DOUGALD HINE

Anti-careers adviser

Everything Else
Teaching busking, entrepreneurship, freelancing, idling, self-employment, useful unemployment and work culture.

I've never had a permanent job and I wouldn't want one. Most of the people I know who have them are miserable. I tried pursuing a sensible career for a year or so in my mid-twenties - and walking away from it was possibly the single best thing I ever did.

If you're trying to figure out what to do with your life - or plucking up the courage to quit that "promising career" that you secretly hate - then get in touch and I'll give you the benefit of all my wisdom for the price of a couple of pints.

(Among the things I've done instead of getting a proper job, I spent a lot of the last few years reading - including a fair bit about the history of "work". If you're interested, I could recommend some good books on the subject - and maybe even lend you them, if you seem trustworthy...)

Offering: private lessons and workshops.

Experience

Internet entrepreneurship

As co-founder of The School of Everything, I get to work with four of my best friends on a project we really believe in.

Dates: 
Oct 2006

Radio journalism (on a very casual basis)

After narrowly escaping a serious career at the BBC, I found a convenient niche filling gaps in the rotas at my local radio station. There's a lot to be said for learning a craft that allows you to work on a casual basis - then only doing as much work as it takes to pay the bills.

Dates: 
Apr 2002 - Sep 2007

Selling educational books door-to-door

For three years, I spent twelve weeks each summer selling educational books to families. There was no fixed wage - just a commission on your sales - but I was able to earn enough to spend the rest of the year failing to write a novel.

Dates: 
Jun 1999 - Sep 2001

Busking

I paid my way around Europe - from Norway to Turkey, and back - by singing and playing guitar on street-corners.

Dates: 
Sep 1996 - Jul 1997

FAQ

Are you serious?

Yes, absolutely. I think most people could benefit from looking more carefully at their assumptions about "careers", "success" - and "work" in general.

Can you recommend any online resources for those wanting to avoid a career?

Definitely! Dan Bartlett's How to Find Your Dream Job has some good practical advice. There's also the anti-careerist's magazine of choice, The Idler. And if you want a starting point for the deeper history of "work", try EP Thompson's classic essay, Time, Work-Discipline and Industrial Capitalism.

(As I come across other useful links, I'll add them here.)

Based in
Hackney, London, GB
Also teaches in Central London, Sheffield