Just started a new job. In my downtime after quitting my previous one, I've been pondering why people think that just because someone has a “passion” career, they should be okay with horrible pay, unreasonable demands and grueling work.
For context, I live in Chicago and this job was in a neighboring county where the minimum wage is half of that in Cook County. I'm a career illustrator and designer who works in pre-production and concept art roles. Super niche and competitive, making past experience invaluable while job hunting.
This former position was a dream for anyone who went to commercial art school and the company knew that. My bosses had been there for years, but there was a revolving door of overworked junior artists that they paid poverty wages. I knew that if I took this job, it would give me the resume entry needed to get a better job. So, I grit my teeth for a whole year and put up with the IL minimum wage salary, understaffed art department, and misogynistic owner.
After a car accident (caused by extreme burn out) I stopped working my ass off doing more than was necessary and began refining my resume/portfolio and seeking new jobs. This whole process took about 6 months because I was very careful about the type of companies and job descriptions that I applied to.
After 3 rounds of interviews, got a phone call a few weeks ago and my new company offered me more than double what I asked for, a 250%+ raise. I make as much as my dad now and have a higher salary than both of my old bosses. I feel sad for them because they were genuinely good people and are victims of this culture. They do that job as a passion and give every ounce of their energy to a company that doesn't care about their employees and is okay with exploiting artists.
After quitting I noticed, however, that people (especially Americans) laud that mindset as if it's something to be proud of. As if you should be happy because you get to work doing something you enjoy, so you should just accept any and all BS that comes along with it. Especially if you work in a creative field. People looooove consuming the fruits of creative labor while simultaneously treating artists like crap.
Glad to have found a position where I don't feel exploited, the true dream of a commercial artist. I interviewed at about 14 companies and half of those positions I could tell I would be exploited in the same way as my old job. I am someone who actually enjoys working, but we need to end this hustle culture and expectation of working yourself to death for “passion” careers.