I Am Back

Well then. After a month break, I'm back on the job. A lot's happened since then: I've moved back to Columbus, OH and graduated from Emerson, to hit the major points. I haven't made it big. I'm taking on freelance work, but I still need more before I can make my checking account increase notably on a monthly basis (only so much can happen in a month after all).

In other words, the past month has been what most would consider a milestone, and milestones incite reflection, which I'm going to compile here. This is what I learned in college; take it or leave it.

1. First off, if your major is creative writing or journalism, get out, as long as doing so won't keep you from graduating on time. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with wanting a career in creative writing or journalism, just that if you do, there are better majors to have.

Both of these are fields which cannot currently accommodate the number of people trying to work within them--especially creative writing. Now mind you, writing and information gathering are increasingly useful job skills, but they're most useful when combined with another major skill. If it's really what you want to do, then more power to you, but I'd most recommend creative writing or journalism as a minor or half of a double major; taking it by itself is most likely doing yourself a disservice, and you're more likely to find work in those fields if they're not your only area of expertise.

2. Get an internship if you possibly can. Entertainment is a field where coursework itself is not enough, and where your biggest asset in seeking work is a proven ability to produce quality work. Courses have three functions: teaching you new skills, adding to your portfolio, and providing networking opportunities. All of these are things that a good internship does ten times as well.

3. If you can't get an internship, work for free. I may be accused of breaking one of my own rules here, at least in regards to freelancing. If you're a student or recent grad, however, circumstances are a little different. While a professional freelancer in any field should not do work without some prior agreement for payment, chances are that if you're reading this blog, you're not a professional freelancer--yet. At this point, finding some non-classroom work on a volunteer basis can be good in the same ways as an internship; not as good as an internship, but still very helpful.

4. Learn a foreign language. I quit taking Spanish after my third year in high school because I felt that, like many things that my school's curriculum identified as necessary, it wasn't really necessary. And despite our globalizing society, it isn't exactly necessary, depending on what you're doing. If your major is pre-med or biochemistry, for example, a foreign language might conceivably be useful, but isn't truly necessary.

On the other hand, if your major is business (a major I do recommend for creative writers and journalists) or history (since most historical documents are in languages other than English), then you'll find at least one foreign language to be absolutely essential.

Right now, Entertainment is between these two categories. A foreign language isn't completely essential, but it improves your opportunities monstrously. Translations are a growing segment of our industry, as are media deals between overseas companies. If it's not essential now, I would certainly encourage aspiring pofessionals to consider it as such.

(I'm reminded of several articles I read about the Silent Hill movie in the months surrounding its release, which mentioned that one of Christophe Gans's largest obstacles to the creation of the film was the difficulty of communicating with Konami, the Japanese company that owns the rights to the franchise.)

5. It's never too late to get started, so if you missed a few of those steps, don't get down on yourself. Even if you majored in creative writing, never learned a non-English word beyond "vodka" and "tequila," and never even thought about getting an internship, there are opportunities. Get an entry-level job somewhere, pick up a copy of Rosetta Stone (amazing foreign language tool, by the way; teaches you how to learn a language, in addition to teaching you the language), and volunteer with a community theater or newspaper.

Entertainment is a long apprenticeship. You don't have to worry about becoming a partner/manager/head doctor/whatever by the time you're a certain age. You can start late and still be successful, provided you're willing to keep at it (and, at times, willing to try and fail).

Granted you're probably not visiting Experience because you're keen on getting started late. So change your major if you need and can, enroll in some foreign language classes, and check out your local internship fair--just don't have an aneurysm while you're at it.