What does the future have in store?

[Cinderpelt]

I hate surprises. I'm not a control freak, but I like to know what's coming and what's going to happen. I like to prepare myself for what's to come.

Which is why the future scares me. I'm afraid that I will choose the wrong career and my life will go to crap.

Since a very young age, I knew I was going to work with children. There was no doubt in my mind. For a while I wanted to be a pediatrician, but then I realized there was no way I was going to be able to handle med school, the smell of rubbing alcohol, needles, and being stuck in a hospital all day everyday. So I changed direction a bit and decided that I wanted to be a teacher. I've been wanting to be a teacher since about sixth grade and I haven't change my mind about it.

Until now.

I think that I want to do something with photography. I would love to shoot for National Geographic and get to travel.

Which is where my dilema comes in. There are pros and cons to each occupation, and I don't know which I'd rather choose to live with. I have ONE life, and that's it, so I have to pick right. If I screw up, that's too bad.

I think being a teacher may be more fulfilling because I would get to work with kids and influence the future.

But then again, I would LOVE to travel the world, and I LOVE photography. I would LOVELOVELOVE to do something like that.

But it's like... ugh. I'm so confused now. I thought I had everything figured out and now my life is up in the air again. I was going to go to SRU and major in history and minor in music and teacher later elementary school or middle school. That was the game plan. Now I don't know anymore. D:

I want to do some more research on becoming a photographer as a career. To me it seems so out of reach. Like the equivilent of planning on being a stay at home mom or a pop star.

So does anyone have any info on becoming a photographer as a certain career? Like what would I need to go to school for, how long, where would I need to start job searching...?

Is it possible for me to be a photographer for a decade or two and if I get bored switch to teaching? Would I have to do college all over again?

Ugh. I need a new plan.

So basically discuss:

• Career opportunities for photographers
  
• Schooling for future photographers
  
• Teaching
  
• Life fulfillment
  
• Future careers in general
  

Thanks in advance?

 

[giraffagotchi]

First of all, it is normal to change your mind about what you want to do with your life. I still don't know what I want to do deffo and I'm choosing my GCSE options in a year!

Remember, with teaching, that you will have a LOT of responsibility. You wouldn't just be stood up and getting people to learn stuff; you would have pastoral care (making sure the general well-being of a pupil is good outside of school), a lot of guidelines to follow, lots of schoolwork to mark, targets to reach, pupils who don't want to learn, to maintain discipline and to deal with parents who may not be willing to help you help their child i.e. if you want to help them with their Science but the parents and child don't think the subject is important.

Photography sounds great too. Coincidently, my best friend is torn between Forensic Science and Photography. She says she would love to do animal photography like you said, but she has an eye for detail and she is so patient it's unbelieveable! This is why she thinks that she would be good at Forensic Science. Maybe this is a Head vs. Heart decision for you: your head might want to stick with teaching because you have wanted to do that for a while now, and your heart may want you to do photography because you know/feel that you'd be good at it and enjoy it?

I know that, at my school anyway, you would take Art at GCSE and then Photography at A-Level if you wanted to do Photography as I discussed it with my friend that I mentioned above. With teaching, I think that you have to do quite a few years of hard work on teacher training courses. If you do decide to continue with teaching, remember: as soon as you meet a new set of people or a class (as a teacher), don't lose the respect. When you meet a new teacher (as a pupil) and they take control and don't stand for bad behaviour, the class will not (usually) step out of line. If someone comes in and lets the class get away with too much too soon, or they don't discipline the pupils enough if they behave badly, then the respect for the teacher is lost. If that happens to you as a teacher, it will not be easy to gain the respect back.

Like you said, do some research on photography. Look at things like the salary, how easy it would be to apply and get a job (i.e. if there is much competition), the working hours, if you could do it part-time if you left to have a baby, say, and you want to do reduced hours in the same profession, any perks to the job such as bonuses, good pensions (boring, I know, but it's important!), how much leave you would get per year etc. Do the same for teaching and compare the two!

Another little test you could do, which I find very useful in making decisions, is to 'tell' yourself what you are going to do. For instance, if I said to you: "You are going to be a teacher and that is the end of it.", would you be happy, sad, relieved etc. If I said to you: "You are going to be a photographer, no discussions.", how would you feel? Get my drift? This can trick your mind into revealing your true wishes, so try it!

Career websites can be very helpful. Try searching 'career quizzes' on the internet and see whether teaching or photography appear in your results. The feeling that you get if only one is there may be the same as the one you get from the test above. If you feel that you have answered the questions truthfully and neither has appeared, maybe neither if right for you...

I know this a long post ( ), but I know that you want to be happy, and believe me, I have had a lot of these sort of discussions with the people closest to me. I think a career is something that you need to love because you may spend 25+ years of your precious life working.

