中年轉(zhuǎn)行：如何開始一份文藝工作？

I meet Reny Morsch in her tutor’s office at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in central London, where she is studying to become a costume maker for film and theatre. She is dressed in black, with her blonde hair dip-dyed blue, and we are surrounded by overflowing boxes of accessories, bracelets and earrings: one is labelled “sparkly bits”, another “bits and bobs”.

在位于倫敦市中心的皇家戲劇學(xué)院(Royal Academy of Dramatic Art)，我見到了雷尼•莫爾希(Reny Morsch)，她在這里學(xué)習(xí)電影和戲劇服裝制作。見面地點(diǎn)在她導(dǎo)師的辦公室，她穿著一身黑，金發(fā)染成了藍(lán)色。我們站在一大堆箱子中間，箱子里堆滿了飾品、手鐲和耳環(huán)。有個箱子上的標(biāo)簽寫著“亮晶晶的小玩意”，另一個上面貼著“零零碎碎”。

Ms Morsch is one of five people the Financial Times is following over a year as they make a mid-life career switch.

英國《金融時報》對5位中年轉(zhuǎn)行者進(jìn)行了為期一年的追蹤，莫爾希便是其中一位。

This glittery, organised chaos is a very different work environment to the financial world where Ms Morsch worked for more than 30 years. When she originally embarked on a banking career, it was a “solid profession . . . that’s what my parents thought.” First, she worked in Frankfurt as a forex trader and then for Deutsche Börse in London.

這個閃閃發(fā)光、亂中有序的工作環(huán)境與莫爾希工作了30多年的金融界截然不同。當(dāng)她最初步入銀行業(yè)時，這是一個“穩(wěn)定的職業(yè)……我父母就希望這個。”她一開始是在法蘭克福擔(dān)任外匯交易員，后來就職于德意志交易所(Deutsche Börse)，在倫敦工作。

Her postgraduate course at Rada finishes in the summer and Ms Morsch hopes it will equip her with the skills to switch to the creative industries. It is a big leap from the relative security of regular salaries and bonuses to freelance work and reduced earnings. Moreover, at 51, she will be competing with younger peers for paid gigs.

莫爾希在皇家戲劇學(xué)院的研究生課程將于今年夏季結(jié)束，她希望從中掌握投身創(chuàng)意行業(yè)所需的技能。這是一次重大飛躍，她從有固定收入和獎金、相對安穩(wěn)的職業(yè)，轉(zhuǎn)向了薪資較少的自由職業(yè)。更重要的是，她將以51歲之齡與年輕同行們競爭有償工作。

While the risks are clear — and Ms Morsch has considered them all, at length — she is making a transition to a creative career that those trapped at their desks may envy.

盡管風(fēng)險顯而易見，莫爾希也全面考慮了上述所有問題，但她還是選擇轉(zhuǎn)行做創(chuàng)意工作——一個可能會讓那些困在辦公桌前的人羨慕不已的職業(yè)。

The switch has turned costume-making, something she describes as once a “passionate hobby”, into a career. And it means she no longer suffers that common mid-life paralysis of indecision over which career path to take next.

莫爾希說服裝制作曾是她的一個“充滿激情的愛好”，而轉(zhuǎn)行將把她的愛好變成一份職業(yè)。而且這意味著她再也不會陷入常見的中年彷徨：不知道接下來該選擇哪條職業(yè)道路。

Turning a passion into a career may not be the right path for many people. In Morten Hansen’s book Great at Work , the management professor writes: “Motivational speakers, self-help gurus, successful entrepreneurs, human resource executives, and branding experts have all talked up passion, so much that you might believe loving what you do is the only requirement to perform at your best.”

