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I'm Burnt Out!

I

ILikeTurtles

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 17, 2010
320
2
I've been doing graphic design for 19 years - and I'm burnt the (bleep) out.

So sick of dealing with frustrating clients. I feel like I could snap. I've lost my passion for what I do. Found a new passion in baking, but I have no idea how to make the transition from one career to another. I have a mortgage, car, and a life to pay for, so I can't just "quit my day job."

Not whining - just needed to vent to the interwebs.
 
^ do you know how many people are in banking with nothing more than a high school diploma? I can name at least 5 Senior VPs of major banks who never went to college.

That said, design is a skill that people just don't appreciate. Some ******* kid gets their hands on Photoshop and starts calling themselves a designer or if truly ballsy, a web designer. I feel for designers because it truly is a path that can be difficult to manage. Anytime you work with the public you're often left feeling like you just got **** on.

Make your move, it's really never too late so long as you can support yourself and whomever you may be responsible for.

When you say banking, what exactly are you referring to? That is such a broad term these days that I do wonder.
 
LOL holy ****er! I read banking just like the other guy. :eek:

Well damn ... you'll need capital if you want to get into BAKING. ;)
 
Good luck with whatever you choose to do, but remember, people like me who are out of work have a hard time sympathizing with someone employed yet 'burned out.'

I do hope you find a way to make money doing your passion as it has been said that less than 25% of American's like/love their job.
 
jbachandouris said:
Good luck with whatever you choose to do, but remember, people like me who are out of work have a hard time sympathizing with someone employed yet 'burned out.'

I do hope you find a way to make money doing your passion as it has been said that less than 25% of American's like/love their job.
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Just because people are unemployed doesn't mean that one cannot be dissatisfied with their job. I totally get what you're saying but I recently said something about my job and the person I was speaking to told me to shut it because at least i had one. Yes, I do and I'm fortunate but that doesn't mean I need to be all rainbows and unicorns over it and it shouldn't prohibit me from talking about my woes. Undoubtedly, it's hard for someone who doesn't even have a job to bitch about to hear about someone who is just fed up with theirs, but it does go both ways I think.

You are right though, in this day and age to decide you're done and you're going to start something that many fail at is borderline crazy but who knows, it could very well work out.
 
For baking you should work on clever and unique ways to present your goods. Even though I hate things like cookies and cakes (I know I'm weird) I'm a sucker for clever packaging and presentation.
 
I know exactly what you are talking about. I have been doing motion graphics for year and found a new love in baking. My wife and I started a small speciality bakery business called Lisa's Cookie Bar. We run the business out of our house. We hope to one day lease out space to have it as our full time jobs. We still work full time at our other jobs to pay the BIG bills. I really hope you the best.
 
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MBurton2003 said:
I know exactly what you are talking about. I have been doing motion graphics for year and found a new love in baking. My wife and I started a small speciality bakery business called Lisa's Cookie Bar. We run the business out of our house. We hope to one day lease out space to have it as our full time jobs. We still work full time at our other jobs to pay the BIG bills. I really hope you the best.
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That's awesome!!! Very inspirational. Thanks!
 
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Perhaps you can get into banking as the first two responses suggested. At least you can still "cook the books" in that field. ;)
 
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chrono1081 said:
For baking you should work on clever and unique ways to present your goods. Even though I hate things like cookies and cakes (I know I'm weird) I'm a sucker for clever packaging and presentation.
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I agree. That would be a great combination and people love that kinda stuff. I feel your pain though. I've been designing professionally for about 10 years now (5years as a freelancer and 5 with a day job) and my one time passion has become "just a job" in a lot of ways and I've lost my motivation for personal design projects. I think a lot of creatives do exactly what you've done and find something outside of their day jobs to keep them sane, but still exercises their creative muscles. For me it's jamming in my buddies basement or doing personal photography projects. Both of which I'm not looking to make money which helps me detach from any kind of work vibe. I find that it gives you a greater sense of accomplishment creatively.

P.S. Share some pics of your creations! I'm interested to see what a designer can bake :D
 
ILikeTurtles said:
I've been doing graphic design for 19 years - and I'm burnt the (bleep) out.
Click to expand...

I feel for you. I'm a 20+ year graphic designer who's not yet burnt out, but can see where you're coming from.

It's still the best job I've ever had ... and I've had a few.

I like getting paid for making something pretty. I like getting paid for conceptualizing. I like getting paid for brainstorming. I like getting paid for collaborating with other talented people.

And I like bitching about how clueless client are.

We'll miss you.
 
ILikeTurtles said:
I've been doing graphic design for 19 years - and I'm burnt the (bleep) out.

So sick of dealing with frustrating clients.
Click to expand...

On the other hand try running a business without them. How do you know your customers in the baking business will not be even more frustrating?
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

No matter what your field is, you can always bitch about your clients. :)

That said..... To the OP, start something part time out of your house if you can. That lets you pay the bills, see the light at the end of the tunnel and build your new business all while seeing if it's right for you. Sure it's a lot of work but what isn't?

Best of luck!
 
Starting a new bakery is a risky operation. The failure rate is above 50%.

It takes a lot of knowledge,expertise,energy and money to start a successful bakery.

However with your extensive background in graphics design that will give you a head start on some things.

If you do your own graphics that will cut down the cost of display quite a bit.
 
Peace said:
If you do your own graphics that will cut down the cost of display quite a bit.
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[top customer comment]

Your bread sucks ass.

But that's a really great font choice in your display.

[/top customer comment]

:D
 
I feel ya- some of my clients are really burning me out. May I suggest that your goal should be to get your business to a place where you can pick and choose your clients? Sounds easier than it is I know, but if you have one or two pain in the ass clients that can keep the lights on, you can afford to pick and choose the other clients that allow you to do work that gets you out of the bed in the morning. Our company is not afraid to fire clients. We want clients that view us as a partner and authority on what we do, and not a wrist.

If you are, after 19 years, not in a place where you can affect that change within your company, you need to do something about that, or start a new company.
 
I am sorry to hear that. :(

Are there any aspects of design that you still enjoy?

In a way baking is similar to graphic design (besides both being creative endeavors). For both of them you don't need many tools or necessarily any certifications to succeed or get started.

I'm sure you already have most of the cookware you require. The other part is of course the food and creativity with dishes. Try to set a schedule for yourself in practicing cooking. Something that you can easily stick to. If I were in your shoes, that's what I would do. Try cooking every night or so and see if you can really see yourself doing that.
 
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