That "follow your passion" advice my career counselor gave me in 2019 was total garbage

I quit a stable state job to become a graphic designer like she said, and now I'm $14,000 in debt with no clients while my old coworker just got promoted to supervisor with a pension, has anyone else had a career coach steer them completely wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel8571mo ago

Did you read that big study that came out last year about how most creative freelancers barely make minimum wage for the first few years? It's a REAL rough road. That counselor probably just told you what sounded good instead of what the actual numbers say.

rileyellis1mo ago

Look at freelance sites like Upwork or Fiverr to build a portfolio and get some cash flow going, even if the rates are low at first. @daniel857 is right about that study being brutal but working a few small gigs beats having zero clients while you figure out the real market. Pick one niche like logo design for local businesses and run a few cheap ads on Facebook to test the waters.

bennett.patricia1mo ago

But @daniel857, isn't following your passion still better than being stuck miserable in a job you hate?