea how often I've thought of cashing it all in to be an artist too...

How old are you though, and do you have enough money saved up from your job to retire? Artists don't usually make enough money to live on; they have paid jobs as waiters or unemployment benefits (not much).

I strongly recommend not being so black and white about it: you don't need to chuck in the job to be an artist; you can always draw in your own time and enter competitions/gain recognition gradually and that way you have a safety net for if it doesn't work out (i.e. you still have a job).

It takes a long time to be a recognised artist (for most people) and even then, that doesn't pay well enough for the work you do so there's no shame in keeping the day job, no matter how serious you are about art.

Why haven't you?



I am 52. Financial viability has never been a state of affairs enjoyed by me. So I can be in financial disarray as an IT professional or as an artist. No real difference as long as it does no harm to those around me.



Hence this post. There is a strong compulsion to cut and run, but that would lead to the mother of all train wrecks. I need to figure out a way through the garbage of normal living that does not sabotage my efforts. One of the big problems is that often a successful artist is also a good schmoozer. They effectively engage the people around them and effectively market themselves. I am adept at neither of these.



I expect to generate income teaching more than actually selling artwork. It turns out that as long as I am in my element, I can be rather effective at revealing my process. Ask me to do something outside my core focus and I am mostly inept.

Because I'm very nearly finished my degree. It's difficult but at the end I can get a job that allows me to earn enough to fullfill my other passion (travelling) whenever I can. Art has always been a hobby and I pursue it in my own time- I know that realistically if given unlimited time to myself (i.e. by giving up on the course/job) I would probably not increase my output any more, or at least not sufficiently to be self-supporting and I would regret not being able to earn enough to travel.


Well in that case, fire ahead. Just be aware that if you were broke as an IT professional, it will get worse as an artist. I'm not trying to stomp on your dreams; I'm just trying to be realistic. I have a couple of family members and a few friends who are artists and all of them are either on benefits or getting hand outs from their parents. The most successful of them is a very skilled painter, has been focused on being a professional artist since she was 16 (winning national/international competitions etc) and has only just been recognised in her own country aged 50.



You could always hire an agent if you can afford it; they'd manage the publicity and cultivate the image.



Teaching art may work. I'm not sure though, but I think you may need a teaching qualification (even just a diploma from a teaching-art course), unless you'd be happy with running it very small scale/charging very ittle. Perhaps whilst you still have your job, you could try running Saturday classes; see how difficult it is/how much you like it/what the feedback is and then take it from there?

Teaching in a public school requires a degree. Teaching privately does not. I am already teaching a class at a local art store and have received very positive responses. I thoroughly enjoy it. I am easily agitated by to much stimulus flowing inward but when the data is flowing outward I seem to really catch fire.

Dad always said " one needs to have a vocation AND an avocation". Following your muse is a wonderful avocation, but paying the bills is another matter. Change can be hard but rewarding. If I were trying to "start over" again in this economy I would definitely stick in something medical, which has vast potential from working entirely alone to managing a work force.
If there is meaningful vocational testing out there, try and go for it. Fortunately for me, I LOVED being in school, not competing with anyone but myself for my love of knowledge. another anecdote before I depart - my dad knew me well apparently before I knew myself....he told me "you're too heavy for light work and too light for heavy work". Zig

Isn't one of the aspects of Asperger's that one can find it VERY challenging to remain focused on something for which one has little interest? It seems reasonable to suggest looking at medical opportunities, but without a deep and abiding curiosity to follow that path, wouldn't an Aspie find themselves frustrated and ultimately dissatisfied?




I suppose if I had no idea of what I wanted to transition into, vocational testing would be useful. But it I know what I want. I just don't know how to navigate the real world.



I had a secret wish that someone would pay me to explore a library in whatever manner suited me. No such job that I know of.

there is something for everyone. and need for medical does not go away in a recession. maybe one can't tolerate being a nurse (excellent for SOME ADD/AS) but possibilities of working alone, say in a lab setting working at one's own pace (with accommodations) would be an excellent choice for others. and just remember all the ADD/ASD famous people who have "made it big". I think there is MOST ALWAYS a way to navigate the system or society....and be fairly happy doing it. If I could "do it all over", I'd be one of those forensic geeks (and of course look like Marg Helgenberger). tee hee. Zig

Having an attainable goal should help. Then I can at least assiduously apply my hyper analytical nature to specific problems that present obstacles to reaching that goal. As long as the problems are subject to hyper analytic solutions, that is. That's the rub. Dealing with people is not amenable to hyper analytic process.

That's great! What's the pay like though? And the demand for art classes? If the pay isn't great, you may need to host more classes in order to break even once you quit your job. If the demand isn't great, then it may not be feasible to hold more classes than you already are.

Alternatively; if you hate your job in IT, why not change jobs to something completely different and still be an artist/art teacher on the side. It doesn't have to be something you are passionate about, just something you can manage and that allows you to feed yourself and stock up on supplies so that you can continue doing what you love.

Ultimately I would need to have my own space and 20 to 50 active students to make a reasonable income. The current class is $120 for 8 weeks per student. I only see $30/week for a 2hr class. Pretty poor, actually, if you consider materials and transportation time and costs. 20 active private students would be about 500/week income. Add commissions and sales and the math becomes doable. It's just getting there that's the trick.



Perhaps this is an Aspie thing, but my personal experience has been that if I am not passionate about what I am doing I drift towards minimal effort and ultimately failure.

I would post a sample of my artwork but I can't post links for the first 5 days of being a new member.

Yeah, that sounds pretty tough. I'm not exactly sure how you'd go about doing that to be honest. Only thing I can think of is to keep up the day job, save up lots and then invest in studio space and hope it works out. With enough advertising you may get enough pupils.



That's something you should really work on then. Finding it difficult to do something you don't like isn't just an aspie trait; every human on the planet gets like that, but ultimately, sometimes you just have to force yourself to do it if what you do find interesting doesn't pay the bills.



That'd be cool I'd like to see it when you're allowed post.

Forcing myself to do something works for a time, but I have some pretty strong issues with distractibility. Even working with the data files I see daily creates problems. I almost automatically see patterns in the data that are curious, but not relevant to the task at hand. So even when I am 'on task', the task itself can present anomalies that divert my thinking. But when I am passionately connected to the the task, distractibilty sometimes completely vanishes, though sometimes to the point where I become so focused on what I'm doing that it is aggravating to the people around me. My susceptibility to distraction is inversely proportional to my level of interest. The relation might even be exponential and not simply linear.

I have found a 'zombie mode' where I am in a state where I have ZERO passion attached to the present task. This allows me to ignore anything that is even remotely curious and turns the task to the IT analog of hoeing a long row of weeds. But it is a singularly unsatisfying state of mind.

Yeah, but what you've just described (quite eloquently I'll admit) is normal for everyone. Many people hate their jobs and they only survive the working day by going into zombie mode too. It's only after 5pm when they go home that they get to do what really interests them.

A minority are lucky as hell; their interests match their skills and their skills are employable. For most people though, your job is your job; a chore that pays the bills.

So whence comes the designation of Asperger's? If this is normal, what is abnormal?




Again, how does this pertain to Asperger's. If everybody is the same, how is it that Aspies are often chronically underemployed?

Sample artwork. Graphite on Bristol board.