We're all about converting your dreams, and the knowledge you gained from your fandom activities, into all sorts of careers. But are there times when you shouldn't embrace a specific career your dreams led you to?
Yes, there are – and the careers in question are ones that are being pushed aside by a changing world.
Radio broadcasting. It pains me to write this, because being in radio was an old career dream of mine, but it's just not one I'd consider pursing right now. Conventional, on-air radio broadcasting is in a decline that may even end in its demise, thanks to technologies like Last.fm, iPods, the ability to burn your own CDs, etc.
Allen Sniffen, moderator of the New York Radio Message Board, had a very valid point in his Board Reflections podcast: New top 40 stations just aren't succeeding because teens aren't interested in radio anymore, they have other options to get their music. And if they're not interested in radio now, where does that leave the medium 20 years from now, when those teenagers are in their 30s – considered the prime targets for radio advertising?
If you're interested in radio, look into voice acting instead, or audio-based forms of new media – and you could always do a podcast as a hobby.
Independent music retailing. This is related to the previous one. EMI Records, the company that once launched the Beatles, dropped a bombshell this week when they announced they would only be shipping CDs to big-box retailers. The corner mom-and-pop music shop is on its way out, driven out by a one-two punch of Best Buy and iTunes – and it's no longer The Place To Get Music That's No Longer On Mainstream Radio, because cutting-edge tunes can be downloaded all over the Web.
If you want to share your knowlege of off-the-beaten-path music with people, again, audio-based forms of new media might be the career path for you.
Video stores - and that includes opening a franchise of Blockbuster, not just the mom-and-pop rental shop (do those even exist anymore? The last one around me closed a year or so ago). Cheap DVDs, Netflix and streaming video, even those dollar-a-day rental machines in grocery stores, have made the traditional video rental store obsolete. They're going, going and soon to be gone.
The career path for people inclined in this direction? No-brainer, it's streaming video, whether on the technical or marketing side.
There's plenty of new avenues for old-school skills and knowledge, you just need to find them. After all, look at how newsgathering is adapting to new media. Evolve, and you'll be just fine.
- Bonnie