So I just happened across a CNN Money article entitled Nine cool jobs that pay well. “When you’re surrounded by beige walls reading inane e-mails all day, you can’t help but wonder if there’s a cooler job out there that will still put food on the table,” says the article.

This so describes my feelings when I used to work a desk job. I spent literally nine hours a day reading inane e-mails, and each evening, I came home too mentally drained to work on any of my own projects. It wasn’t the pleasantest time, but to tell the truth, I learned a lot at that job. The number one thing I learned is that the “security” provided by a job comes at a heavy price: the freedom to use your time as you see fit. I was not satisfied with this situation, so about a year ago, I set out on my own. I now work as a writer, teacher, and translator, and am almost completely in control of my own schedule. I view even this arrangement as a temporary step in the journey towards financial freedom.

But back to the article. The nine cool jobs that pay well are brewmaster, toy creator, food scientist, doll fashion designer, sommelier, athletic trainer, event planner, wardrobe stylist, and concert promoter. There’s a theme here: creating something. When you work for eight or nine hours and your labor hasn’t produced any tangible result, it’s a bit depressing. I mean, somebody has to read through emails, but when you’re the one who has to do it you get the feeling that you’re not really doing anything, that you’re flushing away minutes and hours and days that you’ll never be able to reclaim. I’d rather clean the sidewalk and at the end of the day have a clean sidewalk; I’d rather write magazine articles and see those articles appear in magazines and get feedback from people and express stuff; I’d rather design computer graphics and see my creations appear in movies or commercials or games. There’s something about having a tangible result that you can see and/or hold that really convinces you that all the blood, sweat and tears were expended for a worthy goal.

My point is that I do agree that being a brewmaster, toy creator, etc. would be much better than reading inane emails all day. But there’s a limit to what you can accomplish when you work for somebody else.

If you find your job incredibly fulfilling - if you are convinced that it is what you were put on earth to do - then I certainly have no argument with that, regardless of who you’re working for. However, there are a number of ways in which working a job can be very limiting. Steve Pavlina has already covered them in his post 10 reasons you should never get a job, and I don’t have the energy to repeat his thoughts, with which I totally agree. Essentially, Steve argues that passive income is much safer and more fulfilling than working a job. While some might debate the idea that there’s such a thing as truly “passive” income, the fact remains that jobs suck up your time and that the security they provide is not really very secure when your employer can get rid of you at will.

No matter how cool your job is, you lose control of your time when you have to conform to regular working hours. You have to beg for money when you want a raise. You have to play politics or you could find yourself at the bottom of the food chain when the time comes to downsize. In short, when you work a job, someone else is in control of your livelihood.

This explains why I do not think that having a job is cool, regardless of what kind of job it is. I’m certain that the jobs listed in the article are more enjoyable than the truly nasty and boring ones, but any job can really crimp your style. When you realize that you don’t have to beg somebody else to provide for you - when you realize you’re the one in charge - then you can set out to fulfill the tasks that you were put on earth to accomplish.

If your job stinks, perhaps you shouldn’t spend your time looking for a cooler one. Perhaps you should spend your time figuring out a way to never work again. There are plenty of resources (such as this blog!) that will help you on this path.

Next time you’re getting fed up with your job, realize that the problem lies in the very concept of having a job. No one was put on earth to worry about being fired or to worry about how to make the car payment or how to feed the kids. Stop worrying and start taking control. Start now.

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