Delaney Paige

Recap: Interviews with Everyday Professionals

Over the last few months, I've shared interviews with the a collection of brilliant creatives - ones who work traditional jobs by day but work hard to carve out creative time in their evenings and weekends.

They have shared insights including their time management tricks, what their week days look like, and their career advice. If you haven't had a chance, I'd urge you to read of their stories. 

In order of appearance, they are:

• Andrea, a paper crafting insurance worker
• Lauren, an art journalling social worker
• Kathleen, a scrapbooking nurse
• Sarah, a quilting areospace engineer
• Katie, an art journalling finance manager
• Julia, an art journalling commercial carpet designer
• Jen, a scrapbooking / baking chemical engineer
• Gavin, an aspiring author / truck driver

I have loved being able to share their career paths and secrets to success with you. I am taking a little bit of time off of this series, but hope to be able to provide another round of interviews soon. If you'd like to take part in the next instalment, drop me an email and let me know!

Thanks for reading! 

Everyday Professionals: Gavin

Shane and I are lucky enough to count Gavin and his wife Naomi as some of our best friends in Perth. In featuring Gavin Liddell in the series today, I'm hitting a couple of firsts: he's the first member of the opposite sex I've featured (about time!), and he's the first person featured in this series that I know in real life. I'm actually embarrassed at how long it took me to realise that he would be perfect to feature in this series.

 

Gavin is a truck-driving husband and father of an 18 month old. He has some serious dedication to his creative passion - he dreams of being a published author, and makes time every day to get closer to that goal (and blogs about it, too)!

 

Tell me about your job. How long have you been working in your field?

I'm a truck driver in Perth, Western Australia and have been driving a heavy rigid truck for 3 years now. I currently deliver alcohol to the liquor stores throughout the Perth area although I have delivered dry grocery and fruit and veg to supermarkets too. I was with another company for a six months before this job although I was a driving instructor before that back in Scotland. I’ve been working on the roads since 2006. It’s enjoyable and the most simple job I’ve ever had.

 

What does your standard work day look like?
Every day is different. Sometime in the afternoon I’ll get a text from my boss telling me my starting time for the following day (tomorrow is a 6am start). A forklift driver and myself will load my truck and I’ll receive the wads of paper work I need for each run. Funnily enough I thought I’d be escaping paper work in this job. Not so! It’ll take an hour to get loaded and out the door and each run will usually take around three hours on the road. The runs will only really go as far as 60 kilometres north or south. So its not long haul. I get back to the yard and repeat the process until all stock is delivered for the day. Somewhere in between I’ll manage to grab some lunch. The days can be very long. My longest shift was around 15 hours. Thankfully those days aren’t too often and I’ll average around 11 hour shifts. The work is also seasonal which means the winter in Perth is a bit more slow and relaxed. Christmas time is a completely different story. The charm of the job is that I never know where I am going next. Every run is different so it keeps things varied.  

 

Does your job have creative elements?
Sadly no. Unless I actually learned how to use a wrench. I try to balance that out by listening to informative podcasts and audio books in the truck. I also rock out too. Singing at the top of your lungs must come under the banner of creativity? No? Ok. 

 

How do you find the time for both your professional responsibilities and your creative hobbies?
With a touch of difficulty. With such long working hours I try to scrape each minute out of the day. I have a son at 18 months too so I’ll get up before him most mornings at 5am and work out then write before I have to go to work. If I miss that morning routine it feels like I’ve still got an itch that needs scratching. If I’m delayed at the yard I’ll take that time to write my book on my iPhone but the most effective route is to get up early. It tends to set the day off on a positive note. I try to stick to that routine as much as I can but it isn’t always possible. Being flexible and adapting to the ever changing demands of every day life is the thing I’m finding most difficult to learn. As a result of all of this my writing process is pretty slow so I’m learning to be patient too!

 

Do you ever worry about the effect your online presence could have on your career? How have you guarded against that?

