"Artsy" (I Guess Thats the Right Word) Careers

I wonder why you think archtiecture is "way over your head?" You're as smart as anyone else. You have to give yourself a chance.

I'm a photographer and this is an extremely difficult profession to make a living in. You have to be a business person and an artist, you can't do one without the other and still bring home the bacon.

You should try to find work as an apprentice with a photographer. You live in an area where that would be no problem. Please know that there a bazillion amateur photogs who charge, but few real professionals. Find a professional and ask if you can carry around their gear when they go on location. You'll learn a lot and you can ask questions.

Most photographers in the digital age are not very good. They don't know the technical side of photography as well as they should or they don't have the creative chops- or a combination of the two. You have to WORK at this craft. I have a degree in art that cost me 6.5 years and about 35,000 dollars. You will only get return clients if you provide a service that is better than your competition. And there's a lot of competition.

Most people leave this business because they don't bother learning the business side of it. I am ASTOUNDED by how poor the business plans of my colleagues in this city are. I've seen studios open and close. Open and close. Open and close. That wouldn't be the case if they started with a dilligent business plan and the know-how to market and price their products. It is very rare that I meet an artist who has a clue about those things.

My dad was a professor of business and I have a degree in art. His guidance and my experience working in my parents' various businesses (restaurants, day cares, elderly housing facilities) has helped me remain fluid and profitable while working in a luxury service at a much higher than market price in the worst economy of my lifetime.

But you have to have the self-confidnece to learn what you need to learn to make it happen. Anyone can. Few do.

You can be anything if you don't make any excuses like not being smart enough, not having x or y...

Good luck.

You need to find a career that you truly love and are passionate about. It should be something that you can't wait to do! That gives you a sense of fulfillment. If you're going to be doing this for 50+ years, find something that gives you that feeling.

As far as creative jobs, they are extremely competitive and aren't well paying unless you're one of a gifted few. Even in the corporate environment, these jobs are decreasing in numbers. And if you start your own business, you have to know the craft as well as have a mind for business. It requires working 24/7 to build and maintain. Is this something you're willing to do?

Meet and talk to people who do the kinds of jobs that interest you. Get a perspective on the things they like (and hate) about what they do. What keeps them doing what they do. Find people who do these jobs and are passionate about it. That should help you in deciding where you might want to focus.

Also remember that you can have more than one career in a lifetime! That' what I'm doing now, having spent 15 years in Corporate Journalism. I'm working on me Part 2 now!

I told my daughters to choose a career that will keep a roof over their heads. It's nice to do artsy things and some have been talented and very lucky to make a living at it, but they had to pay their dues. Cosmetologists make lots of money, but don't plan on living on it for at least 2 years. It takes that long to build up a clientel. Go to school. Get equipped with basic business skills. Work whereever you can get a job, and eventually you will find your niche. You may be the greatest underwater basketweaver in the world, but if there's no market for underwater basketweavers, you are dead in the water!

Estitisians where I worked did not do make up. After a facial they had to let the skin calm down and sent them home with no make up. Also they did bikini waxing and other areas. I thought it to be a boring job they cleaned out pores massaged and would leave the room while they were cooking for awhile. They also did manicures and pedis so not sure what they do today with all the new licenses. My daughter was one for awhile and the schooling is like thousands now. She did not like it. She now is working in an office was a manager changed jobs and now sure what she does now. She is bored as she is used to fast pace and this new job is not but she is learning budgeting and more skills. Good luck. G. W

Apartment leasing is heavily weighted on sales as well. Rather than personal quota's as in real estate, you will have a manager with expectations that you will meet the quota and keep everything leased at say 90 or 95 percent each month. Not sure of their numbers, but that is how it works. Apartments are generally owned or ran by large corporations. There is huge money owed on the properties and they rely on the sales/leases to pay that debt and you.

As a photographer you may work free lance or for a company. If you work for a company you will make less. If you work for yourself, you will have to do all the makings to start a business because it is a business. Treated otherwise and you have a hobby. You are talking thousands of dollars to get this started, as a professional camera, lens, and flash will run you $3-$4,000...you should have two sets of everything in case something goes wrong while on the job. There is not time for repairs, you must switch out your equipment and keep moving.

Read the book, "Refuse to Choose". I am not sure who it is by - but I think it will ring true to you!

I always thought an aesthetician did the skin type stuff, facials, waxing, teaching about skin care etc. not so much make-up type stuff. Check out one of the schools in the area like Ogle and they can point you in the right direction. As far as photography, what kind? You have to have a talent and eye for it to make it worth your while and not just a hobby. A leasing agent is a sales based career, you'd have quotas etc to meet. You say you're interested in architecture why not Interior Design, I'm not talking interior decorating where you change only fabrics and colors etc. but design which allows you to move walls and change the inside of a structure in addition to changing the look of a room. You have to become certified through a state test after going to school and getting a bachelor's degree. I started out in Architecture and I will tell you it's hard, you need an aptitude not only for math but also physics, I knew I was in over my head when we got into Statics of Engineering for Architecture. Yikes! I ended up with a minor in interior design and a bachelor's in merchandising management.