Practical Advice Sought for Near Future
I need some practical advice for the near future. My goal is to finish a book I’ve been kicking around. There are two ways to get the time to do this. One, the current plan, is living with the parents, working for a year or two, saving everything, then taking two years off to write full time. I did something like this on a smaller scale last year. It worked incredibly well. If I could do the same for another year, with maybe another year of buffer time for the unexpected, I think I’d finish. Two, an alternate plan is to get some part-time job that just pays the bills, then to write in the non-work hours of my day. My first question is, which plan sounds best for achieving my book goal?
Here’s some of my reasoning on this question. To have short descriptive names for these plans, call plan one “work then write”, plan two “work/write”. The advantage of “work then write” is simply that writing full time is less distracting and more productive for me than writing with competing obligations. I tried this last year. It worked before. It seems if I just keep doing what works, I’ll finish.
Some disadvantages of “work then write” are: First, the year of living at home sucks. Second, the idea of completely postponing my passion to work for a year or so, even though it’ll pay off with two years of indulging my passion, kinda sucks as far as that first year or so goes. I get slightly depressed and listless when not devoting myself to the project. That is why I’m considering an alternative plan I formerly ruled out: “work/write”.
The advantages of “work/write” are starting the project sooner, not postponing it for a year, not living with the parents, maybe living back up in the Bay Area where my old friends are, where my professors and university are, where the action is. Another advantage is that “work/write” seems like a more sustainable way to write a book than “work then write”, in case the project encounters trouble. For example, suppose I do “work then write”. Then during my two years writing, some shit goes down, and I don’t finish the book on schedule. Then my options would be to quit the book, which is unattractive, or to persist, which may be trickier the second time around.
Why? In three years, at 26 going on 27, do I want to move back in with my parents? To go through this year all over again? Will employers raise eyebrows at the emerging pattern of gaps in my employment? And so on. Those problems are bypassed if I just get into a consistent longish-term habit of working part-time, rather than working then not working then working then not working. The advantage of consistently working part-time is that if shit goes down with the book, then whether I quit the book and need a job, or if I persist in the book and need a job, I have a job. I don’t go back to my parents. I’m independent.
The disadvantage of “work/write” is that all the preceding analysis is speculative. I have reasons to think it’ll work on paper. But what looks good on paper may disintegrate in reality. My fears are these. One, maybe “work/write’ is either an unsustainable way to work or an unsustainable way to write. It may be an unsustainable way to work if, say, there isn’t any part-time work that pays the bills, or if the part-time work that pays the bills leaves me wiped out in an emergency. It may be an unsustainable way to write if the part-time work I’m stuck with saps more energy and time than I’m expecting, leaving not enough for the book.
A reassurance against these worries is the fact that I have some friends working part-time in the Bay Area as tutors. They pay their bills and do their creative work. They too indulged in useless but wonderful humanities majors. Of course, they also have a little more job history than me. Plus they’re probably screwed if some cataclysm happens. Now, one of these guys made an analogy that persuaded me that copying them might help my project.
The analogy is that writing while working part-time is like having an extracurricular in school. In school, you have to be somewhere for part of the day. But there’s a sizeable chunk of free time. In that free time, you can be very successful at an extracurricular you’re serious about. Writing while working is like being successful at your extracurricular. Since I was successful in extracurriculars at school, why not be successful at writing while working? That’s the core pull of “work/write”. It seems like something I could do for a short time, or even a long time, if I want to pay the bills and still work seriously on creative projects.
So those are some general pros/cons of my different plans for writing this book: “work then write” and “work/write”. Now a problem for both plans is I lack experience and don’t many concrete office skills. I have a B.A., basic logic and language skills, and some extracurricular experiences in education, speech, writing, movie production, and photography. Yeah, I’m an entry-level worker.
Being “entry-level” makes “work then write” a bit rough. Commanding lower salaries may make reaching savings targets take longer. It also makes “work/write” even rougher because I’m not sure working part-time with entry-level experience/skills and still paying bills is even realistic. So this raises two questions. First, what kind of work should I realistically be looking at right now, with my humble qualifications? Second, what kind of experiences and skills might I acquire now with an aim to having part-time work that pays bills for a frugal bachelor within the next year or two?
