Choosing a profession based not on your passions but on some sense of moral worthiness strikes me as similar to choosing a profession based on how much money or job stability you expect to receive. Both compromise who you are at a deep level, and neither will necessarily work out the way you plan. It can also lead to resentment by your colleagues who ARE motivated by their passions.

I became an electrical engineer because I was fascinated at an early age with TVs, radios, and other gizmos and because one of my childhood heros was Thomas Edison. When I started work in the computer industry in the mid 70s, I was surrounded by a group of passionate and creative people who were similarly motivated by their early interests. Later, in the 80s and 90s, more and more people went into my field because they expected to get rich from it. Most of those people didn't, and it made life miserable for me having to work with a bunch of people who had no real creative interest in their chosen field.

At the age when most of us make our initial career decisions we aren't nearly wise enough to see the big picture and how we are to fit into it. It is far better to follow our passions and to try to do good within that framework.

...when I was in my late 20s. LW, if you had gone into something you were passionate about, there is no certainty that you would have enjoyed it. Bad bosses, crummy economy, jobs with no health benefits, working with idiots, etc., can happen anywhere and all take a toll on creativity. And there is MUCH to be said for earning a decent living when most of the planet only earns 1US a day. You owe your employer what you have negotiated to do, as Cary observed, not your total mind and heart. They don't even WANT your total mind or heart! I am in a career that isn't fulfilling, in fact, a lot of it is pretty silly - I'm an engineer in defense. But my job allows me to support the causes I love, and some children in India who would be impoverished otherwise. And of course, as I am getting older, it's pretty cool to have health benefits, and live in a nice neighborhood with a yard. What I'm trying to say is that it's a tradeoff.

So don't ditch that decent paying job just yet. You might not find another. Look at your home, spouse, people who depend on you. Find creativity elsewhere. Good luck, this is a hard nut to crack and involves wisdom and acceptance.

LW, go back to grad school and get a master's in landscape architecture. It's the perfect marriage of your artistic abilities and your knowledge of urban planning.

Laymen think landscape architects are garden designers, but we are really outdoor spacial designers, combining knowledge of design, civil engineering, project management, and human use patterns. You are made for the profession, LW. Go to the ASLA web page, find a local practictioner, and go for an information interview. Ask if you can tour their studio, see current projects, etc.

You can specialize in NeoTradiional Design, Wetlands delineation, site analysis, community revitalization, etc.

I have been a LA and an urban planner, and in hindsight, the LA stuff is more fulfiling to me because it's creative and you don't get as caught up in the impotent feeling of working for a municipality that seems to actually LIKE suburban strip development.

There is a book called "Awake at Work" by Michael Carroll -- in this book the author applies Buddhist principles to the concept of going about making a living in the world. It is funny at times and it is easy to read and very direct, and I keep a copy of it on my desk for those moments when I have to remember that boredom at my job is something that I can feel without necessarily having to immediately react to. I really, really understand where you are coming from, LW -- I have a well paying job that I do very well and I am bored out of my mind every day. This book didn't solve that problem but it helped me construct ways to think about it that made the situation seem less dire. Sometimes the practical realities may slow you down some even when you've heard the answer....I wish you well on your book, your screenplay, your masterpiece, your whatever-it-is. It will be your gift to the world, so don't give it up.

Right now probably more than 50% of Salon subcribers are thinking the same thing. The sad truth is that there are way more people interested in doing a job that is "creative and fun" than can make a living at it. Just ask your average waiter in New York.

When you're sitting behind your desk in an office, doing something "creative and fun" sounds wonderful-- who wouldn't want to do that? But that path is blocked by the large obstacles of reality:

1. Do you actually have enough talent to be better than the thousands of other people in that "creative and fun" field? Most people that are good enough at something creative to make a living at it just do it whether they get paid or not, and don't need to write letters about it.

2. Its a reasonable expectation to make a living in a "creative and fun" field. Take, for example, painting. The vast majority of painters, even good ones, can't make a living at it.

3. You'd even like the job even if #1 and #2 were true. Doing something as a hobby is totally different than having to do something professionally. Something that seems cool when you're something boring can be just as much of a chore when you *have* to do it every day.

When all is said and done, jobs aren't necessarily creative and fun, but people can be.

The business I started to pay the bills:

http://webperformance.com

The business I started as a creative outlet:

http://learningtosee.org

Michael Czeiszperger

Chapel Hill, NC