Forget that other post.
This is a medium-length and engaging read, and if you are still in high school or a young person without much guidance, you can't afford to not read this. Bookmark the thread and come back later. This information would have been invaluable to me before I turned 20.
READ THE BOLD PARTS SO UR SQUIRREL BRAIN CAN FIND AN INTERESTING SECTION
U PROBABLY DO KNOW WHAT U WANT TO DO
Unless you're like a Jesse Pinkman level stoner, chances are you actually do have some sort of aspiration with some sort of career goal, but maybe because you aren't well-informed, or because of self-doubt or because ur parent's don't approve you haven't allowed yourself to think of it as an option.
Fear is the mind killer.
If you don't know, look at your skills (ie, writing, math, language, ability to fix plumbing) and think of how they can be applied professionally
RESEARCH THE JOB MARKET
Seriously, you can learn a lot just by going on to indeed and glassdoor and just looking at the jobs in your area, who's hiring, what the requirements are, what the job entails etc. Search phrases with stuff you're interested in and see what comes up. Maybe you'll even see a job that describes what you want to do
THERE ARE JOBS IN THE ARTS
seriously, the people who think that there's no work in the arts are seriously misinformed, keep in the mind though, that these are JOBS, not "paint nice paintings for 50k a year"
SOMETIMES U GOTTA GO TO COLLEGE
if you have a margin of interest in finance, any hard science, or business, know that you're going to need a degree if you want to have any chance at a career in these
SOMETIMES US GOTTA GO TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
if you just need to get the bills paid, yeh, learn a trade. Alternately, if you are committed to the idea of college but don't know what to study, go to community college and get your gen eds there. You get college credit for like 2k a semester (BEFORE FINANCIAL AID) and get to experience some college. Then u can transfer to a univeristy and actually study program coursework without paying 30k for english 101, how to calculus, and history of rock and roll
INTERN FOR URSELF
This advice becomes more useful the younger you are. u want to become a marketer?, start running an IG page for memes or something and build that up. If it pops off, pui it on ur resume.
You want to become a videographer? film some local shows or your friends peforming and put it on a youtube channel.
Don't know what you want? Try a bunch of stuff out and see if you like it or not. You don't have to start a corporation, but you could maybe run a stand at a farmers market if you want to give "running your own business" a try
if you build a portfolio for yourself with proof of concept, you'll not only give yourself experience, but you'll sharpen your skills, and maybe even get hired based on it.
GET CONNECTED
That other post was talking about building a resume, yeh, you can do that, but you could also get passed over because jimmy fartface who has less experience happens to go to the same church as somebody in HR.
Building resume = good
Finding connections = better
If you're really trying to precision engineer this s***, do college credit plus in high school and get the contanct info of your professors. Then be like "hey, can i work in ur lab/be ur research assistant?" if you go get your degree at the same university.
You'd be shocked at how many doors can be opened just by having dumbass levels of confidence and keeping an eye out for opportunity. Don't be afraid to talk to people.
Other poster saying to go to 4 year Uni just because is just wrong and horrible advice.
Entertainment careers website underrated
Glad you linked that
there's other more niche sites too
Good post especially the research part. Skimmed through your post but make a LinkedIn and use community based applications within your field. I’ve met a VP at Discover through Reddit for example
there's other more niche sites too
publishersmarketplace.com/jobs
This site is excellent for careers in the literary word
https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/jobs/
This site is excellent for careers in the literary word
while we're at it
Audio professional jobs
soundlister.com
amateur voice acting/editing/mixing/animation
Other poster saying to go to 4 year Uni just because is just wrong and horrible advice.
But did I say that Uni was the only option? I said, "the cheapest local program." That is, if a person has an idea of what they want to do. And did you read the entire post where I mentioned that certifications and license were valid routes as well that can take around 6 months, up to 1 year?
OP, youre acting like people can't do both. It seems like you're primarily vouching for entrepreneurship and entertainment (which is fine). Whats wrong with getting a certification to get a stable, long term career that pays well while working on that in the background? Its not one or the other, dude. Your heart is in the wrong place making this, trying to one up me instead of worrying about what might be best for the individual needs.
Just make a good impression on many people. Broaden your network. 95% of jobs are filled through connections of some sorts, not being the most qualified.
But did I say that Uni was the only option? I said, "the cheapest local program." That is, if a person has an idea of what they want to do. And did you read the entire post where I mentioned that certifications and license were valid routes as well that can take around 6 months, up to 1 year?
OP, youre acting like people can't do both. It seems like you're primarily vouching for entrepreneurship and entertainment (which is fine). Whats wrong with getting a certification to get a stable, long term career that pays well while working on that in the background? Its not one or the other, dude. Your heart is in the wrong place making this, trying to one up me instead of worrying about what might be best for the individual needs.
nah, my hearts in the place of 3+ years of mentoring 18 year olds in college/exiting high school and seeing my own life play out
Whats wrong with getting a certification to get a stable, long term career that pays well while working on that in the background?
never said you couldn't do that
Shoutout @op for giving actual advice instead of just saying go to school
while i get that a lot of schools charge an exorbitant amount of money and you can definitely get yourself into a student debt hole i'm kind of confused why everyone seems to want to put you on the guillotine the moment you mention getting any sort of education
Shoutout @op for giving actual advice instead of just saying go to school
it's really as simple as that tho lol
just go to school, don't be a degenerate, and major in something remotely useful and your life will be comfortable