Welcome to the Futurewise blog. You can see all our latest stories here, or click on the year groups at the side to see posts that are specially catered for each year group.
One of life’s greatest satisfactions is being able to do what you want in terms of a career. As we grow up we develop our own interests and passions but how many of us end up seeing these through to adulthood and our professional lives? We all have an idea of what our dream job is but making that a reality can be an upward struggle. Research conducted last year by Investors in People (IIP) found that 60% of people were not happy in their current roles, which is a significant fraction given that our jobs are a big part of our lives. Whether you’ve always wanted to start your niche business or join the ranks within high demanding industries, we have rallied some of our experts and their advice, which will hopefully inspire you to take that next step towards the career you’ve always wanted.
Wedding Photography
Whenever I teach, the first thing I tell people is that the most important thing about photography is who you are –I always see a lot of puzzled looks on people’s faces and I don’t blame them! But while it’s important to understand the technical elements of photography, for example you should know your F-stop from your shutter speed, but it’s really important to find your own style. Whenever I hit the shutter, a piece of me goes in there as well and this does become your style. If we all get consumed by this becoming a business and the passion takes a back seat, your eye and imagery changes
Coding
‘I would say the only way you are going to know if you have a passion for something is if you try it. Start out by picking an online course, once you’ve done that, or instead of that there’s meet ups happening all over the UK which focus on learning how to create a website in a day or something like that. I would also recommend going on a face to face course. If you know anyone in the industry, get an hour with them, meet them for lunch and just have them show you what it’s all about.’
Dressmaking
‘The only way we’ll get more men stitching is to forget about those barriers. Believe me guys we’re an underrepresented demographic at the moment! I assure you patterns are just a logical construction process and a sewing machine is basically a power-tool. I promise you, there’s no way you’ll get more brownie points than making someone a unique garment of their own.’
Gemmologist
Trust your eye and remember precious minerals are finite so are inherently valuable; so if they are well designed, they will in turn be desirable and more commercially valuable. Plan your career but remain versatile.’
Travel Writer
Don’t give up. Be persuasive and a bit pushy. If you’re at school, start a magazine. If you’re at university, write for the college newspaper. For newspapers or TV, get your foot in the door via work experience and internships, and then carve out your own role with hard work and ideas.’