對于許多人來說，將激情轉(zhuǎn)化成職業(yè)可能并非合適的道路。在莫騰•漢森(Morten Hansen)所著的《玩轉(zhuǎn)工作》(Great at Work)中，這位管理學(xué)教授寫道：“勵志演講者、自助大師、成功企業(yè)家、人力資源主管和品牌專家都在極力鼓吹激情，以至你可能相信熱愛工作是你取得最佳表現(xiàn)的唯一先決條件。”

One rueful career changer, David Sobel, wrote in Salon magazine in 2014 of the passion myth which drove him to leave his administrative job to become a copywriter. “I’d believed that resigning at 42 was the acknowledgment of unrealised potential. Now I thought it was the delusional move of a man-child who’d missed out on the party.” Four years later, he reflects that he was right to leave, but thinks he fell for “the bullshit [of] what we read in LinkedIn” about passion. “It’s been very hard,” he told me.

大衛(wèi)•索貝爾(David Sobel)是一位令人同情的轉(zhuǎn)行者，2014年他在《Salon》雜志上發(fā)表了一篇文章，描寫了他在激情神話的驅(qū)使下辭掉了管理工作、成為一名撰稿人的故事。“我曾以為42歲辭職是因為認(rèn)識到有未實現(xiàn)的潛力?，F(xiàn)在我覺得這是一個沒趕上派對的老男孩的錯覺。”四年后他表示辭職是正確的，但認(rèn)為自己被“我們在領(lǐng)英(LinkedIn)上讀到的那些關(guān)于激情的屁話”給騙了。他跟我說：“轉(zhuǎn)行的過程其實異常艱辛。”

Richard Alderson, founder of Careershifters, an organisation which helps professionals change direction, believes the “find-your-passion mantra is quite dangerous and misleading”.

Careershifters是一家?guī)椭殘鋈耸哭D(zhuǎn)變職業(yè)方向的組織，創(chuàng)始人理查德•奧爾德森(Richard Alderson)說道：“‘找到你的激情’這句老話相當(dāng)危險，且具有誤導(dǎo)性。”

Some people, he says, do not have a passion, others have too many, while a good proportion are unlikely to be paid for pursuing theirs.

他說有些人毫無激情，有些人則太有激情，然而有很大一部分人不太可能從追求激情中獲得回報。

As Lucy Standing, who runs ViewVo, which organises job-shadowing opportunities for mid-career changers, puts it: “Hobbies are distractions from your real life. When you change your hobby to a job the pleasure is lost.”

正如ViewVo的經(jīng)營者露西•斯坦丁(Lucy Standing)所說：“愛好是日常生活的消遣。當(dāng)你把愛好變成工作，樂趣就沒了。”ViewVo致力于為那些在職業(yè)中期轉(zhuǎn)行的人安排見習(xí)機(jī)會。

Many professionals trapped in offices talk to her about their aspirations to be gardeners. “But there is no way that the market is big enough to support [so many professional] gardeners. The wages are low.”

許多被困在辦公室的職場人士都跟她說想成為園丁。“但是這個市場不可能大到足以雇用(這么多專業(yè)的)園丁。工資很低的。”

Mr Alderson tells people to look for an activity that energises them and, most importantly, pays. He suggests testing it out in the real world: ask for feedback and see if people will pay for whatever you want to offer. Developing a side hustle alongside an existing job might prove to be the escape route that leads to an eventual career switch.

奧爾德森奉勸人們?nèi)ふ乙豁椖軌蜃屗麄兂錆M活力的、最重要的是有報酬的活動。他建議人們在現(xiàn)實生活中去驗證這項活動，征求反饋意見，看看人們是否會花錢購買你想提供的東西。在從事當(dāng)前工作的同時發(fā)展一項副業(yè)，這可能是最終實現(xiàn)轉(zhuǎn)行的逃生通道。

Running a side business will also help with self-assurance, adds Ms Standing. “You don’t get more confident by thinking yourself into it, you get more confident by gaining experience.”

