"I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."
-Stephen Leacock
Yeah, I totally had a different post for today, but Steve’s post yesterday was tres inspiring. So read his post if you haven’t already and then come back here.
Welcome back. To measure your progress, you need to go by factors specific to the kind of job you want. That means you’ll be watching for different things from what other profans measure themselves by. As a general rule, networking and developing relevant skills are always important. But what about measuring how your efforts are paying off? There’s no standard way to tell. In some fields, like science, you’re best off volunteering and landing yourself an internship if a real job isn’t possible yet. However, in writing or film, doing volunteer work for a bigshot might actually hold you back*. In that field, you’re better off amassing a pile of writing and then freelancing (probably for free at the start) because that lets you show off your work**.
I have found that my efforts pay off most when it looks like nothing is happening. Working for free while getting out there has proven more useful than getting a bit of money while staying unknown. Also, remember that accomplishment and time commitment don’t necessarily sync up. Showing a script to an industry bigshot takes about a minute, while writing said script can take ages and talking your way up to seeing said bigshot takes even longer. The most valuable things you can do might be totally invisible, depending on your field. This is when people will criticize you for being lazy or waiting idly for a lucky break. You can explain to them, politely, that you’re hard at work making your own luck***.
In measuring your progress, the questions you ask yourself will vary with the exception of one: “What is important to me?”
Remember, being a Geek 2.0 isn’t about building your career. It’s about building your life. Therefore, the way you approach your career has got to fit in with the rest of the things you want.
Let’s take, for example, education. If you want to prolong your stay in academia, that points you in the direction of careers where a Masters or PhD are required. If you’ve had it up to your mortarboard with college, then look at careers where your Bachelor’s Degree is enough. No matter what your educational level, there is a job that relates to your interests. Of course, your options and chances of getting said job and the amount of money you’ll earn at it are going to vary, but if we’ve learned anything in the Great Recession, it’s that nothing is set in stone.
Now, this might sound like the total opposite of what your high school guidance counsellor told you. May I remind you that that person grew up to be a high school guidance counsellor. True, if you have a specific job in mind, then you ought to follow the path that is mostly likely to take you there. However, if you only know what you want your job to involve, then you’re actually doing yourself a favour by enjoying the ride. Not only will you be on your way as of…right now, you will also open yourself up to many more possibilities than you thought of or were advised on. It’s a jungle out there, and there are some things you have to see for yourself.
Investing your time in developing skills that are seemingly unrelated to a specific job, for no other reason than you want to, isn’t a waste of time. Some people may say it is, in which case, politely tell them that it’s those extra skills that will set you apart from the crowd of people clamoring for the same job.***
Remember that the Fabulous Firsts weren’t formally trained in their occupations – how could they have been if the job didn’t exist until they invented it? Your profan job won’t be limited to the kinds of things you put on a traditional resume. It will involve everything you’ve got. After all, that’s what being a Geek 2.0 is all about; creating a niche for yourself that lets you use your heart and soul. So ask yourself what is most important to you, not just on the job, but in your life. Then live the life you want and build your job around it. That certainly sounds like progress to me.
*It depends if you actually get to talk to the bigshot and their contacts or not.
**I had a bunch of volunteer jobs for several film organizations, but I actually had to sign a form that effectively said “I solemnly swear not to bug the celebrities.” Networking of any kind was not allowed.
***Or flip them off.
- Tamara Hecht