Five BEST Jobs to Have as an Aspiring Writer

Again, this list may shock you. Yesterday we talked about hard, time-consuming jobs that require repetitive and critical thinking; generally jobs that you’d want to avoid if you’re trying to get your career as a writer off the ground. Although these jobs can be cushy and get you a lot of money, you have to consider that your writing will suffer if you A) don’t have time to write, or B) don’t have energy to write.

So I’ve picked out a few new jobs to grab as a good side job for writers. These are going to get you WAY less money and might be physically punishing (with many excellent results), but are better for writing for the following reasons: they leave your mind otherwise untouched, they leave you plenty of time to write, and they’re not particularly tiring.

So, enough with the delaying tactics. Time to get into the list!

Bricklayer, Waiter or Waitress, Taxi Driver, Mover at Uhaul, Fast Food Employee

#5: Waiter or Waitress

This can be a mixed bag for some people. It really does depend on what kind of job you get, but the main principle remains the same: take this food here or answer this guy’s questions. It’s not mentally taxing, and during slow hours you can think about your story or even write it.

However, that does depend on what kind of job you get your hands on. A small-town waffle house would be best, but if you have to settle for a crowded Brazilian steakhouse you’re still better off than an editor or lawyer (not in terms of financial aid, but definitely in terms of energy and time to write).

#4: Taxi Driver

This includes Uber, GrubHub, Doordash, and heck, newspaper delivery (if anyone does that anymore). Any job that requires you to ride a bike or drive a car somewhere (not trucking: that requires long and late hours out and about) is a time when you can either be consciously thinking about your story or having your subconscious work for you.

The one downside that I can think of is that being engrossed in your thoughts on the road is potentially hazardous, but even if you don’t commit to thinking about your story on the road, your subconscious is working on new ideas waiting to be released when you’re pounding at the keyboard.

#3: Moving Assistant

I’ve moved more than nine or ten times in my childhood alone, so I have PTSD when I see Chick-fil-a cardboard boxes. I would actually hate a job where I move heavy objects like furniture and boxes of books, but jobs with manual labor in general are pretty good for a writer.

What’s nice is that people usually don’t want you to move their stuff at night, so you probably have most evenings to yourself. You’ll be getting a lot of exercise and hopefully time in the sun, which is healthy for the writer who spends most of their time in front of a computer screen.

#2: Bricklayer

Moving Assistant: Perfected. Now without most of the bossing around and having to deal with people. In many ways, this is the perfect job for a writer: you have to do a monotonous, endless task that requires little conscious effort once you get good, leaving you plenty of time to think about your story.

The one drawback is that it’s more physically punishing than most jobs, pretty much all but prohibiting females from taking the job. That’s why this is second on the list and not first: a job with less accessibility, although near-perfect in form and function, is generally worse than one everyone gets. (I’ll also put road construction there, but criminals are literally hired for that job, so it tends to suck in addition to also prohibiting females)

#1: Fast Food Employee

Ah, the lowliest come-down of all. Fortunately for you, however, you’ve learned to recognize blessings in disguise. The Fast Food employee is actually a great job for writers (that is, if it suits your current station financially speaking), checking all the boxes: low critical thinking involved, entry level job, plenty of time to yourself to think about your story, and a fresh mind when it comes to writing at home.

Disclaimer: this is *semi* satire, as I don’t have too much experience with most of these jobs, but I’ve done my research. You get the point I’m trying to make: the ideal side job for a writer is one that requires the least amount of critical mental stress and the most time to yourself to think about your story. The golden rule of writing advice: writing advice can be ignored at any time and under any circumstance as long as it works for you.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Be sure to check out my latest novel, Book 1 in the Praetors of Lost Magic Series, and our Publications page. Plus, I mean, it wouldn’t hurt to check out the Resources tab. It’s full of super helpful material and I promise it will help you out. Until then, writers!