(Part 3) Top products from r/careerguidance

I replied to a similar post recently, but it was specifically about sports broadcasting. Here's a little copy + paste and a few new bits:

I don't know about grad school, but my suggestion would be to study something that you actually care enough to want to report on. The best reporters and journalists usually have a really nuanced and detailed understanding of certain subjects they actually are interested in.

Grad school won't make you a good journalist. The work you put in outside of class and your passion will. You should speak to your advisors anyway about things like that. Also, find journalists that are doing what you'd like to do and look up their credentials or send them an email.

The internship sounds like a good step. It might lead to more, but it might not. It will at least give you a chance to see if you like it enough to continue on that path.

Does your university have a student radio or TV station? Those are going to be more relevant to broadcast journalism. However, starting something new at the paper does show initiative, which looks good for you.

If no on-air options are available through your school, see if there are any community radio stations with open air-shifts. Also, consider starting a podcast outside of the newspaper. It's relatively inexpensive to get started. If you want to be on camera or on-mic, you've got to spend a lot of time getting comfortable with it.

You should spend some time studying up on radio and voiceover in general. I'd suggest looking into these three books.

When everyone starts they put on an over the top "radio voice" or "TV personality" that just seems disingenuous and hokey. You'll need to work on being natural and relaxed. Smile when you talk. While you're on-air or recording, think about speaking to just one person. Seriously. You'll sound much better.

Piggybacking on the one person thing, don't say "everybody" "everyone" or "hello! insert city name." That's the easiest way you can hear an amateur right away. You're trying to make a personal connection. You wouldn't talk that way to your friends or a new acquaintance...don't do it just because you're in front of a mic.

Work on reading out loud until it doesn't sound like you're reading at all. Work on ad-libbing and improvising with information. KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SAY BEFORE YOU EVER EVEN GET CLOSE TO THAT MICROPHONE. Being prepared will get you out of a jam if you drop your notes or forget something on the way to the studio...or if you have an old-fashioned equipment malfunction that requires you to fill up time until someone can jump in to resolve the issue.

Learn from your mistakes because you will make a lot. Luckily, audiences are fairly quick to forgive and forget. Don't let little slip ups ruin your confidence.

...I hope that's helpful. Maybe some of that isn't what you're looking for, but those are some things to think about.

I don't think it's optimistic to want to be passionate about what you do. I also don't think you're foolish for deserting something wanting to move on to something different, something that fits you better.

You have to decide what kind of life you want, starting today. Not what kind of life you think you should want or what kind of life you think others want for you.

You say you love working with your hands -- that's great! A lot of people don't know what they want, and knowing this puts you at a good advantage.

Is there a way you can drop down to 3 or 4 days a week and start building your own business, or working part-time somewhere else or start attending a trade school? This would ease you in and may be be easier than quitting your job completely and starting fresh. It would also make your debt repayment a little easier, because it definitely is something to consider.

I read The Art of Non-conformity last year and it was good. I like all of Chris Guillebeau's books.

I think that people discount what their true talents are and what they're really here to do as sentimentalist fluff. Maybe we all just think we should be doing whatever the safe thing is, or what everyone else is doing, or what the market says we should do. But I don't think a lot of people are happy or fulfilled with that.

Lastly, I will say I was in your position 15 years ago. I started a job as a programmer right out of college, and almost immediately I knew it wasn't right for me and I ended up quitting. I'd like to say that right after I quit, I figured everything out and I'm blissfully happy today, but the truth is that life is a journey with lots of ups and downs. I don't regret quitting, for sure, but I'm still trying to find my way in the world. When you follow what you're "supposed" to do, the rules are pretty clear. But when you know that's not for you and you try to break your way out and find something different, you'll find (or at least I found) that it's not always easy or clear. That doesn't mean it's not worth it, though :).

Good luck to you!

Biomedical science/Biochemistry. Can't vouch for forensics degrees as ive not been on one but I think those two are broader spectrum and probably more useful to getting there. If you're interested in the subject, this is a good book and was on my University curriculum. Haematology (Fundamentals of Biomedical Science) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0199568839/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_1hyVCbQGJZ8R2
Biomedical and biochemistry aren't forensics but honestly probably go into more detail in terms of analysis. Read into your cell biology and chemistry. Also don't be so prepared to pidgeon hole yourself so early, your interests can change a lot; a goal is good but flexibility is better. Good luck

Okay, so first let’s take a moment to appreciate that you’ve accomplished the beginning steps needed to get where you want to be. As a person who has struggled with depression, anxiety, and poverty myself, I applaud the fact that you that you’ve already done the really hard thing by starting therapy and sticking with it.
 

