All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

 OK, so I had no plan.  I would just "do Art" and then something would show up.  Couldn't wait to get to Art College.  Had all the necessary accoutrements, portfolio, red hair, Doc Martens, a grant and a student rail pass.  But not a Career Plan.  Forgot to pack that somehow.

I'd always wanted to "do Art".  I loved the mesmerising focus of being absorbed into texture and paint and colour and shape.  I was good at it too.  But the dream had been squashed in favour of something more sensible, and it had to go on hold for 20 years.
So Art was always Unfinished Business, and at the age of 35, I decided to have another go at it.  3 years at Liverpool Poly, and a 2.2 at the end of it all.

Yes, it was fun - sometimes.  And yes, I found something out about my talent. I was not a commercial studio artist.

Careers advice?  One week in the third year, mostly directed to students with "real degrees" (engineering, maths, history).  A quick mention of the Princes Trust (too old).  Two girls from my year were offered a taster fortnight as an Art Teacher (why not me?).  And that was it.

So I went home and reconsidered.  I needed a job, and would have really liked a creative career - something to make use of my qualifications.  After all, I'd spent 3 years of my time and spent a lot of money (admittedly a lot on lager).  I didn't want this to be yet another Awful Career Mistake.

What to do next then? Our local university was affiliated with the Poly, so I went thre for some careers advice.  Simple question, really. "What do I do with a 2.2 in Textile Design?"  Not much forthcoming advice though, except to take an online career questionnaire.  I think it was called Cascade.  Lots of questions.

The career advice report was sent through to me after a few weeks.  Apparently my Two Top Career Options were ... Prison Warder ... and ... Museum Archivist.  Another example of technology triumphing over common sense.  It was a good party piece for a while though.  "Hey!  Guess what my Top Career is?  Prison Warder! Just call me Madame Correction!"

What kind of career advice are you getting?  Do you have a career plan that's going to work?   Have you explored, got creative with your options?

What's your Worst Career Advice ever?

That's it for now!  And let me know if I can help.

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.  Henry Ford