Dream Job: But How to Get There?

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A brief bio: I'm 27 and, frankly, behind the eight-ball in life. While I've been able to convince myself I'm only behind to the extent I took a few "years off" after high school, it's still not very comforting when I realize chances are I'll be 30 before I receive my bachelors degree.

The single biggest reason for this predicament is, perhaps, the most common one: I just have had no idea what I want to do.

But recently I recognized there's something that interests me very much; more than just about anything this side of "rock star." The trouble is, and the reason I'm making this post, now that I've found the idea, I don't have a clue what degree to pursue or how to go about breaking into this business.

An example of the kind of job I want would be "the guy who decides what bands get a record deal." Another example, "the guy who decides which script gets made into a movie." Basically, the term I've identified as representing what kind of career I'd like is "assessor." Guy who assesses stuff and decides if it's good or not: books, commercials, articles, movies, music, tv pilots, etc.

Video games is another thing. Who's the guy who plays the games and reports bugs, inconsistency, and general problems?

Anyway, I realize there's no job where one person would be doing all those things. But they all represent the same "skill"; and moreover they all present the same problem: I have no idea how to get any of those jobs. And this question becomes all the more pressing now that I'm about to transfer to the University of Michigan: until now I've been a simple "Liberal Arts" major, and I'm under pressure to change that to something that will direct me toward one of these careers.

Any thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated.

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I think you have to fine-tune your goals a little more, Nietzche. While there is some correlation between book publishing and the movies, the music business is a bit different and reviewing videa games before they go on the market is in an entirely different ball park. What it sounds like to me is that you want a "business" rather than "artistic" position in an art-oriented enterprise.

The person who decides what gets published and what doesn't is an editor. He may or may not be a good writer himself/herself, but certainly recognizes good writing and distinguishes between good and bad writing readily. H/she also knows what will sell and will frequently select manuscripts s/he personally thinks are garbage but that can be recognized as having potential attraction for a general audience. To get a job like that, you apply for any job at all at a book publisher's and work your way into a corner office and out of the cubicle.

If music is more your beat, you want to become an A&R person (A&R = Aartists and Repertoire). In this cutthroat business, it's best if you know someone.

As for what you should major in, you'll have to search your own heart for that. There is no one discipline that would prepare you for all of these careers adequately. The thing to remember is that a university is not a vocational school. It was never designed to teach a student a trade. Education is supposed to broaden your field of knowledge and understanding of the world. You might wish to major in English or even Philosophy to get a broader world-view. On the other hand, if your true interest is in the business end of publishing or movie making or recording, you might want to get away from the liberal arts and into business administration.

Good luck.

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Thanks. Frankly, that's exactly what I suspected and didn't want to hear. Nevertheless, you're most certainly correct in all you said.

Insofar as this thread has been featured, I suppose I'll set it up for the next person: Post questions relative to your long-term career goals here.