VideoJug.com - 25 Cool Careers

VideoJug: 25 Cool Careers

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25 Cool Careers
Why is a career as an "actuary" cool?

An actuary is actually the last job I'd want to do. It is a job that involves figuring out life insurance statistics, how much people should pay for insurance, etc. Why could being an actuary be a cool career? It pays six figures. There is a shortage of actuaries. The working environment is pleasant. You don't need graduate degrees. You have got to do a lot of studying on your own for these ten exams, but being an actuary is actually quite a rewarding career. My best friend is an actuary. He has been an actuary for 30 years. He's hated it for 30 years. He just felt the pressure. He's a nervous guy by nature and he had a lot of pressure from his bosses. That goes to show you, even if a career is pretty cool, it's not the career that makes it cool. It's you more than the career itself.

How do I become an actuary?

All you need to become an actuary is a Bachelor's degree. You don't even have to be a math major. You take a couple of courses in math. There are 10 actuarial exams. If you pass all ten you become what is called a fellow. You are the god of actuary. You can be hired as an actuary with just two exams. Then you study the rest of them on your own, or they have study review courses that you can take online or in person. That's how you become an actuary.

Why is a career as an "architect" cool?

An architect is a person who designs buildings - everything from houses to skyscrapers to industrial parks. The problem with architecture is that you normally spend 5, 10, maybe even 20 years not designing buildings. You're designing the archway of a door. You're designing the bathroom. You're designing the heating and ventilating system. There is a down side to being an architect. Every time in a movie when they tend they want to create a sympathetic character, they use architects because it's creative, it's scientific. However, you see these nice buildings, but it's got that downside. You spend a lot of time doing figuring out what is the electrical code section 246, the "Springfield City Wolves." There is an upside and a downside to architecture.

How do I become an architect?

Normally you take a bachelor's degree in architecture, or sometimes if you haven't done that, there is a master's program available. There are 20, 40 or 50, something like that, number of accredited architecture programs in the United States. And then you've got to take a very arduous series of exams.

Why is a career as an "audiologist" cool?

Marty Nemko, Ph.D.: An audiologist is a person who helps you figure out how well you hear and usually recommends hearing aids for you. It's the most common thing they do. It's cool because as boomers are aging, there are ever more people needing hearing aids and the hearing quality of hearing aids is improving greatly. So now there are these little tiny things that fit all the way in your ear. You don't even see them. They are much better. They are better at filtering out noise so you succeed with a high percentage of your patients. Salaries are good. Training, it used to only require a Master's. Now it requires a Doctorate. But it's a rewarding career and will become ever more so. Do you know who the most famous wearer of hearing aids is in America? Bill Clinton.

How do I become an audiologist?

To become an audiologist you have to be in a doctor of audiology program. Don't get too scared. Most doctoral programs take 5,6,7 years - this one is not. This is typically 3 years, maybe 4. That's how you get to be. I don't know how many there are. Make sure you go to an accredited audiology program.

Why is a career in the "clergy" cool?

I think all of us want to feel meaningful in our lives, and joining the clergy allows you to do a lifetime of unmitigated do-gooding. Also, some people love to be public speakers. Some people think of it as a terrifying thing, but other people love to speak. A career in the clergy gives you a chance to preach your gospel every Sunday. Between the unmitigated do-gooding, the opportunity to speak and the variety of the work, it is a cool career. You're doing work out in the community as a clergy, in the field, with individual parishioners who are having problems. You can be an intellectual and have Bible study classes. A career in the clergy is a very fascinating job. You won't get rich, typically, but it is a very rewarding career.

How do I get a career in the clergy?

It really varies tremendously with the religion and the denomination. My best advice to you is to speak to a respected person in your religion, in your denomination and ask them about the options. For example, in the Jewish religion, there are three separate groups. There is Reform, there is Conservative, and there is Orthodox. Each one has a separate path, different kinds of training programs, so you really want to pick one that's right where you are religiously.

Why is a career as an "orthodontist" cool?

Well, an orthodontist is a person who straightens your teeth -sometimes kids, sometimes adults. It is a very cool career. Let's start with the money: many orthodontists make $300,000 a year. But apart from the money, what makes it so rewarding is that you actually succeed with a vast percentage of your clients. Nearly everybody comes away with not only straight teeth, but a nicer smile, and are more confident. You also work with your patients for a fairly long period of time, so you develop relationships with them. It's a wonderful career, one of my very favorites.

How do I become an orthodontist?

To become an orthodontist requries a bachelor's degree for starters, and you don't have to major in science necessarily. There's only about six courses that you must take that are prerequisite for dental school. You could major in art history as long as you take in addition those six courses that are sciency kind of courses. Then you go to dental school which I believe is three years. But then to become an orthodontist you've got to take I think a two to a three specialist training program after dental school.

Why is a career as an "editor" cool?

