Finding your Career Path

A student of mine recently asked me for career advice. She wrote:

"... I don't really think I'm capable of taking on the kind of work you do and I don't think I'd be good at it, but I also don't want to be lazy or use that as an excuse to avoid finding out what I would be happy doing and where I'd be most useful.  Is it possible to have a career outside of the main industry cities?  I've thought about getting an OK job and animate my ideas for film festival, but even that seems like it might be an excuse to avoid the fear of moving.  Is there a good way to figure out what industry I'd fit in best?"

The answer, is a resounding yes! It is no crime to be conflicted. To be sure, folks who know from day one exactly what they want to do in life are freaks of nature. Finding your path is a journey itself and there are a several good practices that will help you get there.

• The first rule is always pursue jobs that actively moves you closer to your goals. If the job you are doing has no component at least *related* to what you want to be doing, move on. There are multiple applications for art and animation. These articles discuss these possibilities:
• http://animation.about.com/od/otherindustries/Computer_Animation_in_Other_Industries.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_industries
• The second rule is always be honing your craft in a way that is practical. An example is choosing between charcoal sketching versus digital painting. Both activities improve your drawing ability, but only one has a practical application in the work place. You should always make use of the internet for tutorials. If you can afford $25 bucks a month, think about subscribing to http://www.lynda.com/
  
• Third, you should always know what employers are looking for. One of the exercises I give my students is they must look up a dozen or so job titles and note the requirements. This is your cheat sheet of what you need to be working on. For example, I searched for "flash" at indeed.com and it yielded a job ad that listed the following requirements:
  
• Qualifications/Skills/Abilities:
  
• Dedicated to producing high quality work  
• Concepting abilities  
• Collaboration 
• Digital portfolio
• Highly communicative 
• Consistently meets deadlines 
• Familiar with OSX 
• Advanced skills in Adobe Creative Suite   

So from this list, we can now know exactly what things to improve and work toward if lacking.

Finally, here are the best internship resources which you can take advantage of immediately:

• http://www.internmatch.com/
• http://www.linkedin.com/job/q-summer-intern-l-los-angeles-jobs
• http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Internship+engineering&l=Los+Angeles%2C+CA
• http://www.vault.com/
• http://www.engineerjobs.com/jobs/computer-engineering/california/los-angeles.php?e=i

You must believe in yourself! I had no digital skills when I graduated. I worked 3 crappy jobs doing photoshop work before I landed a gig in video games. The key was avoiding jobs that *didn't* involve digital skills and knowing that I would eventually get where I wanted to be as long as I was actively working towards it. There is no magic bullet - it's a journey that will take time, but if you are persistent, you'll get there.