At the moment, I’m aiming to get some entry-level office work at Countrywide or some other office environment. However, I have the feeling that I’m not even competitive for that with my limited job history (academic research assistant, movie production assistant, college peer advisor, none of which last more than a few months). Given this inexperience, I’m considering retail, e.g. Starbucks, just to get some experience, to show I can take some kind of job, do it well, make some cash, get a more recent job reference, and use the experience as a stepping stone to something a step up later.
In terms of what that next step will be, I’ve been tossing around some ideas: tutor, paralegal, web designer. Tutoring sounds cool, and I had experience teaching classes in college. However, what I was teaching was not the bread and butter subjects that are in demand. Also, I now feel rusty on said bread and butter subjects. Plus tutoring can be car intensive. But it’s an option.
For the paralegal thing, there’s this paralegal certification program at UCLA Extension that I’m qualified for. It places well into the profession. It’s a 6 month (full time) -12 month (part time) course. $4,000 total. Cost and time are downsides. On the other hand, the investment would pay good returns if I used the certification to facilitate “work/write” for the current book project, and especially if I decide to continue doing “work/write” after the current project i.e. if I acclimate to the lifestyle and would like to keep doing similar projects. Plus, the certification is just a good practical thing to fall back on for someone with a degree that’s only practical for getting to law or graduate school.
Finally, here’s the possibility I was kicking around that I’m most ignorant and tentative about: web designer. Yeah, the extent of my “web-design” skills is italicizing Livejournal font. Ordinarily, I’d think I have no business even thinking about this. But the fantasy fed to me is that you can learn this stuff, HTML and CSS, in a few months of intensive study, then start doing contract work and eventually join a design firm. Quick web searches on web designer salaries say $40k is the full time median, $30k for total newbies.
Now, I’m sure this is overly simple. Maybe the basic web design can be learned in a few months. But don’t you need much more than basic proficiency to work professionally? And aren’t there other, more difficult and time-intensive skills you have to learn in addition to HTML and CSS? I don’t know. So I’m throwing this one out. Listen up tech savvy friends. If I want to teach myself web-design with the aim of doing it professionally, what would it realistically entail? How much time would it take? What would I be making? Should I forget this?
So in review, I’m seeking advice on what to do in the next few years. I’m trying to get a book written in the next 2-4 years before going on to the next phase of my life, probably grad school or law school. During the intermediate phase of book writing, which plan is better for me: “write then work” or “work/write”? Also, what kind of work should I do? And if I try to augment my shortish-term job prospects, that is, my prospects between now and the time when I either finish a Ph.D or J.D, then what are good directions to invest/expand in?
Here’s some of my reasoning on this question. To have short descriptive names for these plans, call plan one “work then write”, plan two “work/write”. The advantage of “work then write” is simply that writing full time is less distracting and more productive for me than writing with competing obligations. I tried this last year. It worked before. It seems if I just keep doing what works, I’ll finish.
Some disadvantages of “work then write” are: First, the year of living at home sucks. Second, the idea of completely postponing my passion to work for a year or so, even though it’ll pay off with two years of indulging my passion, kinda sucks as far as that first year or so goes. I get slightly depressed and listless when not devoting myself to the project. That is why I’m considering an alternative plan I formerly ruled out: “work/write”.
The advantages of “work/write” are starting the project sooner, not postponing it for a year, not living with the parents, maybe living back up in the Bay Area where my old friends are, where my professors and university are, where the action is. Another advantage is that “work/write” seems like a more sustainable way to write a book than “work then write”, in case the project encounters trouble. For example, suppose I do “work then write”. Then during my two years writing, some shit goes down, and I don’t finish the book on schedule. Then my options would be to quit the book, which is unattractive, or to persist, which may be trickier the second time around.
Why? In three years, at 26 going on 27, do I want to move back in with my parents? To go through this year all over again? Will employers raise eyebrows at the emerging pattern of gaps in my employment? And so on. Those problems are bypassed if I just get into a consistent longish-term habit of working part-time, rather than working then not working then working then not working. The advantage of consistently working part-time is that if shit goes down with the book, then whether I quit the book and need a job, or if I persist in the book and need a job, I have a job. I don’t go back to my parents. I’m independent.
The disadvantage of “work/write” is that all the preceding analysis is speculative. I have reasons to think it’ll work on paper. But what looks good on paper may disintegrate in reality. My fears are these. One, maybe “work/write’ is either an unsustainable way to work or an unsustainable way to write. It may be an unsustainable way to work if, say, there isn’t any part-time work that pays the bills, or if the part-time work that pays the bills leaves me wiped out in an emergency. It may be an unsustainable way to write if the part-time work I’m stuck with saps more energy and time than I’m expecting, leaving not enough for the book.