An editor is a term that actually applies to many different careers. At the bottom of the heiarchy is the copy editor. A Copy editor is somebody that takes text that's about to be published and he or she fixes it up - fixes punctuation, tightens the sentences, stuff like that. A book acquisitions editor is somebody who makes a decision as to which book should we publish. And then she'll oair up and shepard the author in structuring the book and making some corrections as the chapters get submitted. Then there's the magazine editor. The magazine editor is somebody who wears a lot of hats. They like to say, "Eh, I think this topic might be cool to cover in the magazine." And then they find an article and an author who would be the right person to write it. And after the author turns in a draft, the editor will go and tighten it - and that's kind of the magaine editor. And of course website editors are in a tremendous need. They are basically doing the same thing in a different medium - online.

How do I become an editor?

Becoming an editor is a very varied process. Usually, an editor has a Bachelor's degree in journalism, or sometimes a Master's in journalism. However, there are some editors who get there due to their excellent writing and inside connections. Typically, you need a Master's or Bachelor's degree in journalism to have a career as an editor.

Why is a career as an "engineer" cool?

Boy, is a career as an engineer a varied career. It's designing concrete objects; that's basically what engineering is. You can be designing anything from this camera to biomedical supplies, let's say. You can be designing Cardio stents that open people's arteries who have had heart attacks, to engineering software or hardware. So, an engineer is anybody who's designing concrete objects, usually using CAD programs. Sometimes it's boring. I can tell you the boring part. I know there was a company that had ten different engineers, each designing the handle for a shovel. They sat there for days designing this handle for a shovel, and then only one of the ten ended up having their design used. So, sometimes it can feel pretty repetitive. However, what's cool about it, is that instead of just theoretical ideas, you get to take an idea, bring it into practice and make it very cool. Unfortunately, sometimes I see that the products are over engineered. I mean, we've all had cell phones that do nine zillion different things, of which we understand how to do about seven. Well, thank an engineer.

How do I become an engineer?

Here's how you become an engineer: You usually start with a Bachelor's degree. Fortunately, you don't need graduate school. Ususally, most engineers only have that Bachelor's in engineering. The bad news is, an engineering major is the longest and most arduous of all the majors. It often typically takes five or six years to complete it. And it's not just completing it, you've got to take a lot of science, math, physics, chemistry, calculus, linear algebra, all that kind of stuff. So it is an arduous Bachelor's degree, but the good news is you rarely need a Master's degree.

Why is a career as a "fundraiser" cool?

Somebody who raises money for a non-profit. And what can make that rewarding is you feel like you're working for a good cause and you get paid well. Because you're bringing in the money, therefore they pay you pretty well, and it can be a very varied job. You can be what's called the pitcher, who usually develops a relationship with high net worth individuals in corporations to try to get them to write the big check. You could be more of a researcher, who's doing the background research on a potential donor to give to the pitcher to help them pitch more intelligently and create a more custom pitch. You can be an event planner/fundraiser; people who plan these big gala events that some people like to go to that end up being big fundraising events. So, it is lucrative, it can be varied and you feel like you're serving a good cause.

How do I become a fundraiser?

You don't [have] go to college even. Although most fundraisers do have Bachelor's degrees. There are very short training programs that are offered usually through organizations like the Association of Philanthropy or the Foundation Center. Sometimes you can even learn on the job. Fundraising is not one of those fields where a degree is required.

Why is a career as a "higher education administrator" cool?

A Higher Education Administrator is a person who administers programmes on a college campus, and boy is it cool. It's cool because in terms of your work life, your hours tend to be short an awful lot of the time in the summer. You're on one of the most pleasant places you can be working at a college campus. My very favourite niche, I call it a "neat niche" within Higher Education Administrator is a student affairs administrator. So rather than being involved with all that academic crap; professors arguing about all kinds of quote "unimportant things" you're helping to plan orientation, you're helping to plan programs in the housing office, you're planning extra curricular activities, you're an advisor to clubs. Being a student affairs administrator is one of the coolest jobs that a manager could possibly have.

How do I become a higher education administrator?

Here's how you become a higher education administrator: if you're wanting to become an academic administrator, in other words, becoming a dean or a vice president for academic affairs or a president, you need a doctorate. But, if you're going to go after my very favorite niche and become a student affairs administrator, you don't even need a doctorate, probably a degree in anything, could be education but it doesn't have to be. It could be a business degree, a management degree, a human resources degree. The key is going to be to do internships on a college campus where somebody can hire you for that administrative job. That is how to become a higher education administrator.

Why is a career as a "landscape architect" cool?

Landscape architecture is a wonderful career. You get to design everything from the emerald necklace of parks that enter into Boston, or you could be designing an industrial park or somebody's fantasy house with their waterfalls and koi fish in the bottom. Even restoring the wetland. That's actually the hottest area of landscape architecture: designing and restoring wetlands. It's a very cool career not only because it's fun, but the training really isn't too bad. It's just basically a bachelor's degree and less than one year of training. Landscape architecture is a wonderful career, and there's a shortage of them.

How do I become a landscape architect?

Good news: you only need a Bachelor's degree to become a landscape architect, along with a one-year or nine-month program post-Bachelor's. You can already start designing stuff. Unlike regular architecture, where you may be designing little bathrooms and ventilating systems, as a landscape architect you get to design whole projects right away. It is a very cool career.

