One of the most common hipster complaints, besides “Their earlier stuff was better” is, “I can’t believe that they sold out!” Usually, this is then followed by the former comment. Regardless, the point remains: when, as a job-seeker, are you “selling out?”
I’m putting the phrase “selling out” in quotes not because of the obnoxious inferred air quotes that it creates, but because there is a difference between “selling out” in the hipster sense and selling out in the real sense. If you’re “selling out,” you are developing a following that is allowing you to make more money, become successful, and develop a more diverse fan base. If you’re selling out, you are compromising your beliefs and principles. And in this case, we’re really talking about the latter.
If you’re taking a job you don’t like, is that selling out? If you’re looking for work in a different field than your major, is that selling out? Is working for a corporation selling out? Is accepting a pay raise when your co-workers are being fired selling out? Is choosing a 9-to-5 over being a musician selling out?
No.
Selling out is when you make a fundamental change in character for less than noble reasons. Selling out is betraying someone without cause. Selling out is letting yourself down.
Sometimes you have to compromise, and sometimes you have to change your plans. Sometimes you have to put your dreams to the side for a bit. But that’s not selling out. When you have limited options, you have to make some hard choices. Sometimes taking a different road means taking a shortcut.
But don’t let a stupid conceit hold you back.
