Ways to Make a Living with Creativity

“Oh, you graduated with a degree in a creative field? What exactly does that qualify you to do?”

Sound familiar?

This question stems from the misconception about creativity that it is a limited and impractical trait, good only for things like taking photos and posting them on Instagram or composing songs that your garage band will play in, well, your garage. These same people believe that when you graduate with a liberal arts degree, you enter the workforce with no marketable skills at all.

This is not true.

Quite the contrary. A creative person is an innovative person, and innovation is a valuable skill for any field. Also, a liberal arts program, also known as the humanities, focuses on the study of people, and the classes are designed to teach thinking critically and writing effectively. The latter is particularly helpful when it comes to business communications — it’s difficult to come across as professional if your emails and are full of grammar and spelling mistakes.

Of course, when you think about creative careers, there are a few that immediately come to mind, for example: writer, designer, artist, musician, and of course, full-service creative-agency employees like us GEMites. But for every career you think of, there may be ten that you’re missing. The United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics actually has a section of its website dedicated to “Careers for Creative People.” The page also cites a link to a list of almost 300 occupations for the creative person, many in fields that you might not even think to consider.

In fact, you can find ways to be creative in any position. Take sales, for example, which has not traditionally been considered a “creative” field. In reality, selling is all about creativity, beginning with an inviting sales pitch, moving on to innovative marketing and promotion strategies, and following through with effective communication with clients. If you look at the most successful business strategies, you’ll see how creativity comes into play.

If you need more convincing, check out this article from the Business Insider: “30 People with ‘Soft’ College Majors Who Became Extremely Successful.”

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• Creativity
• Art
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• Creative