Second, as far the question of a career, I’d say just find a job you can do for the next couple of years. As you get older and understand yourself better, you can decide on a career path. Just don’t hold off on getting a job while you’re trying to decide on a career.
 

Third, you may want to consider taking the TASC test without waiting to do the study classes. Your state’s education department site says the test is free and you can make three attempts per year, so you could look at the first attempt as an information-gathering mission. I’m assuming the depression/anxiety played a fairly large part in your decision to drop out, so as long as you had somewhat okay grades while you were in school, you probably wouldn’t have trouble passing without the study classes anyway. And if you pass it the first time, that’s great! But if you don’t pass on the first attempt, you’ll have better knowledge of the specific areas you need to focus on before you take the next one (instead of unnecessarily studying ALL of the subjects!).
 

Fourth, look into free job assistance programs that can help you learn an actual vocation (even without a diploma/TASC certificate). I don’t know about New York, but in my state these programs will even pay for the equipment and clothing you need to do the job. I just did a quick Google search for “New York Job Training Programs” and these are the kind of interesting results that popped up: http://www.vocationaltraininghq.com/free-vocational-training-programs-in-nyc-new-york-city/ (the Office of Adult and Continuing Education, which offers FREE computer classes) and http://www.allny.com/job-articles/free-job-training.html (All NY, which explains how to find free job programs in New York). The beauty of some of these programs, is that you don’t have to cold-call on businesses to convince them to hire you. The program matches you up with employers who are looking for employees they can train up into entry-level positions. Quite a few of them are permanent too. But even if you decide you don’t want to stay in whatever job they help you get, you’ll walk away with more marketable skills and knowledge than you have now. (And you’d be surprised how often the skills you learn in one industry are useful in another).
 

To help you with the negative self-talk that comes with depression and anxiety, you may want to read “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy” by David Burns, MD (or something similar). His book is an easy to read cognitive therapy book that was written in 1980 but is still relevant today. It will help you learn to short circuit those negative thoughts before they can make you feel bad. It really helped me when I was trying to get my first serious job but kept telling myself I was too stupid/shy to work in that kind of role (it was a courier role in a mortgage company). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380810336/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

And lastly, here’s a link to something that helped me get through a lot of bad things over the years.. It’s called “The Quitter” by Robert W. Service: https://allpoetry.com/The-Quitter.

Honestly, if you are not passionate about library services, you should not be pursuing your MLIS. The job market is hard enough out there for people who are passionate about library services, tossing yourself in the mix (and adding to your debt while you're at it) isn't a great move.

That said, I'm also not sure about how realistic it is to pursue a career in writing for TV, but you seem pretty aware of that, and it sounds as if you've already been able to get writing positions, which seems like a good start. It sounds as if you already know what you want to do.

If you haven't read it yet, you might want to read Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. I personally don't know much at all about the business of writing for TV, but scattered throughout her book was her path through writing for TV, which I thought was super interesting.

It's possible without college, but it's not possible without education (leaving aside the incredibly rare exceptions like being a professional athlete.) That education can be apprenticeships; it can be on the job training (which is very hard to get in the US); it can be self taught; it can be college. Usually college is easiest.

Mathematics actually has very wide applicability although I'll grant you that many or most courses don't go out of their way to make that clear.

However, I'm not suggesting you should follow a math program. But you will need some form of education that's in demand to not live paycheck to paycheck. (This was much less true 40 years ago but it's true today, and getting more true with each passing year.)

You network at their place if business (preferred so you can see their environment) or a coffee place nearby. For others you would need to be good on the phone.

It's less important how you find people and more important to prioritize actually meeting them. Introverts actually make great networkers since they traditionally do a better job listening.

Create a script that introduces you and your purpose and requests a small investment time. Start with people you know (practice) and get feedback on your messaging.

Great book on networking:
National Business Employment Weekly: Networking https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471310271/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i9G-yb89HC6PF

Happy Networking

Andrew Beach
@brandingdynamo

This book is a classic as far as figuring out a career that is best suited to you. I’d recommend figuring out what type of day is best suited to your mental health. Remember that perfect jobs are pretty far and few between and you just need to prioritize what’s most important to you. I remember reading in a different book, “what kind of sh*t sandwich do you best tolerate?” Meaning, you’ll have to work your way up in any industry. Try and figure out exactly what that means for life sciences before you make the leap. Also agree completely with prioritizing your mental health. For me, exercise, meditation, a ketogenic diet, multivitamins (especially B vitamins), probiotics (garden of life has a mood one), and regular good nights of sleep go a really long way in keeping depression at bay. When I get depressed everything can feel hopeless and then I’ll say I’m going to prioritize self-care (ie all of the aforementioned) and I end up in a much better state of mind to make decisions.

