I prefer the "find a job you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life" approach. That's why I chose Electroacoustics over Electrical Engineering - even if I'll make less money, I'll be having way too much fun to care. :)
The career I've chosen will mean that I'll be working from sunrise to sundown, whenever inspiration strikes. A 9-5 job is good in regards to being able to separate your job from your other life. I'd rather be working constantly and enjoy it than having to drag myself to work every day.

I believe that you should find a happy balance between a good salary and a good job. Like the poster before me, sometimes you have to take that little salary dodge to enjoy your work more.

While I do think all of this is true, and some of the times it works, I do have to point out the phrase "If turn what you love to do into a job, you won't like it as much."

I just hope that never happens to me, or anyone for that matter. But I think doing the same thing for 20-30 years would be horrible. Unless the job let's you move around a lot, and do different things....

I'm afraid about Momo's phrase coming true :S
In that case, I'll find a new hobby. Some Pixar employees got their jobs by doing what they love (drawing, I think), so they found a new hobby. Photo manipulation. And that's how Photoshop got invented.
lol
I hope I invent Photoshop some day.

Working on a popular website doesn't sound to rigorous, but yes, I can see school as a big pain in your side.

Also I like the fact that Wigand did that. It's great to see big things happening that could help out the Truth organization as well.

I really hope I enjoy my job, that's the only reason I'm working so damn hard in high school, and will in college ( along with a few parties ;D ) I really want to do something I love to do :)

sounds like somebody needs a hug :*(

I'm on the same page with you, I have friends who have taken the "work for the weekend" type jobs while others, myself included, have gone the "work all the time because work is my hobby too" route, and I respect both sides. They both have their perks and shortfalls.

The main shortfall I struggle with is family...When work consumes your time and no project is ever finished completely, then it takes a lot of discipline to carve out "me time" or time with your wife and kids (if applicable). So sometimes I envy my friends who have that quality time automatically built into their lives.

I remember that flick. I was disappointed when Pacino wasn't nominated for an Oscar yet Crowe was. Another disappointment when it didn't win for best writing or best picture. There was so much obvious effort put into the dialogue, but it was hard to beat the film that actually won, I think it was probably American beauty since it practically swept that year. Tough competition there.
Why take a vacation? You live in Jersey, every day should be like an adventure. I know when I want a little excitement I just take the train to Camden, head to a bar and then try to stagger back home at 2a.m. without getting stabbed. More fun than Six Flags, more challenging than Sudoku. Next year I'm going to try south Philly.
Take a week off, have dinner with the fam and get some sleep.

p.s. - love the banner. F.M.'s "Dark Night Returns" = greatest graphic novel ever.

I'm burned out on work and needing a vacation as well.

Who's up for a holiday?

I'm jobless. But I'm applying for a job at a CD shop. I COULD have just as easily gone to a supermarket and got a job packing shelves, but I love my music, and I enjoyed working there last year, surrounded by the music, the other staff felt the same way, but on the other side, if they can't get any work for me, I'll have to grit my teeth and try elsewhere. I think the important thing is that bigger picture, your future goals. You go to uni and slog your ass off with homework and assignments (that's what I assume, anyway) so that you can reap the reward at the end. You also need to pay fees, books etc, so you need to get a part time job, and it's difficult to get consumed by it when your mind is on the fifty thousand assignments due tomorrow.

But it comes down to the bigger picture, the reason why you're there in the first place, so sometimes you have to work jobs that you don't want to do, in a way, you have to work for money, the bills don't pay themselves. And when you're through it all, you can get that job you so badly wanted... and it'll be a dud. Haha, nah, if you worked that hard to get your dream job, you should be able to enjoy it, and if your jobs on the side are something that interests you aswell, that's fantastic.

As good as a dream job sounds, there's always a hitch concerning practicality, am I smart enough, do I have the dedication, do I have the money, will I be able to live off the money it brings when I get there. I wanted to become a musician, but I didn't have the skills, the dedication to practice all hours of the day, and I knew there was a slim chance that I could maintain a lifestyle off the job if I got there, so I had to go for something more practical, something I also enjoy, and something I can live off, music is my hobby, I work with music for leisure, and hopefully, my future career will also be equally pleasurable.

Good luck finding what you want out of life.

Agreed. I have to remember how lucky I am, to be able to have a job that I enjoy. Sometimes I wonder what I would be doing if I didn't get into computers. I have many friends in college that pick majors they don't overly care about... and if I were in their position, I probably would too.

This whole flash/internet thing came along at the perfect time, and I couldn't be happier. I'm even able to work my own schedule. But I still get burnt out. Recently I had almost no interest in flash, waking up and dreading opening up the program. So many unfinished projects. And then there's the mildly depressing side, the fact that working from home offers very little outside communication, aside from the AIM buddy list.

But with me, I realized that I just need change. Significant change. Not just a new type of flash game, but a medium altogether. I've started messing around with video production, and it takes me back to my early days of flash.. where something as simple as correctly implementing a video transition seems exciting.

Of course it's temporary, I can't relive that constantly, but it makes me realize that I'm not losing my creativity, my drive, or my love for my work. I just need to keep changing, at least trying to do something different. Anything else feels cheap. Once I become more accustomed to video stuff I don't know what my next 'thing' will be, but I feel safe knowing that I'm still going down the right path.