斯坦丁還表示從事副業(yè)也有助于產(chǎn)生自信。“想象自己從事某種工作并不會給你帶來更多自信，積累經(jīng)驗才能幫你產(chǎn)生更多自信。”

This was the case for Mary Byrne, a former accountant who set up an Etsy shop selling handmade leather notebook covers and pencil cases. After realising she needed more skills to make a career out of her sideline, she invested her savings in buying a leather goods production company in the West Midlands. “I am learning the skills from the staff. But for the moment I need to concentrate on the business and make it secure,” she says.

瑪麗•伯恩(Mary Byrne)的經(jīng)歷正是如此，她曾是一名會計師，后來開了Etsy商店，銷售手工制作的皮革筆記本封面和文具盒。在意識到自己需要掌握更多技能才能以副業(yè)為職之后，她用積蓄在西米德蘭茲郡買下了一家皮革制品生產(chǎn)公司。她說：“我正向員工學(xué)習(xí)技術(shù)。但目前我需要專注于生意，把生意搞好。”

While older career changers might face age discrimination, Diane Favell, Rada’s head of costume and Ms Morsch’s course tutor, is quietly confident about the prospects for mature students. “The first job might be a bit difficult”, she says, but they tend to advance quickly. Past experience can count in a new field, says Zoe Mogridge, director of career services at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, a private college: “Coming from a banking or legal background is very useful for galleries who might need you to [look] at IP, tax, contracts.”

雖然年紀(jì)較大的轉(zhuǎn)行者可能會面臨年齡歧視，可皇家戲劇學(xué)院服裝專業(yè)的負(fù)責(zé)人，也是莫爾希的課程導(dǎo)師黛安•法維爾(Diane Favell)卻對這些大齡學(xué)生的前景充滿信心。她表示“第一份工作可能有點(diǎn)困難”，但他們往往進(jìn)展神速。私立學(xué)校蘇富比藝術(shù)學(xué)院(Sotheby’s Institute of Art)的職業(yè)服務(wù)總監(jiān)佐伊•莫格里奇(Zoe Mogridge)表示，以前的工作經(jīng)驗在新領(lǐng)域可以派上用場，她說：“銀行業(yè)或法律界的從業(yè)背景對畫廊非常有用，它們可能需要你看看知識產(chǎn)權(quán)、稅務(wù)、合同的事情。”

Life experience is also important, says Ms Morsch. “I might have more patience . . . In general, as a more mature person I am more relaxed when something goes wrong. I know it’s not the end of the world.”

莫爾希說人生經(jīng)驗也很重要。“我可能更有耐心……總體來說，作為一個更成熟的人，遇到問題時我會更從容。我會知道這不是世界末日。”

Nicole Bray made the switch from working in advertising as an account director to art curation and consultancy via Sotheby’s Institute of Art in her mid-30s. When she entered the job market, she was determined not to compromise and turned down a marketing role at an auction house. “You have to be very honest with yourself. It wasn’t where my heart was.” In the end, she decided to set up her own company, Mercer Contemporary.

妮可•布雷(Nicole Bray)在三十幾歲時念了蘇富比藝術(shù)學(xué)院，從一名廣告客戶總監(jiān)轉(zhuǎn)行做藝術(shù)策展和咨詢工作。當(dāng)她在這行找工作時，她下定決心絕不妥協(xié)，曾拒絕一家拍賣行的營銷職位。“你必須忠于自我。這不是我心儀的位置。”最后，她決定成立自己的公司Mercer Contemporary。

She found the key to a smooth transition was creating a network of mentors. “[In] deciding which [art] school to go to, I became queen of the coffee chat. People love talking about themselves and love being admired.” She would ask for 15 minutes of someone’s time and buy the coffee. “You have to make it easy for them,” she advises.

她發(fā)現(xiàn)順利過渡的關(guān)鍵是建立一個“導(dǎo)師”網(wǎng)絡(luò)。“在決定要去哪所(藝術(shù))學(xué)校時，我成了咖啡聊天的女王。人們喜歡談?wù)撟约?，喜歡被人欽佩。”她會請別人給她一刻鐘時間，并給對方買上一杯咖啡。她建議：“你得讓他們感到放松。”

Money — or worry about a lack of it — can prevent professionals from making a switch, particularly to the creative industries.

