A woman named Grace Warner asked in a TikTok video, a loaded question most exhausted corporate America employees are thinking: “Creatives, what’s a job that doesn’t make you hate life but still covers your rent?”
The self-proclaimed underpaid employee expressed her frustration with the challenge of maintaining financial security while pursuing something that ignites a fire inside.
Giving more context to her question, the caption to Warner’s pleading video read: “Customer service is killing my soul… I need to be spiritually fed as well as literally so drop your ideas below pls.”
Warner’s candid message resonated with many — her video has over 2 million views — which lead to an even bigger conversation questioning if there is any truth to the saying, “Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Unfortunately many people in the comment section related to Warner’s sentiment about not feeling creatively stimulated by the job that pays their bills.
“No job. Hope that answers your question,” someone else added as an additional user replied, “Nothing. Corporate kills creativity.”
“I’ve job-hopped for over a decade trying to answer this. haven’t found a single one. just misery and suffering. hope this helps,” quipped another disgruntled person.
On the other hand, some commenters shared encouraging responses that hopefully gave some hope to Warner.
“Flight attendant, cause I normally only work 12-15 days a month and the rest I can do whatever I want,” one person shared.
“I teach art to adults with disabilities!! so fulfilling and a manager role pays well in some areas,” another commenter wrote.
“Public library. I’ve gotten to take on lots of the arts and graphic design aspects, not to mention what a nice environment it is and no degree needed for many positions!” another comment read.
Other creative professions people suggested in the comments included baristas, florists and copywriters.
After her video went viral, Warner spoke with Newsweek about the emotional toll of working in a corporate job, which drains the energy she’d prefer to spend on creative pursuits.
“The only universal consensus? Avoid corporate,” she told the outlet.
Regarding the surprising response to her video, Warner said she knew it “would strike a chord — not just because the job market is so oversaturated and people are struggling, but because at our core, we’re meaning-seekers.”
She added that “most of us settle for jobs that simply allow us to survive: pay bills, eat, exist,” which we “obviously need to do.”
While many employees feel the need to take jobs just to support themselves — Gen Z specifically, is notorious for job hopping.
Resume Genius revealed that over half of Gen Z workers believe that changing jobs every two or three years is acceptable — especially if they want more pay.
However, it seems that the days of job hopping to boost one’s salary are over in today’s job market, Fortune reports.
According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, employees who stayed at their current employer earned a 4.6% salary bump at the beginning of the year, while those who bounced to another job during the same time frame only saw a 4.8% increase.
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