Why I QUIT My DREAM JOB As An Industrial Designer

Ever since I was 8 years old my dream was to live next to the beach and sketch cool stuff for a living. I didn’t know how to get there but I knew that’s what I wanted. Or so I thought.

This is the story why I quit my dream job as an industrial designer.

From what I’ve heard, not a lot of people know what they want to do when they’re 8. Most people don’t even know what they want to be when they’re 25! In that sense, I was lucky. All I had to do was to figure out a path to make my dream a reality.

Have you ever noticed that we tend to romanticize our dreams. We paint this picture in our head of what it’s going to be like even though we really have no idea. 99% of the time, it never turns out the way we expected it to. Sometimes we worry about an upcoming situation that turned out to be no big deal. Other times we’re super excited about an event that turned out to be quite mediocre. Can you relate?

In my pursuit of my dream job, I kept painting a picture of how I was going to live 3, 4, 5 years ahead. I have to say, I came pretty close to my vision. After finishing my bachelors in industrial design I moved to Italy to study car design. All was well. I was on track. Day by day, my vision became more clear and more real.

Fast forward and I find myself working in Florida, right next to the beach, sketching cool stuff all day for a medical company. That was all I did – sketch concepts all day. I drove my 6 speed, V8, bright red Mustang GT along the coast having a blast. Sounds perfect right?

So why then would I quit my dream job?

Reaching your goals is a funny feeling. You can either do two things at this point. Sit back, relax and be comfortable or keep growing. Working a 9-5 was never what I wanted. I thought it was, but it wasn’t. I just didn’t know it yet.

Waking up the same time every day, doing the same things, seeing the same people, sketching the same things slowly drove me crazy and I knew something had to change. My vision I had all these years didn’t align with reality.

I get bored very quickly with routines that aren’t set by myself. I need to own my time and do what I want when I feel like it. This doesn’t mean lay on the couch and do nothing. That would drive me equally mad as a 9-5 job. It means seeking out discomforts and challenges that are my own. The effort and time I put in shouldn’t go to building anyone else’s vision but my own.

Makes sense?

New dreams emerged. I thought if I managed to get to this point I can get to wherever I want. Sketching is what I love, I could care less about the rest of the design process. I’m a bad industrial designer.

This was almost four years ago. Can’t believe how fast time flies. Since then I’ve gone all in on my YouTube channel and teaching design sketching to students from around the world. It’s been the best four years of my life. Hard work? Absolutely. But I wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

Now, I teach what I love to thousands of students worldwide in my online class called Analog Designer Pro Pack. Each day, I get DMs from them showing me their process in their sketching. If you follow me on Instagram @TheSketchMonkey, you’ll see them in my Stories.

Don’t look for the easy way, look for the right way. If it makes you scared and excited, you’re on the right track.

Why am I sharing this with you? Because I want you to have an open mind about your opportunities you have today. Really think about what it is you want and then go after it. We have one shot at this life and time doesn’t seem to go any slower as you grow older.

Sometimes, most times actually, your goals will change. That’s a good thing, it means you’re growing and evolving. Embrace it and realize that there’s not one set path you have to follow. Usually this path has been set up by someone else for you to follow.

Don’t get me wrong, some of you might love working a job. Probably the majority of you who are reading this would be satisfied with it and that’s fine.

Just ask yourself this – are you really happy or just really comfortable?

What’s your story? Does this resonate with you or do you think I’m crazy? Comment below!

Please share this post with a friend, I’m sure they’ll thank you for it.