Serious This stressful part of my life...

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Gabe

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... is how I feel about my future after high school. I'm mid-way through my eleventh year, and many people around me seem to have plans for their occupations. I thought here would be a good place to ask this, since it seems the average age of the members on this forum is eighteen and older, and many of you could be going about your post-high school experiences and give me some insight.

The problem is, I don't know what I want to do as a job, and I don't know how to find out the ultimate thing to stick to. I've narrowed it down to three incredibly general paths:

A) Film Industry (Cinematography, Editing, Directing)

B) Videogame Industry (Creative Department; Art, Story, Characters. Maybe design...)

C) Acting

I'm convinced I am interested equally in all three paths. If I could, I'd do them ALL. I would shell out thousands of dollars to get the degrees I need, and when I got bored of one of them, I'd move onto another one. But I'm quite positive life doesn't really work that way. In school, I've chosen classes that give me a taste of a lot of these things. I have Visual Arts classes upcoming next term, Theatre Arts and Film & Video Production class, things among my interests. People always tell me I'm really good at acting, really good at drawing, really good at cinematography and editing, and really good at making up stories. Clearly I'm not meant to be an academic achievement hogger since I'm awful at Shakespeare play assignments & math skills...

Another factor that's upsetting me about this is the separation from my friends. During this eleventh year, I've made more new friends faster than I ever had in my life, and it's giving me this rush of confidence and desperation to find my place within them. Not many of them are interested in the fields of work I've listed above, so naturally I'm expecting I'd be separated from them after high school as we rush off to different universities and colleges to live on our own. It makes me really sad thinking about it because I just love them all so much. Is it really that easy to lose your good friends once they graduate and move on? Is it way easier to keep friends who would follow my career path of choice as well?

I know it's not right for me to just shape my future around my friend's choices, and this is MY decision that I need to make on my own accord, but I don't even know what to do. But I do know I have well over a year to think this over, before I have to make my BIG decisions. But please, tell me what it's like. Did any of you guys have these feelings? I feel stressed out and a bit sad towards these things...
 
well i am 15 in yr 11 and I have 3 general paths I wish to pursue. Acting, music producing and authoring. I suppose acting would be the more challenging of the three as it is generally tough to find a role in both theatres and film, though I plan to be in the latter. I have a friend who wishes to do the media part and his brother who works with Skrillex in the music industry. I also have the same worries, but know that the true friends are the ones that will keep in touch. I am pretty wise for my age and know an awful lot of what to expect. If you need any help or otherwise general talking then just let me know. We seem to be going through the same events, but I wouldn't be worried by it.. Just look on the bright side and know that there's still possible decades of friendship and so on. Oh, as for career choices; just think which is your greatest aspect of love. If all, then why not pursue them all?
 
I think you've got to realise that unless you're really fucking amazing, have great luck and have good connections in Acting and videogame/film industry you're really not going to get very far...Those are areas everyone wants to get into, nearly every person on the planet wants to be an actor or a video game designer or an artist, so those courses are very competitive...

I think you should find something more realistic to study...unless you think you're exceptionally good at any of those three courses you listed :hmmm:

That's my downer post done :toni:
 
Hmm, I'd like to address all of your concerns. Somehow!

First of all, I would like to back up Squid and would recommend you study something wider. A degree that could lead to a job in the video game industry or film making is fine, but specific degrees can be incredibly limiting. I would personally go for something like Business, English or English and Drama, then build up a portfolio of smaller experiences as you work in another job. Don't assume your degree has to be directly related to your ultimate goal! I'm sure you can get into the film industry without a degree in media studies! :) Video game design is more difficult without the degree, but the degree only leads you down one direction. My friend's sister can't get a job because her animation degree leaves her overqualified for standard jobs, but there are too many applicants for jobs in animation. Animation requires one to be good at maths (apparently!), so you could look into mathematical degrees or perhaps something computer-related. :hmmm:

When it comes to friends, don't feel anxious about them moving away. You will stay in touch with the ones who are worth it! :) As you grow older, you realise that friends drift in and out of life; some move away when you least expect it. I have always longed for a close friend/friendship group, but my closest friend has now moved to another country, and a couple of other friends have moved far away too. It is hard, but you adjust.

What you need is the self confidence to be friends with new people every year; to enjoy your time with those you work with! Build relationships with people and always have someone to socialise with, but don't rely too much or specific people. Again, that's a tough thing to accept - and it's something I'm currently working through myself - but it's best to embrace it and embrace seeing lots of new faces and learning from each and every person you meet. You'll meet many more gems along the way! =)
 
Alright... I wasn't exactly sure on how degrees work, but I know for a fact many of the universities around here offer such degrees. The thing I don't understand is how the more general the degree -- the better? Which careers would that help with? I'm not entirely informed, so I don't know what 'more realistic' means in terms of something I should get into. I know I'm "exceptionally" good at the skills relating to my three path choices, for my age. By the time I need to make my choice, who knows. Maybe as time goes on, and I see the most logical and wise decision when it comes to how much money will be spent on schooling, and how much money I will get out of the job. Does that sound alright?

