Average Job Salaries


When I was growing up, I never really worried about average job salaries. My parents had a list of average salaries by job that they wanted me to look at when I was getting ready to graduate high school, but I simply was not interested. I was pretty sure that I knew what to do with my life, and an average job salaries list wasn't going to change that. I wanted to spend my life being an artist, and I didn't care if I was poor.

A couple years on my own, working a minimum wage job and struggling to make rent has changed my feelings about average job salaries a little bit. I realize that it is a mistake to make up your mind based on average salaries alone, but it is still an important factor. Let's face it, few people want to give up all the amenities of life To pursue a dream, and it isn't really practical to do. You don't have to be poor to be an artist. As a matter of fact, it doesn't even help. Making enough money means that you can take trips to places you find inspiring, take time off every now and then without worrying about not being able to afford rent, and in general have more energy to devote to your art.

One of the things about average job salaries that struck me was how much difference a little bit of specialization and training made. I have a liberal arts degree from A good university, and up until recently that would have counted for something. Nowadays, however, - unless I fall into a really good office job – I could probably make more money with a certificate in some very specific field of knowledge. If I took some human resources management classes, massage training, or college course for residential nurses, I would have some skill that I could market. Just being educated doesn't cut it anymore. You need to specialize.

Looking at the average job salaries, I realize that there is a lot I can do with my humanities training provided that I'm willing to get a little bit more schooling. The thing is, I don't really want an office job. Being cooped up in front of a computer all day is not my idea of fun. When I am writing or doing art, I am mostly sitting around anyway. I've been thinking about getting into something more hands-on as a change. That way, after working all day I will be ready to sit down and start on my creative projects.