General Chat / Dream Jobs

  • nin%s's Photo

    I wanted to make a topic regarding what people on NE do and what they want to do career-wise in life. We all share many common interests (rie. theme parks), yet I know the majority do not work nor plan to work in the same field.

     

    As many here know I'm really into art and movies and love comics and superheroes, so I'm hoping to break into the field sometime within the next few years. Not stopping until I'm published or shown to a widespread audience in someway, because while I love making work I really love seeing the reactions people make and seeing how my work affects people. And I want to get paid to draw Batman, because I'm going to keeping drawing him regardless of income or not.

     

    That said, while working for the "big two" (DC/Marvel) is the ultimate goal, working as a storyboard or concept artist for film is an ever-increasing interest as I'm very passionate about cinema and long to direct my own features, I just see traditional art being my way in.

     

    So, what is it you want to do? I think it would be cool to have this ongoing topic and every now and then maybe see someone actively making strides to accomplish said dreams. I'm attending a few comic conventions this year with a job in mind, bringing my portfolio around to show other artists and editors and hopefully make progress. It would be cool to see similar updates from everyone else here.

  • inthemanual%s's Photo

    I'm actually doing something pretty close to what I want to end up doing already. I'm a VR developer at a small company in the town I grew up in. I get to stay near my family, I've got a fun, engaging job which challenges me mentally and creatively, and it's got a great benefits plan as well. The downsides are that I'm not getting paid as much as I want, and that I don't have a whole lot of creative control over what I get to work on just yet, but both of these things will improve over time. 

     

    My 5-10 year plan includes going back to school for my PhD, and possibly becoming a professor in game programming and doing games research for a university. 

  • Sulakke%s's Photo

    I hope to finish my master in aquaculture before the end of the calendar year. Not entirely sure what is coming next. There are not a lot of aquaculture job opportunities in the Netherlands, so I'm probably going to look for jobs abroad as well. I always thought that your work location is just as important as your actual job. A decent earning but relaxed job in a safe and warm country would be my dream job. The Mediterranean countries would comply with this, and there are far more job opportunities for my sector there. When I started realizing this, I've been rapidly improving my French and Spanish and recently started learning Portuguese as well. The relaxed atmosphere and the climate in these countries always appealed to me and what is more beautiful than to live and work in a country where you used to go on vacation?

    Another option would be looking for a job in the USA, but it is much harder to find one in the States than moving within the EU. And I think that is going to worsen in the upcoming years.

  • FredD%s's Photo

    I just work in a supermarket. Lidl. Not my dreamjob by far, but it pays and have a good amount of free time which I'll use next school year to study on my own in order to get a better job in the future.

     

    Dream job... So many. Always wanted to be an astronaut lol, but of course that's so impossible. But a man may dream... More realistic is director of a theme park. And I always hoped to go abroad. If not during my work career, it will be after I retire. 

  • Maverix%s's Photo

    I guess I'll be the first to say Coaster Designer.  Been my dream since I was about 8 years old.  Most of you may know I am currently working at Dollywood as an intern/ ride-op, but this is more to get my foot in the door in the field.  I've already meet tons of awesome people and made some great connections.  I will be finishing up my Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering in the fall and plan to attend IAAPA in November to try and get myself on the market as an available, young, eager coaster designer.  

     

    It's very weird now that it has been a dream for so long and now I am actually close to the point where I can think about really making it a reality.  Not sure exactly where the path will lead to get there but it is the end goal.  I just have to hope I can get there sooner rather than later!

  • Sulakke%s's Photo

    Maverix, which coaster engineering company would you be your absolute number one?

  • Maverix%s's Photo

    Absolute number one would probably be either RMC or GCII.  Mainly because they are both based in the US.  I know there are plenty of other companies that have office's in the US so I'm looking everywhere, but I from what I've seen, RMC and GCII both seem like amazing companies to work for.

  • csw%s's Photo

    I don't know about your school, but mine has a Theme Park Design club that is mostly comprised of MEs. You should look into what clubs/groups of a similar kind might exist at your school. At the very least it would look good on a resume. 

  • Maverix%s's Photo

    I've looked and sadly there aren't any :(  Although being close to Dollywood and working there has basically filled that need.

