> Throughout this period, Glass supported himself as a New York cabbie and as a plumber, occupations that often led to unusual encounters. "I had gone to install a dishwasher in a loft in SoHo," he says. "While working, I suddenly heard a noise and looked up to find Robert Hughes, the art critic of Time magazine, staring at me in disbelief. 'But you're Philip Glass! What are you doing here?' It was obvious that I was installing his dishwasher and I told him I would soon be finished. 'But you are an artist,' he protested. I explained that I was an artist but that I was sometimes a plumber as well and that he should go away and let me finish."

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2001/nov/24/arts.highe...

Here's what opening that site without an ad blocker feels like:

https://images2.imgbox.com/cc/f9/gX6o2Jfu_o.png

Must be very conducive to reading

This list goes even further out on the long tail for this and future generations. The pipelines of journalism and advertising aren’t as reliable anymore. I once worked in a chocolate factory to pay the bills.

Top minds are now working hard at eliminating both the profession of writing and the day job.

Cormac McCarthy appears to be an exceptional case in this respect. I skimmed through a book about it once. Early on he basically earned his keep through grants and book sales. I think he persuaded one of his old ladies to get a job while he wrote. And apparently he was always writing; pitching one book in the middle of working on another. I guess film and television soon followed.

Most of the jobs listed seem something you can do on autopilot, while your mind is doing something else, which would make sense for creative minds.