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What would you advise me to do career wise? Im pretty confused what to do

Discussion in 'General Support and Advice' started by TyTy91, Jul 30, 2014.

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  1. TyTy91

    TyTy91
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    So Im trying to find another career that I will like and can make a
    decent living! I don't plan on having any children and dont want any
    children so I will be single.

    I already mentioned before that I am currently still on a program for Television Production Technology at a technical college. However my mom and sister told me that I need to choose a career that I would make decent money and can support myself financially. I thought about a career in massage therapy and maybe an X-Ray Technician, but you have to be good in math so I guess thats off the table now really!

    I was researching more about massage therapy and I thought it is pretty good, it doesn't bother me touching people (however if they touch me I would have a problem with that) but the kind of guy that I am I have anxiety issues and being in a environment that is calm and relaxing and also helping people out, I like that!

    However Ive been reading that being a certified male massage therapist is really difficult and hard to make clients. Do to a stupid ignorant stigma! You can ignore the stigma but it will still severely take a toll on your wallet when it comes to earning your money.

    I dont feel like I have anything to offer! Plus having your boss telling you, "jokingly" saying that I just might as well marry a rich man. "That really made me feel better about myself." I kind of wonder if he was right sometimes.

    Working behind the scenes of video production for TV is out I guess, even though I took classes in high school and I would like to work in TV production for a living!

    I dont want to be a cashier and janitor for the rest of my life, I just want a career that I can wake up in the morning to, and to be financially alright and can pay my bills and also have entertainment.

    I do have an idea for a career, but most people dont think working behind the scenes for Television is a career. Also I dont want to go to school, graduate, and not find a job and have my mom saying "I told you so"!

    With living conditions I just want my own nice studio or 1 bedroom apartment have decent furniture, and go to my job that I like an can wake up in the morning for, and have food so I can learn how to cook real food on my own, join a gym membership (do yoga meditation other exercises) go out from time to time, that seems like the life! Thats all I want!

    Should I just go ahead and go to school for massage therapy anyways and have that as a job while going to school for TV production. Would it be a waist of money?

    If I do choose to be a massage therapist for a minute while going to school and achieve my dream job I was thinking to work at a doctors office, physicians office or cooperate office instead of being self employed.
    I just don't want to be disappointed and have regret and have my sister and my mom telling me "I told you so".

    So would it be a good idea for me to go ahead go to school for massage therapy (even though im a male which will make it harder for me to make clientele) work part time/full time as a massage therapist, going to school for TV production and then get a job working behind the scenes for TV?
     
    #1 TyTy91, Jul 30, 2014
  2. Really

    Really
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    I think you should totally stick with what you love. Obviously you won't make the big bucks at the beginning but there's more to working than the pay. The people you work with and for, the challenge of the work and the opportunities to learn other skills and advance and/or move around. I think working in tv would be great. There's nothing better than doing what you love with interesting and stimulating people and getting paid for it whatever the pay is. Not many people have that.

    Even if you don't have a very high salary, if you work on saving and investing wisely, you'll be just fine.
     
    #2 Really, Jul 30, 2014
  3. Chip

    Chip
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    It is definitely more difficult for male massage therapists than for female ones. This is for a couple of reasons. Nationally, about 70% of massage clients are female, though this is changing. And many female clients are really uncomfortable at the idea of getting massage from a guy. (In many cases, their insecure and jealous boyfriends/husbands are further driving the message that it's not OK to have a male therapist.) And of course, many male clients only want a femele therapist because they're for some reason insecure. Being openly gay is a plus -- many women who refuse male therapists will suddenly be OK with it if they know the therapist is gay.

    So there's one strike against it.

    Additionally, unless you're in practice for yourself -- and that takes quite some time, entrepreneurism, and willingness to really put yourself out there and sell yourself, you're going to be working for someone else, which is OK, but you won't be making a fortune. Hourly rate is often between $10-20/hour plus tips, and if you're really good, tips can be another $10-20/session. And to remain good at what you do, you're limited with the number of clients you can see in a week; 20 to 30 is the upper end for most therapists who want to avoid burnout.

    Working in a chiropractor's office (MDs usually don't hire massage therapists) can be good, but it's usually less fulfilling because you're seeing a lot more clients for a much shorter period of time ("Work this guy's upper back and neck for 10 minutes" is a common thing.)

    Finally, if you're prone to anxiety, massage school -- if you choose a really good one -- could be really helpful to you. Massaage training tends to encourage a lot of self-reflection and growth because it's dealing with very intimate interaction between client and therapist, and having someone touch you for extended periods -- as will happen while you're in massage school -- helps to bring up and clear out self-esteem and body image issues.

    If you decide to pursue that field, PM me. There are a whole lot of really shitty massage schools -- generally the ones that advertise extensively -- and a much smaller number of really good ones. There are a couple of really outstanding ones that are way less expensive than the major for-profit ones and actually provide a much better education, but they won't be local to you.

    Hope that helps!
     
    #3 Chip, Jul 30, 2014
  4. AKTodd

    AKTodd
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    It's fine if you don't want children, but whether or not you have them really doesn't have anything to do with whether or not you are single.

