Dream Job Career Plans

Moto42 · Post by **Moto42** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 6:04 am

Most of us have dream-jobs we want to do for a living. The reality of these careers is often different from imagined, but those that work and persist can (with a bit of luck) reconcile fantasy with reality and do what they love for a living.

Or so I hope.

What are y'all's dream-jobs? What's your plan to get there? How far along are you? If/when you finally 'make it' what is your career plan after that?

Moto42 · Post by **Moto42** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 6:47 am

I try not to ask this sort of question without leaving an answere of my own.

My dream-job is to be an Illusionist.

I've been studying sleight of hand and illusion for about ten years, off and on. It wasn't untill about a year ago I decided that I could really make a go of it as a career and began seriously practicing. I've always wanted to be an entertainer. Some people wanted to be an astronaught when they were 7. I wanted to be Gallagher.

My carreer goals are:

Make 100% of my income as a magician.
Be able to obtain bookings in any city I wish to live in.
Get booked on a cruise-line for a trip to Australia. (It's on my list of "places to live"

Overall, my career-plan to become a working magician is...

Get gigs as the "house entertainer" at local resturaunts. Table-hopping.
Take low-pay (for what I do) if nessisary, at first, the important thing right now is real-world practice.
Convert these short-term gigs into long-term bookings for better pay, eventualy weening myself off my day-job, and onto supporting myself soley via magic over the course of a year or so.
Develope a kid's show after I get my resturaunt gigs booked. This can provide sporatic shots of extra cash and resturaunt work produces a lot of up-close public exposure.
I will not rely upon kid's shows for money, but I want to be ready when a parent asks me if I'm available for such work.
This is to be updated with a new show annualy.
After the kid's show is properly rehersed, working and 'done'; begin putting together larger, stage magic productions. I can practice these at conventions.
The goal of the above is to eventualy have a repetoir that can be sold to cruise-lines, hotels and others that need "big" stage illusions.
Everything I do now is close-up to parlor magic sized.

Right now, I'm rehearsing 2 ten minute sets for use in table-hopping at restraunts and hope to have bookings in the next month or two. Probably for "nothing or next to it, plus tips" at first, but it's a start. I can get letters of refferal from these clients for future use.

I also have a "manager's set". A three-trick routine specificaly for the man making the "hire or kick to the curb" desicion.

I just recently scored a midnight to eight AM shift at work. This leaves my evenings and weekends wide-open to accept bookings!

I'm dieting and exercizing to get into shape. I'm well aware that improving my physical appearance will improve audience impressions of me. Oh and there's that whole "improved health" thing too. Mostly, I'm tired of carrying a 300 pound man around and getting into shape will open up new material for my act. (IE: Escapes)

________________
Keep dreaming dreamers!

Tiny Deev · Post by **Tiny Deev** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:54 am

I would want to be a game designer.

Perfect world, someone seems a few of my drawings and I get invited for a job interview at, I don't know Blizzard or something. Just concept art would be a great idea.

Less perfect, but equally awesome is that after a while, someone high up reads one of my stories and decides to give me a chance on making a story-line for a game. If this is succesful, I get a job, if it isn't I can be the janitor or something. Ofcourse, I barely make the deadline but they love it, they think its catching and exactly what they needed.

Realistically. I'll become a programmer at Guerilla Games here in Amsterdam when I finished my studies. I'll work there for a year or a few to get some job experience, and then I start looking for something abroad.

How I'm trying to accomplish this is by finishing my studies, become good at what I want to do, and just having fun.

After that, maybe I can start my own Gaming developing company.

Sam · Post by **Sam** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 12:19 pm

My key driver is being able to say 'DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY' with a heavy Afrikaans accent. I am working on a position that will afford me the former, have given up on the latter as it's just too hard.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 2:31 pm

I'd like to be a non-sucky writer. Not an award-winner or the novelist that sets the tone for a generation or any of that noise, just someone whose prose is competent and content is good.

Salvation122 · Post by **Salvation122** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:50 pm

I will never be an astronaut.

I just won't. My eyes aren't good enough to fly, and my academic background isn't going to get me on a mission.

My current hope, at this point, is to get a job working for a space-advocacy PAC, where I'd almost certainly do more good regarding getting mankind off this rock than riding the big roman candle anyway.

Moto42 · Post by **Moto42** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:49 am

I fully support any efforts to get mankind off this rock.
Rock on non-rocket man!

Kai · Post by **Kai** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 8:02 pm

I...am actually pretty damned content with my job now

I took a sideline spare time interest and talent and parlayed it into a career change and an escape from the corporate grind. Some time, some drive, but really a lot of luck there.

Ampere · Post by **Ampere** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 5:51 pm

Well...I'm part way there.

Being a FT illustrator...CHECK!
Having a good enough CV and Rep to keep the work flowing year round without looking for work...CHECK!

To be honest, I want to get out of the RPG Industry.
I also want to emigrate to the UK (first choice) and work in the Toy Soldier Industry around the Lead Belt of the UK (Nottingham). Words and Art.

After that I want to expand in to novels.

