As my health improves and my motivation follows suit, I realize it's time for a change. I've been here for a year and I'm still making half of the average salary of a low level employee. To be fair, my work is far more pleasant and flexible than anyone I know. I get a visa and half a salary for about half the hours the average person puts in. Fair enough right?
I'm allowed to take off whenever I want so long as I give a weeks notice. Very good deal. Except the pay is so low and it's by the hour so that I can't afford to take a break or do everything I want to so on my days off.
I'm not really going to blackmail my boss. He's a good guy, he just doesn't know how to run a business (and the real problem is that he thinks he does). He pays me less than I'm worth because he values himself at less than he's worth. He thinks his business is failing cause of the economy but he is just stuck in 1980. He won't hear this though, so I'm preparing to give him an ultimatum.
Plan 1 I'm looking for some freelance work where I get paid twice as much by the hour. If I can find 6 hours a week of freelance, I can cut out one day of work at the very nice but underwhelming job. If I can find 10-12 hours of freelance work, I can work there 3 days a week. That will give me time to do more music and I'll be making slightly more than i make now.
Plan 2 is to suck it up and work full time hours at a job in my favorite part of the city. That would essentially mean just an added 2-3 hours a day of office hours, and trading my Thursday Friday days off for a normal weekend...and waking up at 7:00 every day. Ohhh I'm not a morning person. But for twice the salary....it might be worth it. The main intriguing thing about this is that it's so close to my favorite place and I'll have money to enjoy life there and to travel.
It all depends on how things play out. Will I find private students? Will I get the job? Will my music help me reach sustainability? Will my boss accept my offer to stay if he increases my salary? I can't predict any of these. Just trying to keep doing my best and putting as much energy into my art as I can.
What would you do in this situation? I'm curious.