  • dr dirt%s's Photo

    Right now the dream job isn't necessarily a job as so much as a series of things I'd like to accomplish.  Somewhere in my mind these connect to each other, but in actuality they probably have a no bearing on the next one.  I'm leaning towards going into family medicine and hopefully have my own practice, although the industry seems to be shifting away from that.  I'm interested in returning to a small community and want to start some type of community-based program to benefit health and use that to write nonfiction on the link between public policy and health.  In my mind, that should serve as a springboard to a small-time political career and help me publish some additional nonfiction and open the door to dabbling in fiction.

     

    Obviously, this requires the stars to align, but I can dream..

  • Xeccah%s's Photo

    i want to be a socialite who does ketamine at 10 in the morning

  • inthemanual%s's Photo
    Dr Dr dirt
  • That Guy%s's Photo

    Probable - I'm looking to become a construction site superintendent/project manager, hopefully for a company that does more sustainable practices. I'd eventually like to work my way into owning my own construction/renovation firm that emphasizes on eco-friendly practices and embraces construction technology. I think sustainibility is the way of the future for the US, and could be a very lucrative niche if I play it right. I've always dreamed of being a business owner so hopefully things fall into place once I get more field experience.

     

    Realistic - It's more of a stretch but working my way into a contractor that builds rollercoasters would be immensely satisfying work for me. I for the most part dropped my goals of being involved in the theme park industry, but of course I would take the door that leads back into it in a heartbeat if it made sense. I suppose that contractor positions are probably less sought after than actual structural and mechanical positions, so I think my odds are slightly better. Even so, it's a tough niche to get into so I'll keep it in the back of my head as a "if it works out" sort of deal. Plus, to my understanding most coaster designers just pick a local contractor to build it anyway, and most don't have their own designated teams.

     

    Dream - Disney imagineer of course! However, given my current choice of education I would have to return to school, become immensely talented, and win the hiring lottery while I'm at it. There's many reasons that this is a dream, but it never hurts to keep them in mind.

  • nin%s's Photo
    Being an imagineer is a lost dream for mine. Working at Disney and seeing how things move internally kind of shut the door for me a bit. Still love the blue sky stuff and it goes along with my art goals, but realistically it's a tough gig to really set your sights on. Between that and the other stuff I want to do, I basically have to pick on to really focus on and superheroes won over theme parks.
  • Austin55%s's Photo

    Urban developer. I love to look at cities and think "this could be better". Being an architect would be cool, but telling the architects what to do would be even better, and if at the end of the day you improve a neighborhood or city someway, all the better. Why aren't I doing this? Cause it takes fuckloads of money to start out with. 

  • RCT2day%s's Photo

    Doing mechanical engineering at school now, so anything in the automotive industry would be cool.  But the dream job is to be an Imagineer or a designer for GCI. I've been looking into internships for next summer.

  • Faas%s's Photo


    Urban developer. I love to look at cities and think "this could be better". Being an architect would be cool, but telling the architects what to do would be even better, and if at the end of the day you improve a neighborhood or city someway, all the better. Why aren't I doing this? Cause it takes fuckloads of money to start out with. 



    I want to be what Austin wants to be. It helps that I mastered in Urban Geography and that each square meter of Dutch soil is planned and has a destination. 

    However, right now I'm still  young and focusing on doing some work that benefits my community. I work at a foundation that is active in my city as well as other major student cities in the Netherlands, where children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods are teamed up with a team of volunteer students that help them brainstorm about their neighbourhood and help them to make and carry out plans that will benefit their livelihood. During these projects the children also get to know students and student life, to stimulate them to do their best at school and envision a brighter future for themselves. I coordinate these projects in my city with some coworkers by training and coaching the students, and keeping in touch with the schools and other local institutions. 
  • Dimi%s's Photo

    I think sustainibility is the way of the future for the US


    Obviously, unbelievable that that's even a question...

    I'm finishing my master in urban/spatial planning at the moment. Belgium is the complete opposite of the Netherlands when it comes to spatial planning. We're often called the ugliest country in the world because basically there hardly was any spatial planning until the late 90s. It's a mess and I want to change that. Not from a design-persepctive like Austin and Faas though. I'm kinda specialising in mobility policy so I'd love to get a job in that field, and help to (re)connect mobility and urban planning to create a less car-dependent future for my country with more liveable cities and towns.
  • Faas%s's Photo

    That sounds cool as well. I just want to improve the urban environment people live in by making spatial adjustments. I don't care from what perspective it is actually. 

  • Austin55%s's Photo

    DImi- Sustainability here isn't really thought of in probably 90% of new construction, its really considered a niche practice at the moment. 

    Transportation would be fun to. May I suggest- roller coaster based transit?

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