Dunkin' Doughnuts had one of those catchy commercials in the 80's. Fred the Baker gets up early and trudges his way off to work to make a twice daily batch of fresh doughnuts. The pitch was that the doughnuts were so good that Fred couldn't keep up.
There is a lot of research out there on the subject of career satisfaction. Factors such as pay, responsibility, autonomy, creativeness, security, and other criteria come into play. Other important factors include stress and work/life balance. CareerBliss, PayScale, and US News & World Report regularly survey the job market to come up with their list of the careers with the highest satisfaction rating. Among the top five are:
Clergy
Chiropractor
Chief Executive
Dentist
Conservation Scientist
Notice the occupation that's fourth on the list? The idea that dentists have a high degree of job satisfaction is in direct contrast to the persistent notion that dentists also have the highest rate of suicide among professions. This turns out to be untrue, and a number of studies have disproved it.
The more alarming statistic is that according to a 2017 CDC study, the Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media sector experienced the 3rd highest increase since 2000 in suicide rates for males in that occupation group. Worse yet, this sector now represents the second and third highest rate of suicide per 100,000 persons employed in a sector. Only fishing and hunting workers have a higher rate of suicide. Let that sink in.
The Behind the Scenes Foundation is the charity that supports workers that are employed...well...behind the scenes. They recently launched a mental health initiative to address the challenges of suicide, substance abuse, and bullying in the workplace. Do yourself a favor, get some perspective, and get involved.
The performing arts is often seen as this creative, passionate, sometimes glamorous, always adventurous career path that offers fulfillment and reward as long as you put in the effort. That effort has sometimes been colloquially described as "starving for your art." Such passion for the work can become all consuming; if you believe the arts are your life's work, and you're struggling to succeed, your life and happyness can become a struggle.
I'm not saying you shouldn't pursue a career in the arts. I'm saying you should go into it with a sense of balance. Have a hobby. Have other interests. Have a life. Working in the performing arts can be a rewarding career. But there are days when it's only a job, and we're all trudging off to work because it's just time to make the doughnuts.
Peterson C, Sussell A, Li J, Schumacher PK, Yeoman K, Stone DM. Suicide Rates by Industry and Occupation — National Violent Death Reporting System, 32 States, 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:57–62. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6903a1external icon