Be brave, break out, do something a little crazy.
Taking risks makes all the difference.
I’m about to close out my 20s with my middle fingers pointed back at the last decade.
Lots of my peers share the feeling. We graduated in 2010, straight into the worst recession in 50 years. We’ve entered a changed economy, where it feels there are more gigs than steady jobs, insurance is a luxury, and most of us are playing catch up in life (I’m looking at you, D.C. housing market).
All this, for me, has contributed to an incoherent, zigzagging career trajectory.
Work has been a constant frustration. I would get a new job, get bored, and move on. Often I found myself clashing with supervisors, or frustrated with the slowness of large organizations. I spent a long time wondering if there was something wrong with me — why couldn’t I stick with a normal job?
But this turned out to work for me in an unexpected way. The perceived impossibility of a traditional career has led me to say “yes” to everything else in life. Classes, meeting new people, and volunteer work took the place of a thought-out career. The weird sideways moves, diverse connections, and side-hustles have somehow coalesced into my new freelance career, and I’m so happy they did.
I’m a big advocate of looking outside the daily grind to find unexpected opportunities. Here are some ways this has worked for me.
I took advantage of adult education.
Taking classes is my jam. Learning is a lifelong process, and the glorious thing about adulthood? You choose the curriculum. If you live near a city, there are hundreds of ways to expand your horizons without going to grad school.
I’ve taken burlesque and dance classes, trained as a boxer, and learned to ride a motorcycle. Not all of these hobbies stuck, but I’ve learned new skills and formed lasting friendships along the way.
The burlesque scene especially fed my expertise in structured creative feedback — an essential part of my current career.
I picked up & moved.
After college I moved cross-country to a place where I knew nobody. I got my first job (at a summer camp) from a Google search and cold emails. The transition was difficult, but landing on my feet in Seattle was a formative experience I’ll never regret.
An absolutely arbitrary move to Pittsburgh helped me meet the delightful folks at Guest Hook, my first paid writing gig. I might never have figured it out without them.
I kept talking.
Some key career moves have happened simply because I took the time to reach out to friends and old acquaintances. A friend from college saw a Facebook post I made, he’s now a client. Hosting a couch-surfer led me to my first job in tech. And I offered up my skills on BrightCrowd, where I picked up more work from like-minded people.
By chatting, offering my skills, and saying yes to things outside of my comfort zone, I’ve made life-changing connections.
So how’s freelance life?
Even knowing that I’m creative, I move fast, and that I don’t love authority, it took me forever to realize that a traditional career path wasn’t for me. Freelance life was calling, it just took me awhile to hear.
Now my work blends my biggest strengths (writing, communication, & storytelling) with my favorite industry (tech). And at long last my friends can breathe a sigh of relief! No more stories about the crazy thing my boss did.
Since going freelance, I’ve taken mid-day bicycle rides through the city. I’ve had more time to devote to my volunteer work. And I’ve found an awesome partnership with the folks at the Alley workspace in D.C. (I cannot recommend coworking enough).
I feel like I’ve hit my stride, just in time to stare down my 30s unafraid. This decision is the culmination of a ton of tiny risks I’ve taken: leaving a bad job, asking for extra work, saying “yes” to gigs, to meetings, and to old friends. Remember — your next career move can be sparked by something as tiny as a conversation with someone new. You never know where it’ll lead.
Shake it up, and please reach out to me on BrightCrowd if you want to chat about freelance life, writing, or that funny thing your cat did.
Katherine is a technical writer & blogger, theatre artist, and devoted cat mom. She blogs about words at kkwritescopy.com, and weird art stuff on Medium. Silly thoughts found on Twitter, @kayraus