With the caveat that I am also not a mental health professional and I can only speak from an anecdotal / personal reading level:

On another point related to depression, it also sounds like you were making choices that were exceedingly unhelpful to your mental state purely by being heavily invested in drugs and spending most of your time indoors. Your sleep schedule also likely suffered.

If you read things like John J. Ratey's Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain and particularly some of the research behind it, you see that exercise and time outdoors has a massive, massive effect on mental well-being. Not only are you in better shape, you're also mentally sharper, more resilient to stresses (with brain pathways for stress being literally down-regulated by aerobic exercise, meaning you physically don't even have as strong a reaction when something stressful happens), and there is growing research that several of the chemicals produced by your body during exercise (particularly Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and IGF-1) literally grow your brain and can repair neuronal damage that comes from time.

Others have given good recommendations on how to handle this, but as someone who has spent some time living at home, trying to figure out what to do, here's my digital two cents: take some time to exercise every day. Install a fitness app and shoot for 6000+ (better, 10000+) steps outside every day. Go to the gym several times per week, and spend some time doing intense aerobic exercise to get your heart pumping. Find as regular a sleep schedule as you can, and eat healthy.

Mens sana in corpore sano and all of that. Take care of your body and your mind as well as you can, as that will help in every aspect of this process, both for your own mental health and for your acuity as you perform in job interviews and discussions with recruiters.

Another thing you want to consider is where you want more income coming from. 'Earned Income' is the highest taxed income. What if you used your talents to create a product or provide a service outside of your current position?

You could work for a company, but really effectively and efficiently. Then on the side have a product you get income from, royalty income, rental income, etc.

Read The Four Hour Work Week

That book is not only for people that want to cut down their work hours, or work remotely, but also for creating additional income streams.

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

I actually had a whole class on this some years ago. Essentially after WWII, there was an implicit contract between industry and workers that essentially traded employee loyalty for job security. Many people in the Silent Generation and even Boomers had one or two jobs for their entire lives. People were proud to say, I worked for GM, Ford or Hughes Aircraft my whole life. Today, the average shelf life of an employee is 4.5 years.

When was in high school, I worked after school for an insurance company where it was easy to find people who had been with the firm 10 , 20 even 30 years; cradle to grave as it were. My brother started with "Ma Bell" about a month after he graduated high school and stay with the various telephone companies for 30 years. He never went to college. He retired at 55, full pension and now lives in Thailand. T

Several things have caused this to be a different job market than the one your parents knew. First downsizing, then offshoring and finally automation. All of this done in the name of short term profits. This is where that implied social contract between employer and employer has been broken.

Sources:

1. The Great Reckoning
   
2. Corporate Abuse
   
3. Corporate Executions

I really enjoyed this book by Steve Askinosie

https://www.amazon.com/Meaningful-Work-Quest-Business-Calling/dp/0143130315/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=askinosie&qid=1572908969&sr=8-1

I listened to it through Audible, it was really enjoyable.

Far be it from me to tell a coyote to stop rambling, let alone the Queen of them!

Maybe you could start on another book before WCIYP then? One I found was really good at quickly pulling to light a lot of underlying issues is Barbara Sher's I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was: http://www.amazon.com/Could-Anything-Only-Knew-What/dp/0440505003

Starting there to work through some of the reasons you don't already have a career that makes you happy, and then moving onto WCIYP's implementation strategies might work well.

this might help: "How to Pick a Career (That Actually Fits You)" https://waitbutwhy.com/2018/04/picking-career.html

also, many years ago i read True Professionalism written by a harvard prof: https://www.amazon.com/True-Professionalism-Courage-People-Clients/dp/0684840049

it was useful to me when thinking about the type of career i wanted

http://www.amazon.com/Social-Engineering-The-Human-Hacking/dp/0470639539

This one is a good start.

Read this book. It changed my life: https://www.amazon.com/Looking-Beyond-Ivy-League-Finding/dp/0143112821

https://www.amazon.com/Pragmatic-Programmer-Journeyman-Master/dp/020161622X/ref=nodl_

https://www.udacity.com/course/software-architecture-design--ud821

https://www.amazon.com/default/e/B004BBEYYW

https://www.distributed-systems.net/index.php/me/

http://aosabook.org/en/index.html

https://www.coursera.org/learn/software-architecture

No problem. I looked more into the PDF and it appears that this edition/version explains the bare minimum of the data structures and algorithms so you are forced to use this as a reference. This book explains everything much better, but still you will need to use other resources: http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Interviews-Exposed-Secrets-Programmer/dp/047012167X/ref=pd_sim_b_15?ie=UTF8&refRID=17FWN71ZH0FWQMJJKB2Q

If you have any more questions you can reply here or PM me.