I love art, food, dance, and theater. That range of interests doesn’t seem to open many professional doors. Or so I thought.
Back in high school, I took the core classes (math, science, English, and history) through senior year. After adding my language classes, I put art and journalism on top of those. I had a pretty full schedule.
A number of my friends dropped anything that wasn’t a requirement, from languages to arts. The reason? They figured no one got jobs in those fields, so why waste the time?
Unfortunately, there are a number of people out there who consider those interests “extracurriculars.” It’s the same kind of argument you hear when arts funding gets cut in schools. There is this belief that learning to paint isn’t going to get you anywhere.
Then we get to college, and you can major in pretty much anything. The downside here is that many students work hard to major in those “extracurricular” subjects thinking: I know I’ll never get a job with this major, but I still love this subject.
It is all a myth. You can get jobs using arts skills or exploring your interests. Career centers and guidance counselors just don’t tell you this, and it’s probably because you need to be a little creative to dispel the myth.
If you love food, your career options aren’t limited restaurant chef or line cook. In fact, you never need to go to culinary school to still have a job where you can be passionate about food. There are entire tv channels dedicated to food and cooking, countless reality tv cooking competitions, and there are always spots on morning shows with a chef doing a demonstration. Producers research for those spots, someone arranges the talent, others shoot the shows. Entire teams work with food, and none ever need to pick up an oven mitt. And those examples are just in tv…
Everyday, the demand for graphic designers keeps asking for more creative individuals who have a wide spectrum of capabilities. Having an eye for sculpture could allow an advertising agency to tap into your talent creating a leading marketing campaign for the new shape of Coke bottle. Do you read that disclaimer at the bottom of the AT&T Rethink Possible commercials about Christo and Jeanne-Claude? Those are amazing environmental instillation artists, and while they may not be associated with AT&T, it doesn’t mean you couldn’t be.
You could work for a dance nonprofit like the Dizzy Feet Foundation, be the corporate philanthropy manager for a Fortune 500 and host events at the opera, or you could build education programs to make sure these “extracurriculars” are never removed from schools.
If you think outside the cubicle box, you’ll find there are thousands of opportunities to work with your passions. Paint, cook, dance, write, compose, and whatever else makes your heart fill with passion, and you’ll find ways that those passions can be turned into a dream career.
Photo credit.
Great post, and an excellent point. Those important passions are often dismissed as luxuries, when they clearly are not.
Sadly, I don’t think that the job market has yet caught up with the notion that those who have an interest in and talent for some of the things you mentioned can be of service to their businesses. It seems we are still living in a society that demands not only a college degree, but a masters degree, and not only that, but a masters in something”useful” like computers or some such thing.
I have been trying for years to translate my studies and love of the arts into a career. I haven’t yet been able to find a way to do it. But I sincerely hope that you are correct…that someone, somewhere will find it worthy to hire someone like me based on my strengths in those “extracurriculars.”
Any advice on how to go about it?
Ty, I spent some time thinking about your question, and here’s what I came up with: It’s a difference between skills and interests. What we need to foster is gaining a combination of both. You could have a skill (creating awesome PowerPoint presentations) and use that skill in the entertainment, medical, talent, arts, etc. fields. I know you have a lot of interest and talent in the arts, and I’m sure you’re already looking at how you can come up varying combinations of applying your skills and interests. You may also be doing this, but I know getting involved through volunteering with the arts can get you in touch with those kinds of peoples. I actually had done an internship at a marine science museum years ago. Because of that, I’m always interested in volunteering on boards or at events for museums in my local area. You never know who you’re going to meet when you do that, and they respond to people who share a common interest such as the museum or arts. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope this helped!
The skills vs. interests difference is a good point. I studied my interests in college, and it wasn’t until I graduated that I realized I needed another set of skills to make a career out of those interests. So now I’m back in school. But I am looking forward to the day I get my dream job (god willing).
Hi Louise, if our teachers made it clear there is that distinction, we’d probably be better off. I think you may find that in some fields (graphic design or programming), but you could be an English major but never know about copy editing because you’re not a journalism major. That’s the applicable skill the theory could support. I think we also need career centers to be better at helping students see there are jobs available if you think in non-traditional buckets. Fortunately, people who utilize online resources may get the advice they need. Thanks for the comment!