From the “We Should Steal This Idea…” file, The Guardian has been running a series that is essentially the newspaper version of a career day, called “How Do I Become…”
I was originally attracted to the series when I saw the “How do I become…a set designer.” article. The series covers a lot of arts related careers, including ones you might not immediately think of like perfumer, embalmer and bellmaker.
With all the discussion these days about the cost of going to college, and whether attending is appropriate for everyone, a series like this that draws attention to a whole range of career options people might not immediately consider can prove a good resource.
The thing I really admire about the Guardian series is their ability to provide good summaries about the skills a person needs to acquire for each profession in the subtitles. I have done a number of career days for schools and it can be difficult to boil your job down to a few interesting words like:
“Preparing food, washing up, sweeping floors – start low but aim high and you might find yourself styling food for the big names.”
“Eyeballs and chipolatas should be fun-filled not fearful, in a profession where learning on the job is the only way to cut it.” (butcher)
“Filming is neither fun or glamorous, says cameraman Joel Shippey, which is why you need commitment, the right attitude and a love of people.”
“It’s taken more than a decade for David Stewart to learn how to ‘nose’ whisky, and that patience is a big part of being a malt master and blender”
It’s difficult to break in to and not for the faint-hearted, but the joy and excitement of dealing in gems provides ample compensation.
Obviously, one of my prime interests in a series like this would be to promote arts careers and bring people to a better understanding about what is involved with the jobs.
For as much as this may be a good idea, I am not exactly sure about what the right delivery channel would be. Given that newspapers are on the wane and aren’t read by a lot of young people approaching career decisions, a series like this would ideally be delivered online and through schools.
I am just tossing this out there to see if it sticks on anything or inspires anyone.
