Over the last few years literature about careers has been enriched by developments relating to the concept of boundaryless careers. But the idea of an absence of frontiers might be considered inaccurate, because boundaries continue to exist. This work tries to contribute to an understanding of the new boundaries of boundaryless careers. We carried out 20 semi-structured interviews with artists and professionals working in the creative industries. The sectors covered include multimedia art, crafts, film, dance, design, literature, music, painting, theater and software development. The results of these interviews show that careers are developed in an environment characterized by contradictory forces. These forces originate in the relationship between culture and the economy, and generate paradoxes that require trade-offs. Two of these paradoxes are discussed: the paradox between amateurism and professionalism and the paradox between the intrinsic value and extrinsic value of the work. The paper also discusses some of the strategies used by respondents to overcome these paradoxes, concluding with directions for future research.
Creative industries; Arts; Artists; Careers; Boundaryless careers