Studying What You Love: How To Do It And Still Make Money
Studying what you love is a very tricky topic. On the one hand, everyone wants to do it; on the other, a lot of people are concerned that ‘what they love’ is not necessarily ‘what will help them make money and thrive’.
The understandable concerns for one’s wellbeing and prosperity in the face of what capitalism is and how it functions are very relatable, but are also often misplaced, though.
To make money, you don’t necessarily have to be an engineer, a doctor or an IT specialist, despite the common misconception that you do, in fact, have to dedicate your life to something like that.
Don’t get me wrong – if that’s what you’re passionate about, then by all means please pursue that. I wish you all the best of luck.
But for the people who love something, perhaps, less societally demanded, but are afraid of dedicating their lives to it: don’t freak yourself out. You can make money out of anything – it just comes down to knowing how to.
In Russian, we have a saying which, when translated, sounds a bit boring, but amounts to: “Want to live – try to be smart.” It is basic advice, but it holds up to be true; so let’s try to be smart together.
Don’t be afraid
The most vague, yet the best advice would be this. Do not be afraid.
To make money, you should be brave enough to put yourself out there. It doesn’t matter what exactly it is that you want to do – be it writing stories, painting, performing or whatever the hell else, you should learn how to push yourself forward, into the public eye.
It obviously doesn’t come out of nowhere. Bravery, quite often, is a lot of work. In addition to that, the slight nervousness that comes from being looked at or judged by the public eye will always remain in the back of your head, no matter how successful you are.
What matters is the attempt to be brave. Even when you’re still studying, you should publish your work on public websites. E-mail the organisers of that zine fair and try to get a stall to sell your magazine at. Call up curators to see if your artwork has the potential of being exhibited in their spaces. Hell, make a separate Instagram account where you write about your views and opinions.
There’s a lot of things you can attempt to do, and as long as you actually do attempt them, success will come, whatever it is you study – fine art, textiles or gender studies.
Aim for exposure
This point flows directly out of the previous one.
Exposure is key, especially in the artistic world. Calling up all these people or trying to sell your product does not immediately guarantee success – if anything, it’s not even guaranteed that you’ll manage to secure a space for youself – but it does guarantee gaining some more attention.
A lot of things play into it. From a strong social media presence (this is really crucial, especially so for artists and photographers) to actual business cards – which is a genuine advice I got from someone who works with students. It’s important to do everything you can to get yourself seen, and to start working on that as soon as humanly possible.
It builds up slow. From one new follower on Instagram to more, and more, and more, to getting commissioned one day. That’s how my photographer friend started making money off her hobby – she’d studied art and photography, but until she gained a following she struggled to make money out of it.
Now? She could give us all a run for our money with just how goddamn in-demand she is.
Think outside the box
Another quite basic piece of advice – but this one will get you the cash and the additional exposure.
The comfort of what you do habitually is lovely and tempting, and nobody is stopping you from working in a particular style or with particular mediums.
However, being able to bring up topics that nobody else does, or being able to apply your craft to something completely different will definitely make you stand out.
If you think of an idea, but then go on to stop yourself from working on it because ‘it’s too bizarre and nobody would understand’ then, I beg you, reconsider. Share it with others and see what they think.
The ones that make money the best are the ones that have their own approach.
Learn to compromise
It’s annoying, especially when you have a very defined vision of what you want to see in the end of your studies and in the end of your projects, but it is what it is.
Anyone, from your professors to your clients, has a vision of their own, too. It doesn’t mean that you should let people disrespect you for money – actually, literally do anything but that – but sometimes you’ll have to agree on things you might not personally like.
In the end, it will still involve a process you enjoy, even if under slightly different expectations and/or circumstances. And you can always interpret the demands in your own light and add something of yourself to all of your works, including commissions, but it’s important to know how to listen to the person who’s paying you to do the actual work.
Be realistic
Don’t be terrified of sudden change, but don’t go in completely mindless.
Having a change of interests is fine, but you cannot stay studying forever. Having positive expectations is encouraged, but don’t expect everything to go perfectly smoothly just because you’re doing something you love. Doing what you love is wonderful, but there is a chance that it being a career might dampen your spirits and affection for the craft.
In general, being an optimist is fantastic, but romanticising everything and believing there will be no issues is… silly. Not because it’s bad to believe in goodness, but because you will be the one getting hurt if something goes wrong.
To make money, you sometimes have to adapt and change. And that’s okay. That’s life. That doesn’t make you less you, and that doesn’t kill the artist in you – as long as you don’t kill the artistry yourself.
Meet like-minded people
Whether for collaboration on your projects, for friendship and relaxation or to just expand your network, like-minded people will always help.
From being willing to add on to, edit or promote your work, to being an inspiration, to knowing someone who could help you with something they personally can’t help with, large networks are the key in your attempts to make money and become successful.
Stay in touch with university friends that studied on the same course as you. (Or completely different courses, in fact, to expand your reach and capabilities, too.) Meet people at exhibitions, fairs, at your degree shows and give them your business cards – I swear they’re important. Make them. You can print a large batch for quite cheap, actually.