A plus side I should always consider when it comes to communicating with friends, Facebook exists. It's sure a hell of a lot easier to stick with someone using that compared to what existed even ten years ago. It's just that it's not often I meet new people and become close friends so instantaneously, as it has been for me this year. I feel like I won the lottery or something.
 
Lemme say first that you don't have to go to college immediately after high school. You can take a whole to save funds, think, and grow a little before finishing your education for your career.

Second is, in your first year of college, you don't have to have a major set. Generally your first year of college is taking the requires beginner courses with a few extra you are interested.

And third it your major. It is normal to switch your ideas for majors a lot. I did so many times :lew: But in this economy and fact that there are not a lot of jobs, I'd say majoring in something like acting would not be wise. As it is so many people major in acting, and the thing is what can you do? Not much. I love acting...quite the drama queen :wacky: But unless you get famous your salary will be quite low, and that's even if you are lucky to get a job.

Look at your skills. Personally I like math and financing, and I'm social. I want to be either a business manager or some type of financial adviser. I have many interests. I love music and playing music, acting, cooking, and writing. And those are pretty generic skills. Look at your skills and grades and figure what you may want to consider. If you truly love acting and video games, I'd say minor/do it on the side in a club or something. You want to have a reliable skill/major that can be useful in getting a job and actually making money.

But I want to stress my second point...you don't have to figure out your major right away! Give it a little time. You can also switch majors if you don't like it. Don't be too stressed though. Weigh all your options. Good luck! :ryan:

Maybe as time goes on, and I see the most logical and wise decision when it comes to how much money will be spent on schooling, and how much money I will get out of the job. Does that sound alright?
Click to expand...

Bingo! :ryan:
 
I think Puglet's point about not rushing into anything and perhaps taking a year or two out is a good one too! :) I didn't before my English degree, but I took one year out before my very specific PGCE, which is training me to teach English in secondary education.

However, things would have been different had the fees been what they are today, at least in the UK. How are the fees in Canada? I would assess whether or not the courses are actually worth the money at this point in time. Were they a lot cheaper 4 years ago? When I started Uni, the fees cost about £3500 per year, which was then a fixed rate for me. For the students who started this year, it's £9000 per year!!! I was in Uni for 5 hours a week...so that's £90 an hour for...well, not a lot really.

The fees of those students who started Uni this year aren't going to go down. This means, by the end of Uni, every teenager who went to Uni and took out a loan this year will be in debt for £27,000. Some will even owe £45,000 (for veterinary and medicine' courses). I haven't even started on maintenance loans yet, which will add another £12,000 or so! Very few courses are worth a debt of £40,000-£57,000!

In two years, it's quite possible we'll see fees of £3500 again; I personally don't feel hiking them up to £9000 was a wise government decision. Now I know I would be shooting myself in the foot if I could have paid lower fees two years later! :gasp: They're not gonna go up from £9000! Now really is the worst time to be going to a Uni in the UK!

I went off a bit on a tangent there since you live in Canada, but that's what's happening here and if it's at all similar over there, it's quite relevant to think about it. :hmmm:
 
Well, let me say that you should be prepared for set backs. Seriously. Getting into a good career takes a lot of time, effort, and you need to be able to tolerate a lot of shit. There are going to be people who will try to put you down. Employers who are unbelievably tough and intimidating. You're gonna attend job interviews and very likely be rejected for half the jobs you apply for.

These days, I've noticed education doesn't mean so much as real-life experience. It's all well and good having a degree in "such-and-such", but it's nothing compared to having genuine experience in those fields. Your best bet is to establish a network of contacts in the fields you would like to work in. Build up some solid relationships. If you want to get in on the music or film industry, get some work experience or volunteer at any local events. With work experience, you may end up spending absolutely ages just making tea for people, but you'll eventually work your way up.

A friend of mine used to study Media in college, but dropped out because he felt it was pointless. He then proceeded to get some work experience in the S4C studio in North Wales. He spent two years pretty much just making tea, running errands, but slowly started getting more involved with really simple things like just holding the boom for the microphone. It was very slow going for him, but during that time he learned so much from watching all the actual staff there, and gleaning what he can from them when they had a few moments to spare. It eventually led to him having a full time job as an Audio Visual Technician.

I'm not saying you shouldn't go through with college, because in such competitive work areas, it is highly recommended you have something to fall back on. A degree in English or Maths would come in handy for nearly any kind of job. But not only that, you're only just finishing highschool! You may eventually chose to explore different career options.
 
