subject: Creative Careers May Be Rewarding But Its Not An Easy Ride [print this page] If you have wanted to do something creative from a very early age it is clear to see what would appeal. Having creativity in a job position means you can come to work every day excited as you will always have different things to do, you can meet new people, test out ideas and generally expand yourself in many ways to meet your targets. Creative people are often born a certain way, they have a dream and they will do anything to get it. Many creative careers include those in writing, fashion, and acting or music and require certain personality traits that are essential.
Competition in the creative industry is rife therefore to succeed you need to have a good idea of the kind of career you want to go into and work out how you will get into it. Ideally you will need to have the following characteristics:
Easy going personality
Reliable
Self motivated
Have an eye on the target
Most importantly determined.
The rewards for working in a creative career are high and you always get back what you put in eventually so if you want to find out how to succeed read on.
Working in fashion
The fashion industry is a popular and growing trade that really allows you to test your creativity skills to the max. If you have an eye for trends, know how designs match up, color match sets and enjoy mastering something from start to finish this could be the creative career for you. With so many popular designers like Versace, Vera Wang and Burberry amongst others it may seem very hard to make your mark. However like everyone these designers started with nothing and worked their way up; perseverance is the key in all careers. Practice in your spare time and pen designs that will give you experience and improve your skills over time.
There are many fashion schools around that will teach you discipline and the right kind of skills needed to perfect your designs. They will also help you gain internships that are vital, as a student without work experience will fall to the bottom of the pile when youre up against students with months of work experience. You might have to work for free at first but the knowledge you will gain is invaluable. If you still want to work in fashion but dont feel designing is really for you there are other sub sectors available such as purchasing and merchandizing.
Do you want to Photoshop your way to the future?
If you ever see a picture in a magazine you can be guaranteed it has been worked on in some way. No reputable publication would send out unedited images in a glossy magazine that is read by millions all over the globe. Those graphic designers who work with product solutions such as Adobe Photoshop, Indesign and all other similar products, often work these airbrushed images to create an end image. Whilst there are opportunities for graphic designers out there breaking into a high-end company can take time and patience. An initial college course of degree in graphic design will give you the right kind of skills required to work with these programs to an advanced stage. All reputable colleges/universities will again try to ensure you get work experience to utilize your skills and show you what a real position would be like. Once qualified you could perhaps try doing freelance projects for friends/family to get extra experience and references for further use. You could try advertising your services on free advertising sites like Craigs List or gum tree and then start applying for jobs in newspapers and job sites. You will probably get rejected quite a lot at first so dont get too downhearted, if you keep your eye on the dream it will show youre passionate, determined and willing to succeed which all companies want in their employee work roll.
Become a acting star
Weve all been to the cinema and watched the big screen with its glamorous actors and actresses gracing the screen. Theres probably not one person who hasnt imagined what its like to be famous, a household star that is on everyone lips. Whilst becoming an actor or actress may be easy, becoming a household name is far more difficult. If youre new to acting then why not look in your local paper for acting classes or local plays that may need acts. You should be honest that you have no or little experience, as it will only show in the long run. Try to get involved with as many productions as possible, getting as many speaking roles as you can. Experience is vital in this kind of industry and having the right sort of look and character. You will be asked to audition for many productions and you may only get a few but again determination is one of the strongest factors alongside actually being able to act.
After you have obtained a number of speaking roles that are paid you can sign up to Spotlight an agency that can enable you to get jobs in the future. Alternatively instead of going straight into unpaid roles you can try applying for a course at a university or college that will teach you specifically about all the different constructions of acting and your performance. These courses are often highly valued and will get you onto books like Spotlight and essentially show how good you are as a actor/actress.
At the end of the day whether you want to be applying for fashion jobs , photoshop jobs or acting jobs you have to know if you really want it and whether you will enjoy the wait leading up to success. If you dont feel you will enjoy it enough or find you want to do something else its really not the career for you. Creativity can be very fun but it can also be very exhausting if youre striving for something that will never be yours. Be realistic with yourself but have fun whilst doing it.
