Honestly, the first thing you need to do is get on top of your mental health. It’s good that you’re seeking treatment - I know how hard that step can be. Don’t give up on that yet. If your treatment isn’t working, talk to your care team (doctor/therapist/whatever) about trying something else. The first meds I tried made me super sick. I was lucky that the second thing worked well with minimal side effects. Everyone is different and has different needs. There are tons of different med options out there.

Once you’ve found a treatment that works, you’ll be in a better place to make decisions going forward.

With an illustrator's skill set, you may have a role in IT in user interface design for a software company, or in diagramming technical layouts for networking and hardware based systems. Both of those are things that AI probably isn't going to be able to replicate since they require non-image inputs, i.e. text systems.

Going back to school is scary, but it can be worth it. I had a "worthless" undergraduate degree (English....) and tacked on a master's degree in business technology. I worked part time in a Managed Service Provider (MSP) first as a network technician, then as their junior systems administrator, while I was getting my degree. I landed a job first as a general IT analyst, and now as a business analyst for a software team.

Ironically, I spent the last two months..... in Photoshop. Making new icons for our software as part of a user interface refresh. I was the only person on the team with any kind of art training whatsoever, so.....

I will look into different support options. I'm just afraid I'll be put on a med that makes me feel like garbage again

Look for full time teaching opportunities even ones out of state. Many schools are hurting for teachers and it wouldn’t matter that your degree isn’t education specific.

I would rather feel bad and have money than feel bad and not have money because that would make me feel even worse. It sounds like you feel bad whether you are medicated or not.

Thank you for those ideas. I know going back to school is a good idea, figuring out which direction to go in is a challenge though, especially when my brain feels like mush.

That cool you were able to use a blend of degrees to get a unique job!

That why it's considered a chronic disease. I'll be doing fine and then all of a sudden I have a complete breakdown and my brain turns to mush for weeks sometimes.

It's all trial and error. If one thing doesn't work, try another. If that doesn't work, try something else until you find what works for you. You got this. Don't give up hope yet <3

Thank you. I just wish it didn't take so long to see if it a med works 🤣. The adjustment periods are sometimes like 6 weeks long

I feel your pain as a fellow former art student. I have a BFA and spent time trying to make part-time in retail and gallery jobs work. I got a solid no or crickets from every job that needed a portfolio submission.

I would try looking into any jobs that are even slightly related to art, even if the job itself isn't artistic. A lot of times, having experience with art and creative thinking can make your resume attractive. Apply to anything that even slightly catches your interest or at any company that does work you like.

Careers can take really weird paths if you're open to it. Opportunities are different everywhere, but I wanted to share my path because it's a hilarious mishmash to me.

I ended up getting my break in a job as an office admin for an exhibits design company that was working on site at a museum that was under construction. It was hands down the most unique job I've ever had, and i got to rock a hard hat and high vis daily. Inspecting heavy machinery was not something art school prepped me for.

From there, I jumped to media asset management (front end, not IT heavy) for an educational media company. They were interested because they saw a museum and project management on my resume, and I googled enough of the technical terms to pass the phone screen. I was memorable because I said I was looking forward to having a job with indoor plumbing during the in person interview.

My latest job picked me up because I had user training and digital asset management experience. I'm working somewhere that was on my bucket list of places to work, which I never thought would happen.

It can get better, it just might get really weird first.

That's awesome! I'm totally down for weird and unconventional.... if I could actually get something! Right now I'm doing a lot of stagehand stuff so I totally get the hard hat and high-vis stuff haha

It's a relief to hear there are paths and it's not a complete loss, I'm glad you were able to find something and I hope your path continues to be great

If you do stagehand work, I'd look into exhibit design for sure. A lot of companies do work for the big trade shows and conferences if you're near the area where those happen. They basically build sets in the exhibit hall and need the same kind of building and managing folks.

The applying is really the most soul crushing kind of grind, may you have good luck and endurance going through those job apps.