Lord help him. He’s working at Goodwill.

Q: ZACK, I JUST APPLIED FOR A JOB AT GOODWILL AS AN E-COMMERCE PHOTOGRAPHER FOR $9.50/HOUR. WILL I HATE MYSELF IF IT’S OFFERED AND I TAKE IT? OR CAN I JUSTIFY IT AS HAVING A “JOB IN PHOTOGRAPHY” IS BETTER THAN NONE AT ALL? THANKS. YOU ROCK.

A: May God bless you and keep you and help you grow. Seriously.

You’re about to embark on a fairly monotonous and boring job for little money. But you’ll be taking pictures. I spent two years photographing apartments for apartments.com. I spent another year photographing really bad home decor knick-knacks for an import company. When you dream of photography and dream of being a photographer, being an e-comm photographer for Goodwill is not part of that dream. I get that. Chalk it up to paying your dues.

Take the job. Do your very best. I’m sure it’s going to suck at times, but it’s a job. Looking back at the time I spent photographing apartments and knick-knacks, I realize I learned a lot. It was sort of like Karate Kid training. Wax-on-wax-off kind of stuff. It’s part of who I am today. I’m thankful I had those jobs.

It’s a good thing. Do it. Stick with it for at least a year. Learn as much as you can. You’ll find later that it added to your skill set. Be glad to have a job. Even if it ain’t sexy. You’re shooting pictures. A lot of people stuck in an office job at $9.50 an hour would rather be an e-comm photographer for the same money.