It’s easy to find oneself swept up in the notion that working in new media will be somewhat of a career holy grail; bohemian, self-directed and intrinsically creative. The reality of course is that very few of us will be lucky enough to carve out a career on our own terms. Even fewer will make good money doing so.
Do we really have to choose one of the other?
Johann Piber
Dreamstime.com
I really valued the insights of Gill’s (2007) research which let me inside the minds of the people who have been there and done that in the world of new media. It is true, the realities pointed out, poor job security, low average pay and prevalent inequalities are food for thought. The flipside however, the overwhelming enthusiasm expressed by the Gill’s interviewees for their field reminded me of the passion that I was chasing when I first enrolled in my degree.
New Media Fridays 9am is a collection of the thoughts and ideas of my fellow students. 24 students of new media, with different skills and different goals, that will find ourselves on different paths within our industry. Gill’s research would suggest that many of us will struggle to build a sustainable career out of our passions, but in the words of the ever wise Oprah (2003):
“One of life’s greatest risks, is never daring to risk.”
I personally feel it’s worth the risk.
Reference List
New Media Fridays 9am. Accessed May 2, 2011. http://fridays9am.blogspot.com/2011/03/welcome.html.
Gill, Rosalind. 2007. "Technobohemians or the new Cybertariat? New media work in Amsterdam a decade after the web." Amsterdam: Institute of Networked Cultures: 1-47.
Winfrey, Oprah. 2003. O Magazine. September Issue.
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