I only worry about it every single day. My worry isn’t that my job would be threatened by my blog, instead I’m worried what the guys at work would make of it all. The life of a truck driver and that of wannabe author don’t really go hand in hand. The stereotypes that people draw from these jobs are polar opposites. One or two lads in the warehouse know what I’m up to but that’s it so far. 

 

I’ve decided not to guard myself at all. With my blog I’m laying it all out there. I’m not entirely comfortable with that but I feel its the correct way to go. I’m pretty much opening myself up and telling people my ambitions which is liberating but it also feels like I’ve left the house having forgotten to get dressed. Only time will tell if I sink or swim. If folks at my work read my blog then I’m sure they will poke fun at me. I wouldn’t expect anything less but I’m also sure that after five minutes nobody would really care. 

 

What is your most valuable career advice for others?

No matter what your circumstances the chances are you can find time in the day to do one thing that makes you happy. Try to forget making big money as there will never be enough (I’m still trying to drum that one into my own head). Chasing cash usually helps you make bad/ short term decisions, instead aim for a goal and try to do that to the best of your abilities. Money tends to follow quality work. Following your gut and ignoring everything else isn’t easy but neither is sitting in a job you don’t like.

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If you knew Gavin in real life, you'd be lucky enough to receive regular updates on how he has written his first draft almost entirely on his iPhone, and how things are progressing now that he's transitioned to a computer and keyboard! Since not everyone has the gift of knowing him IRL, if you're keen to keep up with Gavin's book writing adventures, make sure to follow his blog. And if he has inspired you to make the time to write a book of your own, I've got some handy tips here to help you get started.

Everyday Professionals: Jen

I came across Jen Carlson's creative work on Instagram (where else?!) - she's on a few awesome design teams (including Big City Quiet and Kellie Stamps), so you may have seen her creative work already. Jen's Project Life style is so gorgeous - crisp, clean, and colourful. Today, she is sharing more about her career in chemical engineering. 

 

Tell me about your job. How long have you been working in your field?

I currently work at a bio-pharmaceutical plant in Northern California.  You may ask, what's a BIO-pharmaceutical plant?  Well, the medicinal products we make are derived from live cells or biological sources.  General pharmaceuticals are made from chemically synthesized ingredients.  

My degree is in Chemical Engineering, but I have held positions in six different departments within my company in the last 8 years.  It is actually encouraged for people to get experience in multiple disciplines in order to have a more well-rounded background and excel in position.  I recently was promoted from the Utility Frontline Engineering department to Quality Assurance.  The last role I held for 4 years and is more true to my background so I'll talk mostly about that.  My current role I am still somewhat in the training period with and don’t have as much to share.   

What does your standard work day look like? 

My standard work day currently involves a lot of writing!  I summarize discrepancies after compiling data and information from various departments.  A discrepancy is basically any instance where there is potential impact to drug product or process.  My prior position involved projects associated with Clean Utilities (high purity water or clean steam) within the plant.  Any change to a process or construction in this industry requires a lot of paperwork.  To work on a project I would handle budget calculation and request, calculations (flow, sizing, material selection), change documentation and justification, equipment or part orders, scheduling, testing, and closure. Being able to communicate with folks of many different backgrounds was crucial.  Projects would usually take months from start to finish and each stage had its own challenges.  

Does your job have creative elements?

Attacking a project always required creative elements, mostly in troubleshooting solutions to a problem. We had one instance where a 4" stainless steel pipe had broken loose from its support brackets and the pipe was no longer physically round in diameter - it looked like a crushed soda can.  Using data trends, tracking more properties, and watching stages of various recipes, we found that the pipe was disfigured due to creation of a vacuum and two phase flow (water and steam) and the support brackets broke due to violent water hammer (a pressure surge which causes an audible sound and forceful reactions).  Figuring out how this damage occurred required extensive brainstorming and creative ideas for problem solving.

How do you find the time for both your professional responsibilities and your creative hobbies?

