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January 9, 2007 6:22 PM

Do you know of any resources that give information on "niche" careers, preferably with personal anecdotes? Or even just career advice?

I'm a sophomore in college and I'm still waffling on what I want to do when I graduate. My parents are concerned about what I intend to do with my English major. I've argued that you can do anything with said major, but they still worry.

I'm not quite sure what career path I want to follow. I'm thinking that a career guide (or a site with information about crazy niche jobs) will help center my focus. I'd like to think that I could wing right out of college--y'know, become a advertising copywriter or cake decorator or sound collector--but who knows?

If anyone knows of a guide (preferably online!), that'd be awesome. I don't think this question has been asked before; if it has, I'm sorry! I'll comb through the archives.

posted by ElectricBlue to Work & Money (8 answers total)

Take a personality test that results in career guidance.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:41 PM on January 9, 2007

Not online, but this book by Edwards & Edwards I found very helpful when I wanted to find different work and work from home. The authors did a lot of original interviews with the anecdotes you're looking for. The book's a bit old, but I recall looking at another book of theirs also with a lot of original research. Different from most job/career books I've seen. Sounds like you have not done any kind of search yet, as copywriter involves selling your soul to advertising; and sound collector involves being poor but happy, I think. Quite a range there.
posted by Listener at 6:46 PM on January 9, 2007

This one's a reference, so I don't know if it will suit you, but you can browse it online and it's got tons of info: the Occupational Outlook Handbook, put out by the US Department of Labor.
posted by daisyace at 6:51 PM on January 9, 2007

This is the prime moment in your life for trying on jobs and discarding them if they don't fit well. It's called "internships." I know way too many bright English majors who've spent their first few years out of college as assistants (modern-euphemism for "secretary") to recommend that you graduate without any kind of plan in mind. You can always reject the plan or change the plan later, but try a few things and at least come up with some kind of a plan now. Unless you like the idea of becoming a secretary, which is a perfectly respectable career path, I guess.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 7:30 PM on January 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

Seconding what croutonsupafreak suggests - internships will give you the best idea of whether a career is right for you, and will make it so much easier for you come senior year when you are looking for full-time jobs.
posted by btkuhn at 4:40 AM on January 10, 2007

I'd emphasize crouton's advice: Get into one particular thing. If you want to be a food writer, start writing about - i don't know - Meyer Lemons, blog about Meyer Lemons, photograph Meyer Lemons, become obsessed with Meyer Lemons, become an authority on Meyer Lemons. You can always change your mind and become obsessed with something else later. The important thing is not to learn about Meyer Lemons, but about how to become obsessed with something and share your obsessions with others in a productive and creative way.

And I liked Po Bronson's book, though its a little more about mid-life changes than getting started.
posted by RandlePatrickMcMurphy at 5:36 AM on January 10, 2007

It might not be quite what you are looking for but the book Gig: Americans Talk about their Jobs is a great collection of regular people (and a few famous people) talking about their jobs. It's a good read, although it's not exactly a career guied.
posted by donajo at 9:47 AM on January 10, 2007

Oh, and I second the internship advice. You don't want to leave university with a liberal arts degree, no non-retail or food service work experience, and no clear picture of where you are going. Trust me on that. If you have a hobby (cake-decorating or sound collecting or making up jingles, etc), that you think you might be able to turn into a career, try to get an internship or apprenticeship while you are still in college.
posted by donajo at 9:54 AM on January 10, 2007