> the type of person who pursues a career in acting always believes they will be the one-in-a-million exception
Certainly there are a lot of things like this in the US, too. But it's not clear to me that these people are irrational; in most cases they don't seem to have the peculiar skills (especially "technical" skills) that clearly point out a more secure and lucrative career path. And even for people with technical skills, it's popular to spend 10 years or so working in a succession of startups, hoping to score a million-dollar payout, before transitioning to a less interesting but more secure job with a boring established company.
Nice work Nigel. Especially this:
"Once you accept that reality, you can proceed to make clear-eyed decisions about maximising your options, income and ongoing employability."
Thanks, Rach, hope you're well. And good luck with the big content creators convention you've got in the works!
Thank you - it's a beast, but I'm wrestling it into submission :)
I'm sure you are!
Sign me up to the anti-ageism campaign!
Thank you for writing this, and may it be spread far and wide.
Thanks, Alison - I'll meet you on the barricades!
> the type of person who pursues a career in acting always believes they will be the one-in-a-million exception
Certainly there are a lot of things like this in the US, too. But it's not clear to me that these people are irrational; in most cases they don't seem to have the peculiar skills (especially "technical" skills) that clearly point out a more secure and lucrative career path. And even for people with technical skills, it's popular to spend 10 years or so working in a succession of startups, hoping to score a million-dollar payout, before transitioning to a less interesting but more secure job with a boring established company.