Finding Your Niche

posted 12th October 2009    Written by: Robyn    CATEGORY: All Posts, Job/Career/Work, Quarterlife Crisis, Robyn, Season 1

park rangerAfter graduating from college, I visited my academic advising office where I took a career test in hopes of discovering the “right career” for me. One hundred questions later, I was told to be a marine biologist, a farmer, or a park ranger.

It took me about five minutes to cross those jobs off the list. First of all, I have an irrational fear of fish—not just sharks, but fish of any shape and size. Secondly, there is not much farmland in downtown Chicago. Lastly, there are not many parks in downtown Chicago.

I went back through my responses and paid special attention to the place where I put a check mark next to items I was passionate about. My list included: outdoors, nature, animals, and art. I attempted to think of a career that included all of these things, but in the end I found myself working for a global marketing company. Ultimately, I left myself no options except to choose between being broke or selling out to “the man” and getting a corporate job.

I was definitely too young to make this decision and now I find myself trying to turn my passions into jobs that actually pay the bills.

My inspiration is in the form of all the happy people out there who have jobs they love. Of course, the happiest people are those who have jobs that don’t seem so much like….well…jobs. These lucky people have found a way to use their talents and passions to make a living.

Most recently, my mother introduced me to the story of one of her friend’s sons, Rod. Rod is a man in his mid-twenties who is currently living in the Caribbean. His story has definitely inspired me to think outside the box and get creative when it comes to combining my future career with my passions.

Rod had been taking photos since he was a kid, and he knew that was exactly what he wanted to study in college once he graduated high school. He began taking photography classes, but found that he was learning techniques he had already mastered. After a semester, Rod dropped out of school and found a photographer to be his mentor. He worked as an unpaid photographer’s assistant in exchange for real world experience and knowledge from a working photographer. He learned more about advanced photography underneath his mentor than he had in his first semester of classes and was thrilled with his new knowledge after only six months of shadowing. He decided to go off on his own.

Rather quickly, Rod learned that it was hard to stand out among all the other photographers out there. He struggled to secure the kind of work he wanted, and he struggled to pay his bills. He questioned his career choice and whether he could make it work.

Then he decided to get creative. Rod knew he loved photography, and he knew that he needed to obtain an additional skill set so he could find his own little niche in the photography world. He combined his passion for traveling and water sports with his love for photography. He became a certified scuba diver and took a photography class that taught him to shoot underwater.

Now Rod is employed by a major swimsuit brand and paid to travel around the world, taking underwater photos for ad campaigns.

I hope that simple story inspires you to explore your own potential niche, like it has done for me!

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Comments (1)

One Response to “Finding Your Niche”

  • Heather Rae Says:
    October 12th, 2009 at 11:23 am

    What a great story! Thanks for sharing. It’s so nice to hear of people who think outside the box when creating careers that inspire them. I hope, one day, my story will be inspiring to someone too. :)

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