A reassurance against these worries is the fact that I have some friends working part-time in the Bay Area as tutors. They pay their bills and do their creative work. They too indulged in useless but wonderful humanities majors. Of course, they also have a little more job history than me. Plus they’re probably screwed if some cataclysm happens. Now, one of these guys made an analogy that persuaded me that copying them might help my project.
The analogy is that writing while working part-time is like having an extracurricular in school. In school, you have to be somewhere for part of the day. But there’s a sizeable chunk of free time. In that free time, you can be very successful at an extracurricular you’re serious about. Writing while working is like being successful at your extracurricular. Since I was successful in extracurriculars at school, why not be successful at writing while working? That’s the core pull of “work/write”. It seems like something I could do for a short time, or even a long time, if I want to pay the bills and still work seriously on creative projects.
So those are some general pros/cons of my different plans for writing this book: “work then write” and “work/write”. Now a problem for both plans is I lack experience and don’t many concrete office skills. I have a B.A., basic logic and language skills, and some extracurricular experiences in education, speech, writing, movie production, and photography. Yeah, I’m an entry-level worker.
Being “entry-level” makes “work then write” a bit rough. Commanding lower salaries may make reaching savings targets take longer. It also makes “work/write” even rougher because I’m not sure working part-time with entry-level experience/skills and still paying bills is even realistic. So this raises two questions. First, what kind of work should I realistically be looking at right now, with my humble qualifications? Second, what kind of experiences and skills might I acquire now with an aim to having part-time work that pays bills for a frugal bachelor within the next year or two?
At the moment, I’m aiming to get some entry-level office work at Countrywide or some other office environment. However, I have the feeling that I’m not even competitive for that with my limited job history (academic research assistant, movie production assistant, college peer advisor, none of which last more than a few months). Given this inexperience, I’m considering retail, e.g. Starbucks, just to get some experience, to show I can take some kind of job, do it well, make some cash, get a more recent job reference, and use the experience as a stepping stone to something a step up later.
In terms of what that next step will be, I’ve been tossing around some ideas: tutor, paralegal, web designer. Tutoring sounds cool, and I had experience teaching classes in college. However, what I was teaching was not the bread and butter subjects that are in demand. Also, I now feel rusty on said bread and butter subjects. Plus tutoring can be car intensive. But it’s an option.
For the paralegal thing, there’s this paralegal certification program at UCLA Extension that I’m qualified for. It places well into the profession. It’s a 6 month (full time) -12 month (part time) course. $4,000 total. Cost and time are downsides. On the other hand, the investment would pay good returns if I used the certification to facilitate “work/write” for the current book project, and especially if I decide to continue doing “work/write” after the current project i.e. if I acclimate to the lifestyle and would like to keep doing similar projects. Plus, the certification is just a good practical thing to fall back on for someone with a degree that’s only practical for getting to law or graduate school.
Finally, here’s the possibility I was kicking around that I’m most ignorant and tentative about: web designer. Yeah, the extent of my “web-design” skills is italicizing Livejournal font. Ordinarily, I’d think I have no business even thinking about this. But the fantasy fed to me is that you can learn this stuff, HTML and CSS, in a few months of intensive study, then start doing contract work and eventually join a design firm. Quick web searches on web designer salaries say $40k is the full time median, $30k for total newbies.
Now, I’m sure this is overly simple. Maybe the basic web design can be learned in a few months. But don’t you need much more than basic proficiency to work professionally? And aren’t there other, more difficult and time-intensive skills you have to learn in addition to HTML and CSS? I don’t know. So I’m throwing this one out. Listen up tech savvy friends. If I want to teach myself web-design with the aim of doing it professionally, what would it realistically entail? How much time would it take? What would I be making? Should I forget this?
So in review, I’m seeking advice on what to do in the next few years. I’m trying to get a book written in the next 2-4 years before going on to the next phase of my life, probably grad school or law school. During the intermediate phase of book writing, which plan is better for me: “write then work” or “work/write”? Also, what kind of work should I do? And if I try to augment my shortish-term job prospects, that is, my prospects between now and the time when I either finish a Ph.D or J.D, then what are good directions to invest/expand in?