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My last job caused a lot of grief, so did all the jobs before it. At first, I thought I was just bad at, well, jobs.I saw a therapist and I just got out of my third session with a career counselor. In all this, I’ve learned that professionals don’t have answers for me. That means I’ll have to find my own answers, and I need help in figuring out where to start looking for offbeat jobs.
Job boards are nice, but so are brilliant sites like Offbeat Home & Life, where lots of people who live unusual lives can come together and generate ideas.
Where do people go to talk about offbeat careers? Something outside the cubicle, outside of sales, anything that’s just different? ANY resources are welcome. –LydiaB
Ariel wrote an awesome piece on how to find freelance work-from-home gigs. We’ve talked about staying positive in a job you hate. And even quitting your day job to start your own business. But, it sounds like in the meantime, you may want to read this post on surviving un-or-under-employment, while you wait for the Homie to offer up even more advice…
What’chu got, Homies? Where do you find offbeat jobs?
I have found I have had to hunt for the offbeat jobs specifically. So they are often not on your typical job search boards.
I think of all the businesses I like and check all their websites. I check the government job site a lot because they will randomly be like “mortuary assistant wanted” and wow that could be fun. I volunteer a lot and that can lead to work especially in animal welfare and conservation work. I email people at the companies or departments I like especially new graduates and ask them outright how they got into their field.
Also places like craigslist might seem sketchy but sometimes the job is a strange one and thats how they get enough people to apply.
I search two different job boards that are tailored to the kind of work that I’m looking for (arts, education, non-profit). They are location specific but maybe if you search you might find a similar organization in your area. The first one is the RACC jobs board (Regional Arts and Culture Council) where you can find all kinds of jobs related to art, music, and theater.
http://www.racc.org/resources/jobs
The second one is a non-profit jobs board, because I realized that often the kind of education based organizations that I want to work for are non-profit and job openings are not advertised on Craigslist.
https://www.nonprofitoregon.org/jobs
If you tailor your search right on Craigslist and wade through a lot of postings you can usually find something interesting, but you have to be patient. That is how I found my job this summer working as a personal assistant for a fine arts and antique appraiser.
I think people should reexamine their definition of ‘offbeat’ career, as there are offbeat jobs to be found where you wouldn’t expect.
I had a career change when I turned 30 after realizing that the office jobs that I was qualified for – and had been hating for years – just weren’t a suitable environment for me, largely because of the social aspects. I now work in the community with physically and mentally disabled people, and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. I think that being ‘offbeat’ means a lot of us can relate to those who are a bit different (and even misunderstood), and I was surprised to find how many people with disabilities are more open-minded, less judgmental, and sometimes just plain quirky than the rest of society.
It doesn’t pay a lot and can be challenging, but there’s a lot of work going in this sector, it’s easy to find training, you work in a different environment every day, and meet such a broad variety of people.
For careers in theatre, check out http://www.offstagejobs.com
Massachusetts locals, check hireculture.org
It could also help to find a “normal” job that you already have training from in an “unusual” (read: awesome) environment. I am good at organizational/ administrative tasks, but would be miserable doing filing or spreadsheets in a corporate office. So I looked into arts administration as a day job. Being surrounded by cool people and knowing that I’m helping artists make cool work that I admire is really nice and fulfilling, and it makes the job seem less office-y.