For as long as I remember, I’ve always switched between what I wanted to do when I grow up. My classic statement was, “I wanna be a singer!” That’s still true, but I want to do so much more than that. I have one issue though: I’m indecisive as hell, bruv. I can’t make a decision for the LIFE of me. I have a wide range of hobbies, interests and everything in between. I have zero clue as to how adults can go through life adulting and not doubt their career choices. It’s an extremely insane concept (to me, at least).
My dilemma has stretched to the point of me changing my minor a total of six times. I know, it sounds absolutely crazy. But the thing is, I don’t want to have to choose between any of the things I love to do. I can’t go through my life only having one thing to do for the entirety of my human existence on Earth. I have the constant habit of always keeping myself busy throughout daily life, so I fear if I only have one career I won’t be stimulated enough to actually enjoy it! To share my frustration with you lovely individuals, here are five career choices that I can’t choose between due to my current problem. (Keep in mind, the order of this list isn’t by which I want to do most.)
- Entertainment Lawyer
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Okay, so my family has a little history of lawyers. My grammy, Geraldine, and my mom, Kasinda, are both lawyers (yep, that means they’re Juris Doctors)! Meaning, it would be super crazy to go to law school and follow in their footsteps. My major is entertainment management, so being an entertainment lawyer sounds almost close to perfect.
Entertainment law includes topics such as copyright laws, production and distribution agreements, employment contracts, trademark, labor, defamation, privacy rights and so much more. The average salary of an entertainment lawyer is just around $80k-90k — that’s hella money! Not only that, but it includes two of my interests into one career. I can be a legal counsel for artists and record labels, contract and insurance lawyer, a general lawyer for a music label, etc. You’re more likely to work directly with the music label and artist(s) rather than in the courtroom unless you’re fighting a case and defending someone. So I honestly have to stan.
- Civil Rights Lawyer
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This career option is the same occupation but in a different area of law. Policy change and civil rights have always been interesting to me because of my involvement in social change and advocacy. Also, I have a particular interest in being a politician one day. Civil rights lawyers deal with social freedom and equality, human rights, justice for specific groups, discrimination, etc. This type of law interests me most because, in most cases, these types of lawyers are those who end up in positions representing the general public’s best interest at hand (such as being an elected governor, senator or representative for a state). The average salary is in the $100k range and can even be more! I would absolutely love this career due to my passion for being an advocate and voice for those who aren’t able to voice their concerns.
- Casting Director
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All my life I’ve been involved in the arts in some way. I’ve done musical theatre for about three and a half years, dance for five years, and choir for three years. I was always inspired by my musical theatre teacher, Ms. Sessions, to become some sort of director. I’ve been a performer since I could remember, so switching up the role I play in the arts is my next step. Of course, casting directors deal with auditions, picking the correct artists, groups, or musical acts that are going to be involved in entertainment events such as concerts, festivals, etc. I mainly want to focus on theatre and movies. The dream goal is to possibly be a casting director for a theatre company, theme parks (e.g. Universal or Disney), or movie company. The average salary of a casting director is around $70k. This job will allow me to contribute to my artistic interests in a different way!
- Social Change Advocate & Nonprofit
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This option has to be one of my favorites, but don’t let me brag too much because the other options on this article might get jealous. I absolutely love activism. I love advocating for social and civil issues, getting the community involved, and being that voice for others. I was involved in The Barb Schmidt Fellowship (activist dual enrollment course at FAU) during my senior year, started The Safe Sex Project with my amazing team in August 2018, and I continue to involve myself in different social interests in my college life.
The average salary of a social advocate or nonprofit owner is a really large range. Honestly, starting a nonprofit is complicated because there’s a bunch of paperwork and state rules, and it’s hard to start out with enough money to make a solid career out. However, if you’re passionate enough, you can make anything happen. There are a trillion issues in the world that need someone who is passionate enough to make a change happen. I want to be one of those people! Who cares about the money?
- Theatre Company Owner & Director
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Last, but most definitely not least, is opening my own theatre company. After graduating from high school and being in the musical theatre program for two years (shoutout to Ms. Session x2), I’ve always been inspired to own a theatre company. Also, a big passion of mine is having my own business. Being your own boss is the icing on the cake no matter what field of work you’re in. But, the work of starting your own business can be stressful. You have to be in charge of hiring an entire team, getting payroll, creating a budget, getting revenue and loans, creating an audience….do I need to go on?
Despite all of those struggles, the career itself is 100% rewarding when you finally take off. The main reason why I want to open a theatre company is that I want to inspire creativity and the passion for the arts for youth. The importance of arts education is dwindling by the second. I want to be the person to keep it alive because the arts made an impact on my life. The average salary for spans from $27k-150k and maybe even more. It all depends on the amount of work you put into it!
With this all being said: I’m just gonna do it all. I know it sounds absolutely crazy, but I think I can manage it all! I can switch between careers and meld them together if I wanted. So basically…don’t let anyone tell you that you only have to do one career. You can do absolutely whatever you want. It’s your life, boo!