Most of the work on the UK shortage list is for 3D artists. I could possibly swing a gig as a Matte Painter but it's a stretch. Not a big one, but a stretch nonetheless. 2D art isn't a shortage field in the UK.

Seems like most the folks I know who emigrated did so through a marriage to a national...which won't work in my case as I'm happily married.

Crazy Elf · Post by **Crazy Elf** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:33 am

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a comedian. I became one. It's not nearly as exciting as I expected it to be, but I think that I find it rewarding. I think. Actually I don't even know anymore.

DV8 · Post by **DV8** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:48 am

I guess that raises the question; what do you do when you find that what you've become isn't rewarding? What do you do when you're unhappy, especially when you don't have the luxury to try out different careers to see which one suits you best?

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 1:28 pm

Hey, join the fucking club! I thought I was going to be the starting center fielder for the Boston Red Sox! Life sucks, get a fucking helmet!

DV8 · Post by **DV8** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:09 pm

So you knuckle down and ignore it?

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:36 pm

Obviously not. Did we leave our sense of humor at the threads "door"?

DV8 · Post by **DV8** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:35 pm

You've been on the rag again lately, haven't you? It was a serious question and I tried to translate the Leary quote into a real answer. I'm fairly sure a lot of people ignore their unhappiness in their career because they can't afford to get too adventurous.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 5:39 pm

The Leary quote was meant as a funny Dennis, sorry it missed you. From now I'll make sure to preface my jokes with a disclaimer as to not risk offense.

Obviously there is no set answer to any of these problems, be it living the career you'd like-all that glitters isn't gold, right?- or being stuck with something that's acceptable enough, but not what you really want. We'd be foolish to think there's just one way to get from point A to point B.

So the answer to your happiness will likely vary from mine.

Ampere · Post by **Ampere** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 5:40 pm

That's where my wife is now.

For years I nagged at her about finding something she wants to do and go for it. There's nothing I hate worse than people who belly-ache about how much their job sucks but they do nothing to change it.

So she decided she wanted to be a Crime Scene Investigations Tech. She started with the County in the records department and plotted her course.

To get in to that program you have to be a sworn deputy (here at least) and that means going through all the hoops everyone else does to be a regular street cop first, THEN getting in to that program.

So she started the process, tested, got on the list, and was awaiting class.

At about this time she found out a bit more about it.
First off, after she completes the academy, she works in the county jail.
Of course like anywhere else you start off on the shit shift. Understood.

Unlike most places, the shit shift and staying in the jail lasts for up to TEN YEARS.

Ten years before she ever goes on street patrol. After that she can petition to any number of special groups, test and get in to them: Detective, CSI, Waterway patrol, SWAT, etc. Of couse she needs to be on the street for at least five years first.

Ad to this the CSI has two people doing the job. They have it as long as they live. No openings until someone dies or retires.

She was a bit crushed. Waiting a bit to get to the job you want...totally understandable. Waiting 15+ years to get there...jesus, that's like two PH.D's. She's 36 years old NOW.

So now what?

Now she's reassessing what she wants to do.

I wholly support people finding what they want to do and going for it. It sucks most of the time because you have to scrimp and scape to get there, but people can largely do anything they set out to do if they have the grit for it.

Sometimes though, you find what you thought you wanted really sucks, or it isn't what you thought it was. That's really tough, especially if found out after all the sacrifice and hard times to get there.

What choice does a person have?
Stay where it sucks or go for something else.

I personally refuse to be stuck doing something that makes me miserable. That's a slow death. Sacrifice your soul to maintain a paycheck. I've done it and won't do it again.

Fuck that. Find something you want and go for it. I can guarantee that it will suck sometimes. You will face hardship. Cash will be tight. (believe me I know this one from first hand experience. I've lived on ramen and gotten magical care packages of canned goods and dry goods from people I hardly knew). In the end, you will survive it and you'll be happier for doing something you love and be stronger for surviving the hardship.

Ultimately life goes on, and if you're unhappy where you are you have the choice of changing it or shutting the fuck up about it and living with it.

Put up or shut up.

People who don't put forth the effort to change their lot in life give up their right to bitch about it.

Jeff Hauze · Post by **Jeff Hauze** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 6:06 pm

Ampere wrote:Put up or shut up.

People who don't put forth the effort to change their lot in life give up their right to bitch about it.

Spoken like a true artist. There's not an implied insult there, honestly. It's just a weird thing that nearly every person I've met who pursues some form of art as a career has said in regards to this type of question. It's always fascinated me that I got very nearly the same answer from everyone from a given field (in this case, beyond you, two sculptors, three comic/RPG artists, and a few miscellaneous others).

Crazy Elf · Post by **Crazy Elf** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 11:09 pm

I support the same mandate, too. Put up or shut up works for people that have made progress in a career where there's no defined path to speak of. Driving yourself is the only way to get anywhere, and so when others aren't perceived to be doing any driving but do a lot of complaining it's pretty annoying. A traditional career path is a different thing entirely, one that most artists aren't going to understand very well for the most part.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 2:00 am

I'm not sure I buy that for everyone, but then I also don't think it's entirely off base. Like anything it's knowing when to put up, when to shut up, and how to do it that's the bitch. Hindsight, blah, blah, blah, other semi interesting anecdotes,blah, blah, blah...