I typically work Monday through Friday 8:30 – 6.  Often I take work home with me and fit it in when I can on the weekends.  I’m a bit of a night owl though so I often will work on a scrapbook layout a couple nights a week say from 11-12.  Not having kids helps with finding creative time for sure.  I also like to spend a chunk of my Saturdays being creative and Sundays are for adventures (after all I need photos to scrap!)

Do you ever worry about the effect your online presence could have on your career? If so, how have you guarded against that?

I try to remain professional in my posts and consider what a coworker would think if they read it.  As far as my scrapbooking hobby, not until recently have I shared this side of me with work friends.  I worried that most people would think it’s a silly “old lady” hobby and not realize it’s become an industry of creative artists.  I started with my photography—placing it in my workspace.  People would inquire and it was a good lead-in to scrapbooking.  The response has been really positive and I’ve even had some ask for help because they’ve always wanted to try it, but never known how.  As long as I am getting my work done on time and design team deadlines don’t come before that, I don’t worry.

What is your most valuable career advice for others?

You’ve heard “Do what you love.”  Well, when I was in college my Mom actually gave me this advice:   “Do something that pays the bills so you can afford to do what you love when you’re not at work.”  I laugh at that, but I like to think I did a little of both.  After all, you have to enjoy your work if you’re spending 40+ hours a week at it or you’ll be miserable.  I believe honesty, admitting to fault, doing your best, challenging yourself, communicating effectively, and smiling every day will take you far.

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You can see more of Jen's creative side on her scrapbooking blog, her cooking blog, or on Instagram. Thank you so much, Jen!

Everyday Professionals: Julia

The lovely Julia is a member of the Get Messy community (in fact, she recently joined the creative team!) and we've "known" each other for months. She is so gifted with colours and patterns, and she shows serious commitment with her creative hobbies! She's been one of the biggest cheerleaders of this series, and I am so happy to be featuring her today. She has the most "artistic" jobs of anyone I've featured so far, and I love seeing how she uses her creative talents in a traditional workplace.

 

Tell me about your job. How long have you been working in your field?

I am a full time carpet designer. The company I work for manufactures residential and commercial carpets and I am part of the design team for both. I work alongside a senior designer, our head of design and closely with our marketing team too.

It was my first job from graduating University in 2010 and last year I went from ‘Junior’ to ‘Designer’
I studied surface design at University for three years, Textiles for two years at college and before that an introductory college course in art and design for one year, after leaving high school.

What does your standard work day look like?
A standard day for me is hard to explain as my role is very varied! The core of what I do would be floorplans and design boards for clients, as well as product development. I am responsible for my own time so have to manage the expectations of the sales team (waiting for plans and boards to show to clients) as well as continuously working on new development ideas and current range refreshes. Some days I will be on photoshop all day designing floor layouts for clients (schools, offices, public sector buildings… etc) others I will be making design boards to show off new ranges or particular projects and on my favourite days I will be researching trends and putting together sample requests for new development ideas.

Does your job have creative elements?
My job is really creative and I feel very lucky to be able to say that. I know that I couldn’t do something that wasn’t creatively driven. Some days I am doing filing, attending meetings and dealing with emails but for the most part, I am being highly creative and I absolutely love it. One of the best parts of carpet design (textile design really), for me, is the limitations. I like that you can’t just put anything you want onto a carpet. So much has to be considered and is restrictive. This means that your brain has to work in a different way to problem solve and each new idea which becomes a success feels like a real breakthrough!  

How do you find the time for both your professional responsibilities and your creative hobbies?

I make time for my social life, chill out time and creating in my art-journal in the evenings or weekends. I am passionate about my commitment to instagram challenges like make your mark by Courtney Pilgrim and I absolutely LOVE get messy art journal.  Creating in my sketchbook at home is such a cathartic thing for me to do that I make sure I carve out time for it - it is essentially my version of ‘me time’.