Liana said:
I think Puglet's point about not rushing into anything and perhaps taking a year or two out is a good one too! :) I didn't before my English degree, but I took one year out before my very specific PGCE, which is training me to teach English in secondary education.

However, things would have been different had the fees been what they are today, at least in the UK. How are the fees in Canada? I would assess whether or not the courses are actually worth the money at this point in time. Were they a lot cheaper 4 years ago? When I started Uni, the fees cost about £3500 per year, which was then a fixed rate for me. For the students who started this year, it's £9000 per year!!! I was in Uni for 5 hours a week...so that's £90 an hour for...well, not a lot really.

The fees of those students who started Uni this year aren't going to go down. This means, by the end of Uni, every teenager who went to Uni and took out a loan this year will be in debt for £27,000. Some will even owe £45,000 (for veterinary and medicine' courses). I haven't even started on maintenance loans yet, which will add another £12,000 or so! Very few courses are worth a debt of £40,000-£57,000!

In two years, it's quite possible we'll see fees of £3500 again; I personally don't feel hiking them up to £9000 was a wise government decision. Now I know I would be shooting myself in the foot if I could have paid lower fees two years later! :gasp: They're not gonna go up from £9000! Now really is the worst time to be going to a Uni in the UK!

I went off a bit on a tangent there since you live in Canada, but that's what's happening here and if it's at all similar over there, it's quite relevant to think about it. :hmmm:
Click to expand...

I believe many of the local universities and colleges have tuition fees ranging from $2,500 (£1500-ish)-$12,000 (£7500-ish) a year. Unless you go to another province where there's more amazing universities and such, then $12,000 is the max you'd probably spend per year for tuition alone, around where I live.

Man, I don't know what I'm going to do. I sort of have this feeling that I'm "graduating tomorrow" and will need to go off on my own and choose my stuff. It's totally false but the pressure is just eating me. If all of those generic/artsy skills aren't the realistic starting point, I don't know what else to do... But I did think of something; Would it be wise to strive to build friendships with those who are interested in at least one of the three of my paths, so they could possibly become a 'connection' if the time came? I have a few friends who are interested in either one of the three things I listed above. I also have this cousin who's really into acting (he has a little more of a head start than I do, at the moment). So I will hold those connections close.

Something I like about school is the productive atmosphere, and all the people around. It gives me encouragement in everything I do, as it pretty much seems to run my life right now. One of the things I hate the most is being alone, and the last 2 or 3 summer vacations have been barely above depressing. I'm out of the productive atmosphere which makes me lazy as all hell, and all my friends are busy doing something fun/going on vacations, while I'm home alone being all blegh. It genuinely makes me sad, and I feel like as soon as I graduate high school it will turn into another 'empty and depressing summer vacation' that ends whenever I successfully move on in life. I can imagine it would only eat away my self-esteem and make me not feel like doing anything, because that's what the summers seem to do to me. I get all moody and scary. I'm not sure if I'm the only one, but I don't look forward to long breaks from school all that much. The graduation from High School seems like the ultimate dive off of a cliff into the abyss of isolation where I must fend for myself.

There's also applying for scholarships. I struggle a little bit in understanding how they work, but how am I supposed to apply for them if I don't know what I want to do? That opportunity is going to come for me soon, and I believe you apply for SPECIFIC scholarships from specific universities and such. The question is, can I still successfully apply for scholarships if I don't know what I want to do?
 
I used to get myself into that kind of rut. But, the only person who can help with that is yourself. Sure, it's easy for people to encourage you and everything, but to really get anywhere, you have to motivate yourself.

Try asking yourself these questions...

Where would you like to be in five years? (Now, I don't mean any specific careers or anything. Do you want to be in full time work? Education? Training?)

What could you do to accomplish that?

You sound like you could probably do with setting yourself some life-time goals, man. Set a target and aim for it.
 
i graduated from a film & tv production course last year, and i'm starting to make my way in the industry. it's by no means easy - i haven't made any money from it yet - but i'm getting there and i love what i do which i think is the biggest plus. if those three things are something you genuinely love doing, then follow that up.
however if you do decide to go into the film industry, you will need to narrow your interest down and choose an area to specialise in. you won't find a single camera operator in the industry who has expert knowledge of editing, and similarly there isn't a single producer who can use a camera. your film degree literally won't be worth the paper it's written on, but it's all worth it for the experience it gives you. if you tried right now to apply for a camera assistant's job, you woudn't have a chance because (i'm assuming) you have no experience in it at all. if you've done a degree, you'll have a bit of a showreel and employers will see that you're genuinely interested in working in the industry.
 
