People are multifaceted and complex. That’s why we tend to love stories about people struggling between two passions, only to find that both can be pursued and satisfied. The point is, people have wide and varied interests, and any of those interests can become a career, even the ones you might have been taught can’t be. While it can be challenging to find a job in a creative industry, it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible or that you only have one option. Today, we’re going to look at how you can find your niche within creative industries that will allow you to find a job that serves your economic and artistic needs.
Consider What You Want To Be Known For
You don’t need outrageous fame to have a career in the arts. Considering what you want to be known for essentially means thinking about what vision you have of your creative career. Do you want to be a famous novelist? Do you want to bring news to the people? Do you want to create visually stunning pieces of art? There are many different forms of creativity and hundreds of different ways to practise a specific form of creativity. The first thing you need to consider is what creative method appeals to you and then what form that method takes.
For example, you might want to create visual art. That’s your method. But what form do you want that visual art to take? Do you want to sculpt, paint, draw, or do digital art or performance art? This is supposed to be a period of experimentation. Do some research, follow some tutorials, and when you find something that looks like fun or tickles your brain, go get some cheap supplies and mess around. No pressure to find your niche yet; you’re just playing around and seeing what you like.
Take Your Other Passions and Interests into Account
So you want to be in a creative industry. Does that mean you have to be an artist? Or a sculptor? Does that mean you have to be the lead singer of a band?
Put simply, no.
Art and creativity are, first and foremost, mediums of communication. They’re not there just to look pretty (okay, well maybe some are), but the reason people create things is to express and share, and then that creates discussion.
In 1937, Pablo Picasso opened the International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life in Paris (an event meant to reflect the diversity of arts in Europe) with the controversial artwork Guernica. The unveiling caused a massive controversy because of the painting’s decidedly grim and counter-intuitive aesthetic to the spirit of the event. But what Guernica communicated (Picasso’s disgust with the Spanish rebels during the civil war allowing the Nazi party to bomb the town of Guernica) cemented the painting as one of the most famous anti-war messages in the world.
The point is that creativity isn’t just diddling around. It’s playing with what you want to say and how you want to say it. This is where what we said earlier about being multifaceted comes into play. You might want to have a creative career, but what do you want to do with that creativity?
Are you interested in current events and like to paint? Then become a painter who focuses on dialogue regarding social issues. What if you’re a passionate advocate for social justice and enjoy photography? Become a photojournalist. Maybe you love writing and want to explore a range of topics in a 9-5 environment. Take up content writing. Do you have audio-based interests like ASMR or podcasts, and also really like movies? Then become a sound designer!
Think about other things you love that you might be able to incorporate into a career. For example, if your creative passion is writing, and you also love sports, you might like to look into sports journalism degrees. These suggestions all blend the creative method with other interests, and that is a key step in discovering your “niche” in creative industries.
Think About How You Like To Work
You might be in your chosen profession for a long time, so it’s important to be familiar with how you thrive in your workplace. Do you enjoy working autonomously and alone? Are you an extrovert who thrives on near-constant interaction with others?
How you work will inform a lot about your decision, as your work environment will determine much of your job satisfaction in your day-to-day operations. If you don’t like your surroundings, and it’s a grating experience to be in the office all day every day, then it doesn’t matter how much you love your actual work – working will be a difficult experience.
If you like to be on the move, then consider positions that allow you to frequently leave the office and get involved, such as an investigative journalist or a wildlife photographer. If you prefer the stability of an office, then consider graphic design or editing. If you enjoy the hustle and bustle, becoming a content producer for a company might be more your speed.
Assess Your Current Skills
While exploring creative avenues for a career may be a wonderful opportunity to upskill, it’s more than likely that you already have some expertise that you can use to leverage a position for yourself in the job market. If you previously studied sociology or anthropology and you’re exploring your options in photography, then becoming a photojournalist or a photographer for a news website might be up your alley, combining your previous expertise with a new creative direction.
Everyone has multiple parts to them. Nobody is enveloped in a single interest or phenomenon their entire life, and you have a unique experience and perspective that deserves to be seen, a voice that deserves to be heard. If you find yourself wanting to explore your creativity and blend other passions of yours in a medium you find interesting, you owe it to yourself and the world to explore that.
