Employment and other necessary evils

Okay.

I know that this paints me as an ungrateful so-and-so who should be lucky to have any job at all, but I really hate my current job. Right now, I work for Barnes & Noble and things... aren't great. They aren't bad necessarily, but face facts, folks: how many of you, when asked what you wanted to be when you grew up, said "I want to work in a bookstore for $8.00 an hour and be treated poorly by customers and management alike"?

Me neither. I wanted (and still do) to be a cartoonist.

The thing is, bookstores are one of my favorite places to hang out - I go to bookstores on my days off. I guess it's a case of looking behind the curtain and seeing the Wizard of Oz for the con artist he is; now that I know how life is on the other side of the cash register, the whole enterprise has lost its luster. As much as I love bookstores, I'd rather be a customer in them, not an unthanked peon. Which leads me to my little dilemma.

Have you ever heard the phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none"? I'm kind of like that, except I'm more of a "Jack of about two or three trades, master of none." I want to find a job that can help support my family, but all I find are more customer service related jobs that I don't want to go anywhere near.

I have a Bachelors degree in Illustration and am a struggling cartoonist. I've been drawing since I was five years old and I've won some minor awards for my work while an intern at a small daily newspaper in Southern California. That's my first strike against me. Most employers see "cartoonist" or "degree in Art" on my resume' and tend to not take me seriously. This is not just me assuming this; I've been told this off the record. In fact, in the middle of a job interview, the interviewer suggested that if I wanted to make "extra money" that I could go to work in the mall and draw people's caricatures. That was my first sign that I wasn't going to get that job. ;)

My second strike against me is that I have 12 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Yes, I consider this a strike against me. Essentially, I was the night manager for a Days Inn in the middle of nowhere near the foot of California's High Desert. It was my college job and I put myself through school (no financial aid), which is why it took so long. I then stayed at my college job for four more years. I never ever ever EVER want to work in hospitality or customer service again, yet the only jobs I seem qualified for are in those industries.

I'm a little vexed by all this, as you may see. What's my point? Where am I going with all of this? To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure. I just felt that I had to get this all off of my chest, that I needed to vent.

Thanks for letting me bend your ears, folks. Less self-indulgent whining next time, I promise :)

Take care,
~Rob