 

Do you ever worry about the effect your online presence could have on your career? If so, how have you guarded against that?
Not at all - I think because I have a creative career, and my online presence is through my creativity, it could only be a good thing!

 

What is your most valuable career advice for others?
Find what you love and do it!! I was a very wayward teenager, I basically failed school and was at a  pretty rebellious stage in my life when I left. I had no plans for the future and hadn’t ever thought about higher education as I thought I wasn’t smart enough - I only knew University for subjects like law or medicine. It was my mum who suggested I pursue art and at a college open day I found a year long course that needed no academic qualifications to start - you just needed a portfolio. This was what I dedicated my life to creating for about a month and once I got a place, I couldn't believe it! It absolutely changed my life and I can’t even begin to think where I would be today if I hadn't started that art course!
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I absolutely love that Julia's passions have led her to a satisfying (and growing!) career! You can see more of Julia's art journalling on her blog or on Instagram. Thank you so much, Julia!

 

Everyday Professionals: Katie

If you're active in the art journalling community on Instagram, I'm sure you're familiar with Katie Jones' creative work. Katie's art journal pages are my absolute favourite, and months after double-tapping every Instagram photo that showed up in my feed, I finally made my way to her blog.  I'm so bad at making the jump from Instagram to blog reading, but in this case, I'm so glad I did!

 

One of the first posts I read on her blog was about how Katie was hoping to connect more with bloggers who work full time like she does. This, of course, is exactly how I feel, and why I started this series to begin with. I reached out immediately, and was thrilled when she agreed to take part in the series. I hope you'll find her insights as interesting as I have!

 

Tell me about your job. How long have you been working in your field?

I work for the finance subsidiary of an international automotive manufacturer. I started straight from university, eleven years ago this month (Wow! Can believe it's been that long!) on the bottom rung in administration. I quickly moved onto contract processing and then as quickly into the team where I built my career. I'm now in a managerial role for that same team. We deal with accounting, system configuration, we perform audits and get involved with business change projects. I have 10 people working for me, and we sit around a pod of desks in a very open plan office building. I love my job, which some might find strange for finance but I work hard and see worth in what I do. 

 

What does your standard work day look like?

I arrive at work at 8 am most mornings and finish at about 6 pm. My official hours finish at 5 pm but that one hour after everyone has left is often my most productive. My days are usually filled with a combination of responding to emails, attending meetings, team management duties (performing reviews, dealing with team issues, answering questions) and supporting or leading strategic projects. I love that although the main components are often similar, no two days are the same. 

 

Does your job have creative elements?

The strategic part of my job is where I get to be creative. I'm always documenting and analysing our processes to see where we can make improvements and save money. This often involves brainstorming sessions with my team or colleagues and coming up with inventive ideas for improvements. I particularly enjoy this part of my role; getting to be creative, seeing improvements achieved and also encouraging people in my team to run with their ideas, lead their own projects and gain exposure. 

 

Do you ever worry about the effect your online presence could have on your career? If so, how have you guarded against that?

I've never been particularly worried regarding my online presence being embarrassing or inappropriate, I don't think my photos of Welsh countryside do anything to hurt me! However there has been a number of times when I've wondered what people I work with might think of my creative side, would they think it silly or continue to take me seriously if they knew I painted odd pictures and scrapbooked my memories. I know these thoughts are ridiculous, they pass fairly quickly and I wouldn't stop posting photos of my creative people projects but I have wondered if other professionals feel the same way. 

 

What is your most valuable career advice for others?

I have SO much from eleven years in an office environment! Work hard, make yourself known but never at the expense of anyone else, always be honest, make sure you have a healthy work/life balance, leave work at work, find the worth in what you do, you don't have to enjoy every moment and at times it might be hard but see your value.

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A standard day in Katie's work life sounds a lot like mine - I love reading about how other creatives spend their daytime hours, and find comfort in knowing that others have similar experiences! You can read more on Katie's blog or follow her on instagram. Thank you so much, Katie!