    I'm not really understanding how your family can say that TV production can't make you a decent living based on the information you've provided so far. How are they (or you) defining a 'decent' living? What part of TV and Film production are you training to do? Are you prepared to move and/or travel as part of the job? Etc.

    There are plenty of people who make anywhere from a decent to a spectacular living in TV and Film, depending on what they are doing and their circumstances.

    My partner has done some TV and Film work and averaged about $27/hr. The work day is usually 10hrs, but he once put in a 23hr day. Basically you work when the work needs doing and you don't stop until they say so. He also got $100/day per diem (paid in cash) on one job. But that kind of thing depends on the contract negotiated with the union (if you're going to do TV and Film, you may want to consider joining the relevant union for your field - it can pay off. Non-union people didn't get the per diem)

    My partner does carpentry and paint primarily but has also done props and sourcing (finding props or related stuff and buying it at a good price). For what he does, the biggest factor is a willingness to travel around to where the work is and an ability to set up the next gig before the one you're on finishes. Being able to network is important.

    Once you start getting into management or directing or unit production manager and stuff, the amount of money goes up. But when you're starting out, you may be something like an independent contractor for all intents and purposes.

    Again, it would depend on what you're looking to do. If its something you really want to do and you're willing to put in the work, I'd say you should consider the TV production stuff in some form or other.

    My 2c worth,

    Todd
     
    #4 AKTodd, Jul 30, 2014
  5. TyTy91

    TyTy91
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    Hey AK Todd its been awhile
    Since my the last time I was on here I moved out of my parents and live with my sister and her family for about almost 4 months now. I now have 2 part time jobs, I just got my 2nd job last week its okay but I dont want it to be my future. Ive had alot of negative experiences but I got through some of them and figuring out other things.

    Anyways to answer your question

    With my sister, mom and dad esp my mom is worried I wont have a steady paycheck!And doesnt want me working as a cashier in a grocery store and be in retail for the rest of my life which I agree to that.

    Because of me not having any money for school and late for financial aid this semester Im not going to school this semester.
    I still have to complete some core classes! Im not sure what I want to do in TV/Film because there are so many! I will say that Ive always wanted to be a studio camera operator.
    When i was in high school in my video production class for our projects we experience how everything was done with pre production, production and post production. So I had alot of projects to do and I can say its fun but at the same time its not glamorous too.
    I figure that it would be long hours too, when I would have to do my segments I would sometimes stay after school editing until it was 7:00 when school ended at 3

    I am totally prepared to move and travel, I would love to travel. Your partner seems like he has a great job too, so he paints sets? I would do that too!

    I see that networking is essential but that is my downfall because I have social anxiety however Im trying to cope with it. I will say that one of my former coworker dad works for TV and she is interning at CNN right now. I wonder if that can get me somewhere in TV/Film production.

    I have a list of job potential once I obtain a degree in TV production
    Studio Camera Operator and Camera Operator are my highest
    Also what your partner does by painting sets and finding props sounds very interesting
    The rest are pretty interesting that is Board Operator, Film&Video editor,Master Control Operator, Script Supervisor, video Recording Technician, Tape Editor, Video Journalist
    Radio producer sounds interesting too.
     
    #5 TyTy91, Jul 30, 2014
  6. AKTodd

    AKTodd
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    Whether or not you have a steady paycheck will depend on what you're doing. A lot of what you describe sounds like it would be steadier work than what my partner has done. But he also doesn't want to travel all over the country for work and so has stuck to projects that are fairly local to where we live. He's done set painting, but also built sets and has over 20yrs experience in technical theater (the live kind) and teaching college before he started doing some TV and film. Right now he's working part time at one of the community colleges here. Friends of ours who also work in the business may either travel around a lot to wherever the work is, work at a local studio, or do TV and Film work but supplement with another job they can control the hours on.

    A lot will depend on what exactly you're doing and in what situation. If you're working for a studio or production company (and you'd be amazed how many small studios there are out there) and doing something in the post-production/technical/producer area then I'd imagine it would be a pretty steady paycheck and more of an 8hr day type thing (at least if things aren't super busy). If you're doing camera work, it would probably again depend on circumstances. If you're working for a TV station it might be fairly steady. If its mainly doing stuff for major films, it might depend on whether you work for the studio or are more of an independent contractor or brought on by others you know.

    Who you know and making connections seems to be very important. A lot of 'so and so worked with you on project A and will put in a good word to get you on project B'. At least in the areas my partner has worked in. Some of it is networking, but a lot if also just working hard, being good at your job, and being reliable.

    Note that if you're doing massage therapy, you're likely to be an independent contractor as well.

    Either way, a key part of financial security is going to be religiously putting money away into savings. Actually that's good advice no matter what you are doing. Also, as soon as you start making enough money to put some away on an ongoing basis, I'd suggest getting a good financial adviser and having a talk about things like retirement and savings and goals and such.

    Ultimately a lot depends on what you end up doing (and you may change what you do over time) and how flexible you are about the field in general. Don't expect to make tons of money when you're just starting out - but that applies to almost anything you are likely to do. But you should be able to make a decent living at it with a bit of application.

    Hope this helps,

    Todd
     
    #6 AKTodd, Aug 1, 2014
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