You can always switch careers if you feel you've picked the wrong one. It may be harder to switch into teaching though because of the extensive training, but anything's possible! Good luck, and if you want any further advice or help, please PM me and I'll reply as soon as I can.

Giraffagotchi

 

[Cinderpelt]

Thanks! That helps a lot.

I'm going to just try not to think too hard about it right now and take some career quizes and see what they say. ;3

 

[Miss Matchmaker]

Maybe you can teach photography all over the world? It sounds like a stretch, but it's possible.

Well, you do have time to figure it out, I think you're about a year older than me. And take some career quizzes. ;]

 

[.:VeganCheeseBurgerFTW:.]

There's a personality trait quiz somewhere that can match your personality traits which include 4 main traits and it matches all those to careers that would suit you.

I think mine turned out well as it matched me to 3 I'd really want to do and the one I've wanted to do since I was young.

I'll try to find it for you.

 

[Mazeay]

Yeahh.. we read about John Isaac and it made me like, really want to be a photogtapher.

I think you should just give yourself some time and see what happens in a few years, if you still want to do that. Maybe there are some jobs that involve children and photography. When my friend was little, they went to this award winning family photographer. It was a really nice picture, they were all little toddlers and he took a really nice picture of them walking on the beach. He takes really good pictures of children and families and he makes lots of money, too n_n

Your mind could probably change in a few years. I used to want to be a clown, then a psychologist, a writer, then a director, and now an entrepreneur. You never know what's going to happen.

 

[Cinderpelt]

I think you should just give yourself some time and see what happens in a few years, if you still want to do that.

I have about two years until I need to make up my mind. That's not that much time! ;~;

Haha but thanks.

 

[giraffagotchi]

Do you mean that you are choosing GCSE-type options or that you are choosing a degree?

Giraffagotchi

 

[fluffums]

I have about two years until I need to make up my mind. That's not that much time! ;~;
Haha but thanks.

I know many, many people who had absolutely no idea what they wanted to do until they were a junior in college (which is when you need to start picking your major). My father was absolutely convinced he was going to be a lawyer until then, but he ended up being a business man and is very happy with his choice. It is also possible to change careers later in life.

Teaching requires a lot of training. You will most likely have to go to graduate school after you finish college if you want to be a teacher. Although it is possible to become a teacher when you are older, it will be harder. Unless you happen to be married to someone who has quite a bit of money, you will need to keep working at whatever job you have at the time as well as take teaching courses and then attend graduate school. (You will not have to completely redo college, just get teaching qualifications).

Photography isn't an easy job either. Although you would like to work for National Geographic, there are only a limited amount of jobs one company can give. Only a few people actually make it big in photography and are able to do the type of work you are thinking about.

Don't worry about it too much. You literally do have years to decide.

 

[Cinderpelt]

Teaching requires a lot of training. You will most likely have to go to graduate school after you finish college if you want to be a teacher. Although it is possible to become a teacher when you are older, it will be harder. Unless you happen to be married to someone who has quite a bit of money, you will need to keep working at whatever job you have at the time as well as take teaching courses and then attend graduate school. (You will not have to completely redo college, just get teaching qualifications).
Photography isn't an easy job either. Although you would like to work for National Geographic, there are only a limited amount of jobs one company can give. Only a few people actually make it big in photography and are able to do the type of work you are thinking about.

Don't worry about it too much. You literally do have years to decide.

Photography doesn't have many opportunities which is what worries me. There aren't many opportunities as a teacher either, but there are more, and there will always be a need for teachers.

I'm taking photography in school next year, so I'll see how it goes and if I'm still interested.

I've had a lot of experience and field work in the child care area, so I know what I'd be dealing with if I were to be a teacher in the future. I volunteer at a day camp every summer, and although it's hard, I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything.

So I think I'm leaning towards teacher?

Thanks.

 

[giraffagotchi]

I'm taking photography in school next year, so I'll see how it goes and if I'm still interested.
I've had a lot of experience and field work in the child care area, so I know what I'd be dealing with if I were to be a teacher in the future. I volunteer at a day camp every summer, and although it's hard, I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything.

So I think I'm leaning towards teacher?

Thanks.

Yeah, I get what you mean. With the teaching thing though, you need to think about what age you want to deal with. I don't know how old the kids are at the summer camp thing, but they might not be a true representation of the age group. Just something to consider...

Good idea taking photography next year; you'll get to see if you like it. Like someone above said, there are not a lot of opportunities there, but, if you really take to it and want to do it professionally, anything is possible! Remember that...

Giraffagotchi

 

[Streetlights.]

I'm still young, but I had this idea. It might not be a very good one, but you know. It's worth a shot. ;]

If you went somewhere beautiful or exotic like Africa etc., to teach children or help look after them, you could take some good pictures as well.

That way, you're helping children, educationally and health-wise, so you'll get your child care thing in, and you get to do your photography business!

It sounds even more stupid now I've written it down, but I thought it was something. D: