From the time we started school we often got asked this same question, ‘what do you wanna be when you grow up?’, now the question is slightly different, ‘what are you gonna do with a degree in photography?’, ‘what kind of job can you get with that?’.
We all want to find that certain job that we can also continue to make our own art while being happy doing what we love. We want a job that will also support our expensive hobby.
Here is a site that will give you an idea of what you can do with your photography BFA:
In order to find that special job you enjoy doing, we have decided to give you some sites that will help you with your search:
1.) This site lets you search photography jobs by state or keyword. It lists the job title, location, and date it was posted for each job. When you click on a job it brings up a description along with its requirements.
2.) This site lists the current jobs by keyword and location. When you click on a job it offers you get the chance to choose to receive email alerts for other similar jobs.
3.) This site also offers the jobs currently available by location and type. You can search by state, occupation, or field. Unfortunately there is a monthly fee of $8.95 for an account, but they do offer a money back guarantee.
4.) This sites allows you to search based on the job and your location/ zip code. It has a filter bar which includes options of location, company, title, and distance from your living situation. In order to begin your search you'll need to enter some contact information.
5.) This site connects you to photography jobs based on your experience. It allows you to search internships, entry level jobs, all the way to senior level jobs. This site also charges a fee for an account which varies depending on how many months you want access to the site.
Hopefully this information is helpful for every one and at least gives every one a starting point in finding that special job that they will love to do.
-Steph and Mel
Yes! This is amazing. Something that I've always struggled with as I'm sure we all have. I can't seem to get past the four basic jobs that I know about...commercial, documentary, educational, and fine art. Hopefully these will help out more than most that just seem to give you tons of spam every week. This is definitely something that we need to look into. I'm sure that we all will use these links at some point.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger, the question "What do yo want to be when you grow up?" was the easiest question to answer, whether that answer was ballerina, teacher, astronaut, or photographer. It never mattered how unrealistic the things I wanted to be were, I always had some sort of an idea. But now, whenever people ask me what I'm going to do when I graduate, my answer is always "Live in a box forever." or "I have absolutely no idea." As I get closer to being a real person, I'm getting more and more freaked out about finding a job, and more importantly, a job that doesn't make me feel like I've wasted four years and thousands of dollars. I think one of my biggest issues is that I don't know what all of the options are. I definitely know what I don't want to do, but I don't feel like I know what jobs there are that I can do and will like. These websites have already given me a few ideas of the options that are out there. So maybe next time my dad tries to have a serious talk with me about how I made a mistake coming to art school, I'll be able to shoot him down!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to live the rest of my life the way I do here, with all of the equipment I need right at my fingertips to make work that means something to me, something I'm passionate about, and of course the amazing community of artists that I so desperately cling to. Unfortunately, that will all have to come to an end much sooner than I ever could have expected. It looks like it's time to enter the real world and start searching for jobs. What a hard thing to do, to find the right job. I'm terrified that the job I choose will cause me to lose interest in or the energy for advancing my own personal work. What would I do without my art?
ReplyDeleteI won't even question it because I know the answer is too grim.
Sorry to bog you all down with my dramatics, but this is an extremely important issue. How do you decide what you want to do with the rest of your life? Why do you need to decide? Can't we just live each day from one moment to the next?
as photographers, we have many ways of using our knowledge to do many different things. we could help sell a product, we could help an actress get a part in a movie, we could solve a crime, or we could prove a point. the list is essentially endless. the sky's the limit to what we could actually photograph. this got me thinking outside the box... astrophotography- think about getting paid to take pictures for NASA using a telescope o_O
ReplyDeleteor what about crime scene photography? wouldnt that be a wild way to put our knowledge to use...
This is the one thing I've been needing to do the most. I would like to pretend I have longer than 2 months left here, but I am far past the point of ignoring it. I am about to enjoy (work through) the last break I will ever have in college, or ever for that matter. Strangely enough I have the same helpless feeling and unanswerable question of “what are the next four years of my life going to be like” that I had the last week of summer before I made my way to Philadelphia. I have been asked the dreaded question "What are you doing when you graduate?" more times I am comfortable with, with no good answer for anyone that's asked. Time to suck it up. I can't play the student card forever (as much as we would all like to). This post is perfect for me right now because I no longer have an excuse to keep putting it off. The staring contest I'm having with these links is one I'm not going to win. Well played. Sooo here it goes...
ReplyDeleteThis question is something I think about every single day of my life. It is unavoidable.. I would love to think that as soon as I exit college and enter the "real" world that I would be lined up with photography jobs, but that is unrealistic of me. Truth is, I'll probably be working in a factory for a year saving up money just to accomodate my student loans. Sadly, I find myself thinking about how the hell I am going to pay back my student loans more than thinking about my future career. I know that there are endless possibilities in the photo world, there is so much we can do with a photography degree... but my trouble is finding my way there. It is an overwhelming thing to think about, "how do I GET THERE?". Luckily, I have a year left to utilize our facilities. WIthin the next year I plan on printing as much as I can (making editions of work), scanning in all of my negatives using that glorious high res. scanner :) , and familiarizing myself with the equipment that is put in our hands for use and exploration. As of right now that's all I can do, get better and learn as much as I can - knowledge of all this equipment is going to greatly benefit all of us. Hopefully I find an internship within the next year as well... I need that.
ReplyDelete"how do I GET THERE?"
DeleteWhat a question.
these sites have to potential to be very helpful, but i didn't see much of interest to me from just glossing over them. Im sure that if I spent more time on them I would find something useful or interesting. I normally don't trust sites that want your information or that you have to pay to be part of. I am extremely excited to get out their and get working, but I guess i need to find a gig first. Over break I did my first real paying photo job, and it was amazing! I loved every second of it. It forced me to problem solve and apply everything I have learned in the past few years. it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in a long time. I think I really need to start looking for jobs in more places and open my mind to what I think I will enjoy. I also would like to figure out what jobs are great opportunities and what jobs are a waste of time and energy and are basically just taking advantage of us with out a real return.
ReplyDeleteThese questions of "what will we do after school", I think, haunt all of us. Now that we are getting so close to truly "leaving the nest" we freak out and think that we wont be able to fly, but when time comes I think we'll realize that we have learned enough that we can enter this "real" world and "fly". These sites are a very helpful way of possibly beginning a search for a job in the photography world. I sometimes panic about these questions, but I am slowly coming to the realization that everything will be ok. I know that whatever happens after school I will always consider myself an artist because I know that whatever I end up doing for a career I will continue to produce work even if its just for myself.
ReplyDeleteI've tried these sites before with no luck. It just seems so impersonal through the hiring process. I really don't think a website is the best way of finding a job, maybe in a few years it might be, but I believe that networking and face to face contact or a phone call are true the best ways of job hunting. They don't usually leave a phone number for you to call and introduce yourself - something I really like doing when I hand in an application and how I've gotten all my past jobs.
ReplyDeleteAnd then you send them your e-mail address and they do nothing but spam you.
I'll see how I feel about them when I'm jobless. Haha.
But at the moment, I feel pretty content having a job- even though it isn't photography related and somewhat art related- that allows me to fund my passion for photography as well as gives me the time and flexibility to work on my art, which I believe is important. And it allows photography to be an escape and a go to hobby instead of one I dread and dislike because I'm around in 24/7. Right now, I like this separation between work/making money and art as a hobby. But again, we'll see how I feel in a few years. :P
What will I do after school? This question used to scare me a lot more than it does now. I have a consistent job now, in which I set my days according to necessity, I understand the inner workings, and I placed myself in a position in which my bosses know I have a handful of skills which none of my coworkers possess. This is my fallback job, but don't be confused, it is not what I plan to continue with. I can live off of my new wage, provided I work full time, and that's nice,but that's not what I'm looking for.
ReplyDeleteIn the short term, I'd like to try out a handful of internships, I'd love to be an assistant, I'd love to be doing my own work, I'd love to travel, but right now I am in search and build mode. Seek and Destroy, if you will. For the future, I'm trying to keep all of my options open. Not too long ago, in my numbered days of graphic design, we had a head hunter come in. How she attained that position was through doing countless internships AFTER she graduated college. She never stated the direct connection, but that's how life is a lot of the time.
You know where you want to go, you know where you're comfortable to be, and you're sure you have the determination, so honestly right now I am all about finding my way as I go along. There's a light at the end of a pitch black maze,and I'm groping the walls. The closer I get, I'm sure the clearer things will be.
To answer the actual blog more clearly, I don't know if these sites will help in my search, but it's another option I am not scared to try out, because we really can't be scared of these thing to keep on going. I may never go along with what's in them, or I might, and nothing may ever turn up from any, but I appreciate another option to be out there on the table.
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