How to realise a career?

[DJJ]

So in just a few months, I'm getting a diploma and face one of my last moments at school. However, it doesn't get me really exciting. Since High School, I've had trouble choosing a career. It kept bothering me that more or less, one day I will be locked up in an office, go home, sleep and work in an office again, working for a company that already has enough money to feed whole Africa. It doesn't seem very useful to me, but I will have to do it most of my lifetime, just to feed? Well that future seems darker than the future of Donnie Darko to me.

So lately, I decided that everything must be possible, that I don't have to become what I fear, so I would like to do something I enjoy and as a side effect make money with, so it doesn't feel like a chore. Something adventurous. Something that doesn't involve staring at a computer screenand sitting on my butt whole day, something that allows me to see the world.

But something like that isn't going to fall from the skies. I will have to work hard to actually makes this happen, but I don't see what steps need to be taken to open this door. Soon I will get a university bachelor degree that involves communication, media and moviestudies and I'm thinking of getting a master degree in mediastudies. But then what? I'm on the streets after that

So I figured I needed some experience in adventurous things to prove my worth. I occasionally work a day in the PR field, but those are rare offers. I also try to day creative things like making video's and design media concepts for an organisation, or simply give the advise in the communication field. But that's it, just a little experience plus it involved a lot of butt. If it's necessary, I will take another direction to realise my goals, meaning that worst case scenario I'm prepared to do another studie and work my ass of to pay for it. Maybe like, Biology for sightseeing wild life in other countries and wrestle with lions like a real man?



Now, most of you are a bit older than me and have more understanding of the demands of organisations and the possibilities. Maybe some of you actually have an adventurous job, so maybe you guys have some ideas for developping myself and realising my goals?

[Mazikins]

Media and movie studies you say? See the world, you say? Try getting a job with a documentary TV channel, like National Geographic or Discovery. If I wasn't already happy with my job, this would be my ideal career (I have multimedia studies - audio and video editing).

My personal experience says that you don't have to follow a career that matches your studies. If that was so, I would probably be some semi-talented starving artist right now. But I went on a limb and started a career connected to something I loved - computer games. I became a tester for mobile games and in the process discovered that I loved testing and I was also very good at it. So now I've been doing game testing for over 3 years, I have a job with an amazing company, I moved to a weird and amazing country and generally I'm having the time of my life.

[DJJ]

Yeah I was thinking about journalism too.

''Look over there, it's Simba, hungry after a day of sleeping in the sun, he studies his prey. But the Zebra noticed the four legged lean mean killing machine and flees.'' xD

But you do need a bit of luck and that is where some experience in the field might come in handy. You seem to have gotten real lucky as well. Testing games is an awesome job, I bet a lot of people would kill for that job. You'tre basically doing what you would have done in your leisure time I guess.

I do realise you don't have to become exactly what you've studied for, but I wonder how far you can take that. Many vacancies ask for specific backgrounds, or is that part of formal bullshit and should I apply anyway? And one more thing. I noticed that vacancies offer the most boring jobs on the planet, while organisations that never publice a vacancy are pretty awesome. Does it mean you have to send a lot of unsollicitated applies to get a good job? Or is it all about social connections?

How did you get your job abyway? I bet you didn't find it on a blackboard in Wal-Mart.

[Mazikins]

Some positions require experience in the same field, but there are entry level positions that only look for certain skills, and if you can persuade them you have those skills you'll probably get the job. I doubt all the reporters at National Geographic have studies and experience in journalism, for example.

As an aside, testing games is not at all the same as playing games and in some companies Quality Assurance does some insane overtime during crunch times (I've done my share as well). The first job in game testing I got by applying and then taking a week long training which ended in a test. The second and current job I got because I was familiar with the product (the game that the company is making, an MMO) and because I had previous testing experience.

How far can you get from your studies in your career of choice? Let's take my mother: she's studied music and started as a cello teacher. Later she realized it wasn't really what she wanted to do, so she became a music director at a film studio (she chose and edited the music for their documentaries). After a few years she found out that radio advertising is kinda interesting and exciting, so she started doing that for a big radio station. After a while she created her own advertising company, which went ok for a time. About 10 years ago she felt she wasn't doing enough, so she started a social/cultural foundation, which has been taking up all her time since then. She works on all kinds of projects, some bring money, some not, but she's happy with what she does.

So I think you just need to explore a bit, you might be surprised about the things you can turn into a career.

To answer some of your other questions, it's good to send resumes even if there is no open position. They will probably file it away in their database and if an opening is created they might go through their old applications first. If you are really interested in one field or in one company, try to get in contact with the people working there. Try to get experience through any means possible - internships, volunteer work (like beta testing for games) and so on.

[DJJ]

Yeah thought so. I'm doing my best to look for and seize opportunities, though they are rare and it's hard to come up with good ideas. I like your mothers career path. She's just jumping from one thing to the next, while improving and never doing the exact same stuff over and over again. Good example of how to turn getting out of bed early in the morning into a fun exercise.

Testing games might not be the same as simply playing games, but I bet it still is to some degree. I think I've already been in that boat. Like, I had to analyze a couple of movies and that isn't the same as going to a cinema, it's serious and hard work, but it still involves watching movies.

[Danfront]

I don't know if this was mentioned but there is this really cool book called "What color is my parachute." I think it is just what you are looking for.

[DJJ]

Thnx, I'll be looking for it!