Jeff Hauze · Post by **Jeff Hauze** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:07 am

Crazy Elf wrote:A traditional career path is a different thing entirely, one that most artists aren't going to understand very well for the most part.

I'm a little suprised to see that come from you Elf. It's a point that others may do miss. There are actually people content with a more traditional career path, and who are actually quite happy with the low end of the totem pole part of the corporate world. While there's things I'd love to do inside the gaming industry, I just could never do it as a career. The strange flow of work, uncertainty of pay/continued work, a decent amount of self-directed/self-motivated projects, and with many of the smaller games/companies having a real lack of management...I need projects and goals. That doesn't always lend itself to that environment.

Crazy Elf · Post by **Crazy Elf** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:02 am

Jeff Hauze wrote:I'm a little suprised to see that come from you Elf.

Woah, I'm not judging anyone on this, I'm simply handing out a different perspective. From my own experience I've seen that artists, as a whole, are generally much more narrow minded than people in traditional careers due to a lack of perspective.

I hate artists. There's very little in them that I can respect. There are some shining stars amongst them that have my utmost of respect, but they tend to have real jobs on the side, or worked real jobs for a very long time before turning to art.

Remember, also, that I primarily deal with comics and poets, so my perspective isn't exhausting. I'm sure that musicians or painters or computer artists of people like that aren't sewn from the same cloth as it actually takes a real tangible skill in order to do any of those things. You can either play an instrument, use a brush, or punch out code. Comedians have a unique skill base that's essentially unquantifiable, and thus they tend to get a little defensive about it if pushed. Poets are worse. Both of those gigs are hustles where you have to convince the audience that you can deliver something that they can't. As a result of this I put a lot of energy into what I do on stage, and my physicality gives me another selling point. I realise that what I do is easily replaceable, and so I feel that I have to deliver something extra. Other comics and poets don't realise that and end up delivering an inflated opinion of what they do and its importance in the world. Or, perhaps they do realise how flimsy it is, and thus inflate their self worth in response.

I don't know for sure. All I do know for sure is that they piss me off for the most part. To impress me you have to be very good at what you do, or at least very honest. In that way I probably expect more from others than I do from myself. I realise my hypocrisy, that doesn't excuse it, however.

If someone introduces themselves to me as, "An accountant," or, "A chemical engineer," or, "A retail assistant," I'll probably have a far more positive initial reaction to them than I would if their opening line to me was, "I'm a comedian/poet." I find it interesting that it's usually vice versa in open society.

Note that this has nothing to do with Amp. I've not sat down and abused him in person yet, so I can't say for sure.

In any case, "Spoken like a true artist," may indeed not be an insult from you, Jeff, but if I were to say it to someone it sure as hell would be.

I'm not sure this rant has anything to do with anything anymore.

Ampere · Post by **Ampere** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:24 pm

Nah, no worries. I was an IT professional for 12 years and I've done two tours in the military (Navy and Army). I understand the more traditional side as well. I also take no offense.

Having done my time on the traditional side, I think I can reasonably say that "put up or shut up" still applies.

If you enjoy being an administrative assistant, doing repetitive tasks, and taking the normal slow steps up the corporate ladder, that is totally fine. Cool! Awesome! You are happy where you are and IMO do what you like.

If your boss is a toerag, your co-workers cunts and the workplace a dive...and you are happy...well then rock the fuck on. Hell yeah. If it ain't broke...don't fix it.

On the other hand if it is making you sick from stress and you come home and need a drink every day to calm your nerves...and here's the biggie...if you bitch about your job daily...maybe you should change it.

I'm not saying give up the Admin Asst type job for FUN! and ADVENTURE! of Climbing Everest, K2 or El Capitan.

Get a different Admin Asst Job. Work someplace else. Do the same job you love someplace else.

It may be hard. You may not be able to get another Admin Asst job straight-away. You may need to get a foot in the door and grow up to it again, climb that ladder again.

This is the price we all pay, regardless of field to get to where we want.

Doctors spend seven years in school, and residency and doing the shit shift to get to the point where they get that uber-awesome cushy job. Lawyers do the same. They pay their dues up front in school.

Most of us aren't going to spend 7 years or so in school up front, so we enter the workplace and bounce from shit job to shit job, or slowly climb the corporate ladder. Either way...it's paying dues. Spending 10 years working in the county jail in order to get a street patrol is paying dues. Spending years doing cheap art for indie press companies, working all nights and weekends is paying dues.

Regardless of what you do, if you hate it and bitch about it, then you need to DO something about it. That doesn't mean shift the polar axis or anything...just work towards alleviating the problem. If a person cannot put forth the effort to remedy their situation, whether that is changing workplace or career why should anyone care about their bitching?

I don't expect anyone to change their stars overnight, but I do expect people to make an effort of some sort to remedy the source of their bitching.