Here's my advice, and it might not be as sound as most people's. Though it's what I would of done if I wasn't so pressured into attending college right away. I hate to say it, but college can only give you so much education in your trade. In fact people are not even looking at degrees as much as experience these days. The only reason people push college so hard is because of the competitive nature and that if you don't have that piece of paper that certifies you did your time.. then you don't earn their respect.

At my job for instance, I learned most of what I know online. It's sad, but my trade is hard to "teach". So what I recommend to you is build your contacts up as much as you can. Start at a job that allows you to connect with people, and go from there.

I've heard bartending is quite excellent for social networking and if you are good at it, you can bring more money in than most blue collared workers. I know that there are quite a few more trades that don't require a degree in which do the exact same thing.

Live a little, don't rush your life. Getting a job is overrated, it's getting something you enjoy that you strive for. It doesn't matter how much it pays in the end, as long as you enjoy doing it.
 
You seem to be the kind of person who easily gets bored. Frankly, all three options are great for people who change moods fast.


I think you can work in all three fields you mentioned, but once at a time and only when you managed to build up a solid career into one of them, and it will take discipline. It will require that you become a succesful professional, but if you have the passion I think you have, then you’ll certainly be successful. Hell, I might be talking to the next Hollywood star :D!


The threshold between movies and games are very subtle today, and you can move from one field to another, or even work with both. They both use the same techniques to be created, as is the process of creating them.


Don’t worry too much if people think you’re great at this or that. Don’t take that too seriously. Compliments are double-edged swords. Be honest, you know deep inside if you’re good or not. Remeber this: it’s certain you’ll be good at something if you like doing it (unless you have a physical impairment, which I hope you don’t).


With the issue with your friends, there’s nothing you can do about it, and fortunately I never had doubts about what path to follow.


You said you don’t know what to do. I think you can begin with any path, as it will lead you to any of the other two if you wish. It’s just a matter of choosing one of the three to begin and put effort into this one.


Bear in mind the competitive edge of each field before choosing one. Acting is the hardest, personally.
 
Sounds like quite a personal dilemma you have here. :/ Many of the posters have given some great advice, but I guess I'll give you my 2 cents as well! :p

((I apologize in advance for the lengthy post, but hopefully you'll find my experience to be somewhat helpful to consider!))

While I was in high school, I always imagined that I would major in East Asian studies in college, minor in Japanese language, be able to study abroad, and someday live in Japan. I suppose that wasn't the most "realistic" idea, but going to Japan has been a dream of mine since I was about 10 years old. And no, I'm not a "Japanophile" or "Wapanese" person. I'm genuinely interested in the culture and language. I was practically raised to fall in love with it.

However, what sort of job could I really get with a BA in East Asian studies and Japanese language? I'm not particularly interested in teaching. Being a translator doesn't offer the best source of income alone, and I didn't want to work for the U.N. In addition, not many colleges and universities offered degrees in East Asian studies, even in NY. Although I'll admit - I was a bit particular about which schools to apply to and I probably should've applied to more than 4... ^^; With that said, I was in quite a dilemma during my senior year of high school.

So, what interests could I fall back on that would be much more profitable in the long-run? Well, by the end of my freshman year in college, I decided to pursue a degree in Psychology and Sociology because I had always found those fields to be particularly interesting in high school. I don't like interacting with people much 'cause I'm not a social butterfly, but I do enjoy studying people (I won't go into details about my research interests because I could go on forever, lol). My introverted personality fits best with being a social science researcher to be honest. So, I sort of considered my interests and personality when deciding which career path I wanted to pursue.

Is this path the original one I dreamed of? No, not really. I've never been the type to care much for money; I'd rather have a job that I love that doesn't pay so well versus a job that I don't feel thoroughly engaged in that pays extremely well. I'm just one of those people who believes the pursuit of knowledge is more worthwhile than the pursuit of wealth. In addition, this career path will be a long one; I just started an MA program in Experimental Psychology this semester that will take 2 years. I'll apply (again) to a PhD program in Social and Personality Psychology, which may take another 4~10 years... I'm somewhat of an academic achiever though, so I'll aim to finish my PhD within 6 years. xD

Am I truly happy with my choice? I really love the field of psychology and I'm looking forward to earning my PhD, but I do question my decision at times. I'm still pursuing my Japanese studies while I earn my other degrees and I still plan on traveling to Japan someday. Who knows? Perhaps I can conduct some research studies over there. That way, I can combine both of my interests together! :]

What's the take-home message? Don't give up on what you truly want to do in life. You sound like an intelligent, skilled, and conscientious individual, so I don't doubt that you'll become successful in life, no matter what you choose to do. You may not find a shortcut into your career of choice, but so long as it remains in the back of your mind, you can find a way to integrate that dream into your future. Maybe you'll also find a roundabout way to pursue your dreams! :3
 
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