Most people I know in the idea business have spent a lot of time researching the issues that interest them and practicing creating ideas and implementing them. If you are in the creative industry, there is all kinds of scutwork to be done, and most people spend a lot of time doing it before they get to a point where they are good enough people will pay them just to come up with ideas.
I get paid to come up with ideas. I’m a consultant. People ask for my help because I have spent a lot of time doing the work they want to do.
I have friends who create dance or music or movies, and they all work really damn hard to come up with ideas. The idea don’t just come floating out of the air. They have to practice all the time and it is through practice that the ideas come.
My impression is that you don’t even know what you are interested in. If you don’t know what you are interested in, you can’t be practicing it. If you aren’t practicing it, they you certainly aren’t developing any good new ideas.
So don’t worry about the work. Worry about what interests you. Just do what interests you, whether you get paid or not. Do it and do it and do it and do it. Somewhere along the line, if you do what you love, you find yourself getting paid to come up with fun ideas.