Tyler Smith
Pre-AP English 1 6th
November 4th, 2014
CAREER CHOICE COMPARATIVE ESSAY
Because of my pop-culture driven lifestyle, I have never dreamed of working in a field other than that of the media empire. Of the many jobs available in that category, three caught my specific attention: art director, record producer, and writer.
All of these jobs were chosen for a reason, each pertaining to an interest of mine. Art director was chosen for my artistic passion, record producer for my love of music, and writer for my fondness for fiction.
Having these jobs in mind, I inspected their individual income, schedule, required education, and overall benefits to make an attempt at discovering which was right for me.
ART DIRECTOR RECORD PROD. WRITER
| Average Salary | $80,880 | $48, 858 | $55,940 |
| Schedule | Full Time Weekday Job | Part Time or Full Time Job, common work on weekends | Part Time, workers set their own hours to meet deadlines |
| Required Education | Bachelor of Arts or Fine Arts | Bachelor of Music Production | Freelance- none required, English degrees helpful for publishing cred |
| Job Benefits | Stable work environment, generally high position, overseeing abilities for product artstyles | Personal touch to products created, added recognition possibilities | Creativity-inspiring career with a free schedule and fair pay |
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/
Taking this information into account, the job I would deem to be the best for me would be the role of an art director, which involves supervising art direction of a product or project. This occupation boasts the highest salary, sitting at an average of $80,880, as well as only requiring a degree in Arts or Fine Arts, which would be multifunctional in use for future job search. I feel more attached to this line of work to boot, favoring traditional art and animation to music and literature.
My second choice lies upon the title of writer. By far, this job is the most flexible of the three, housing part-time schedules with no strict lines but deadlines, allowing for the setting of one’s own hours. When it pays, assuming that the book sells but isn’t acclaimed, it makes a comfortable $55,940 salary, right in middle class. However, getting a book published is reportedly difficult and stressful, with no guarantee of a decent profit.
Alas, the least of the jobs sits as record producer. These white-collar workers handle recording, mixing, and publication of musical tracks. I personally love music, as it is a big part of my daily life, but I feel I would lack the dedication to want to produce it. Music production for a record label company makes only $48,858 in comparison to my other choices, and working in such conditions would be the only chance of steady employment. This job also requires well-versed knowledge of MIDI structure and function as well, something that I lack the training for, and would have to get in addition to an expendable Music Production degree. I feel that this job does not offer much to me personally.
Though my opinions on each job have changed, for better or for worse, under intensive research, I am still heavily convinced on working in fields of entertainment. Pop-culture and entertainment media have always carried a large role to me, and I’ll always remember their impact.