資金，或者說擔(dān)心缺乏資金，可能會阻止專業(yè)人士換工作，尤其是轉(zhuǎn)投創(chuàng)意行業(yè)。

Mr Alderson encourages people to look realistically at what they need to be happy — it might be less than they think. He cites the example of a lawyer in the habit of spending money to relieve the pain of a career he did not want to be in. After that realisation, he adjusted to a lower salary in a different job.

奧爾德森鼓勵人們實事求是地思考他們需要什么才能感到快樂——條件其實可能比他們以為的要少。奧爾德森舉了個例子，一位律師不喜歡自己的工作，他習(xí)慣花錢去釋放這份職業(yè)給他帶來的痛苦。認(rèn)識到這點(diǎn)后，他換了一份薪資較低的工作。

Yet there is no point in being blind to the instability of creative jobs. Ms Morsch knows she can do bits of financial consultancy to top up her income and has the security of savings: “I’m German, I save money, I’ve been raised that way.”

不過也要看到創(chuàng)意工作的不穩(wěn)定。莫爾希知道她可以做一些財務(wù)咨詢工作來增加收入，自己有積蓄也讓她心安：“我是德國人，我會存錢，我從小就被灌輸這樣的觀念。”

She is looking forward to the freelance life. “I really want to dive into the gig economy. I know the money isn’t comparable, but the work isn’t comparable either.”

她期待自由職業(yè)者的生活。“我真的想從事這種零工工作。我知道賺的錢沒有可比性，但這份工作也沒有可比性。”

In her old job, she would sometimes hope that it was lunchtime — only to find it was still only 9am. Today, she is surprised at how quickly the days have gone.

以前上班時，她有時會期望已經(jīng)到了午餐時間，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)還只是上午9點(diǎn)?，F(xiàn)在，日子快得讓她驚訝。

Listen to Reny’s story on the accompanying podcast, which includes advice on how to make a fresh start in the arts, at ft.com/work-carreers A legal turn to crime fiction William Ryan, who went from corporate lawyer to crime novelist, gave up the day job before he had written anything. “But it was a very bad idea — and shouldn’t have worked out.” Instead, the author, most recently of The Constant Soldier, encourages aspiring writers not to give up their jobs: “Writing is a relatively precarious profession and there seems to be a misapprehension that writers live a life of leisure, possibly in a villa in Italy, working for a couple of hours in the morning before spending the rest of the day totting up the royalty cheques. It isn’t like that, sadly.

律師轉(zhuǎn)行成犯罪小說家威廉•瑞恩(William Ryan)曾是一名企業(yè)律師，后來轉(zhuǎn)行成為犯罪小說家。他什么都沒寫出來的時候就辭掉了正職。“但這個主意非常糟糕，根本就不該那樣想。”威廉•瑞恩最近出版了《忠誠的戰(zhàn)士》(The Constant Soldier)，這位作家建議有志當(dāng)作家的人不要辭掉工作：“寫作是一個相對不穩(wěn)定的職業(yè)，而且人們似乎有種誤會，以為作家都過著悠閑的生活，也許住在意大利的別墅里，上午工作幾個小時，每天剩下的時間就是算版稅支票。很可惜，作家的生活不是這樣的。” “出版界總在尋找下一個大熱門，所以他們會在新秀作家身上砸錢。但如果一位作家的書賣不動，預(yù)付款就會減少而不是增加，有時候會減少得非常突然。” 他說大多數(shù)作者都有多個收入來源。瑞恩還在東英吉利亞大學(xué)(University of East Anglia)教授犯罪寫作課程。他的學(xué)生幾乎都有全職工作，他們都是在清晨或晚上創(chuàng)作。“問題是要保證定時寫作，有點(diǎn)像去健身房，且要堅持下去。”