Why is a career as an "optometrist" cool?

Optometrists cure what ails your eyes. They can even do a little surgery. Mostly the ophthalmologists, the medical doctors, do surgeries. Optometrists are not medical doctors, but they are the people who fit you for glasses and contact lenses, and what's wonderful about the career is you cure a very high percentage of your patients. And there's a tremendous need. As we boomers get older, our vision isn't as good and so there is ever greater need. Also, regular hours. There's usually no night and emergency calls to go to your optometrist, and the pay is really quite good. Six figure salaries are the norm.
How do I become an optometrist?

How do I become an optometrist? You need a four year post bachelor's degree in optometry. Now there are a couple of schools in the country that I do believe have a combined six or seven year bachelor's and an optometry degree program. But somewhere between six and eight years, you've got to count on that. Science heavy.
Why is a career in "green product sales" cool?

Americas fastest growing religion is environmentalism. People believe deeply that we must stop global warming at all cost. Our state and federal governments and international agencies are gonna spare no expense to stop global warming. Hence, green product sales, everything from solar installation to pollution control devices to hybrid cars. There will be a tremendous and ever growing market in green product sales.

How do I get a career in green product sales?

Because it's so nascent, it's such a new field; there isn't formal training. I really believe that's a field you can get your training on the job. Find a premier provider of the kind of environmental products you care alot about and beg your way into a job. Even if you're getting paid minimum wage, as long as you're getting the chance to ask lots of questions; observe what's going on, that's a great way to break in the industry. Of course, if you have a degree in engineering, you could focus on some aspect of green products like developing a non-polluting car. For example, there might be working on fuel cells or hydrogen-powered vehicles. There's no faster growing area for careers than green product sales and green product development.

Why is a career as a "genomics biologist" cool?

Well, a genomics biologist is the modern-day most important biologist of all. In coding the human genome we find that there are only, much fewer than we expected, twenty-three thousand genes; that's all we're made up of. Due to the fact that there are only twenty-three thousand genes we've got to really understand. It's a very targetable number. We're going to be looking at what gene is resulting in expressing what behaviours, in other words, what gene causes what thing in the human body. The scientists who are working on that will result in curing cancer, heart disease, increasing longevity, maybe increasing our intelligence, or certainly curing things like depression, which are largely found to be physiological. So, a genomics biologist is the scientist who is working on those things. You don't think of a biologist anymore as playing with furry animals and all this large stuff. It's all about math and molecules and stuff like that. I think, probably if I had to bet on one career that was going to make a bigger difference in people's lives over the coming decade, it is genomic biology.

How do I become a genomics biologist?

The good news is, there are actually jobs in this field at very low, mid and high levels. Even a two-year degree can get you a job at a biotech company working in a lab. Bachelor's degrees will get you some entry-level professional work in a genomics lab. But, typically a doctorate degree is required, and sometimes not only a doctorate degree in molecular biology, but often a one or two year post-doc program is required because everybody knows it's a really hot field. It can be a long haul until you get to do a really cool job at a university or even at a genomics biotech company.

Why is a career as a "terrorism expert" cool?

A 'terrorism expert' is a catch all term for about a hundred different careers. Obviously, alas, we are facing ever greater threats of terrorism, so there needs to be experts on, for example, Islamic culture, because a lot of the threat of terrorism is coming from the Islamic radical world to cults in this country. There are American Christian cults that are guilty, or potentially guilty, of terrorism. There are people who are terrorism experts on bio-viruses. There is great fear that the next attack is going to be mutated bio-viruses. There is going to be a cyber-terrorism issue. There are port security experts. There are food poisoning experts and water supply tainting experts. Terrorism experts is a catch all term for a variety of professional careers that will be very important to our future.

How do I become a terrorism expert?

There are many ways that you can become a terrorism expert. The key is the magic word focus. If you have a fascination, for whatever reason, for things Islamic, make that your obsessive focus in your bachelor's or graduate degree. If you have an obsessive focus and you care deeply about cyberterrorism, take the courses in that field. It really is a matter of focus, I can't give you a one size fits all answer.

Why is a career as a "ghostwriter" cool?

Ghostwriter is a cool career. You end up writing things for somebody else. You could be writing for a CEO, you could be writing for a politician, you could be writing for a celebrity. And what's fun is, normally, people don't get to write cool things. You get to write important things like speeches and books that would otherwise sell two copies and because it's being written for a celebrity, under a celebrity's name, could sell a hundred thousand copies. And usually you get credit, you get your name alongside. You know, 'written by Will Chamberlain and Sam Stein.' But Hillary Clinton, great example of when it doesn't occur. Hillary Clinton's book, the famous book It Takes a Village, she didn't write it. It was written by Barbara Feinman, that's her ghostwriter. Usually, as I said, you get to have your name. Barabara Feinman's name would appear on the book. But It Takes a Village, all it says is 'by Hillary Clinton.'

How do I become a ghostwriter?

There's no formal training. You've got to be a great writer. You've probably got to have a portfolio of stuff that you show. Develop relationships. Here's a trick, actually. If I wanted to be a ghostwriter, this is exactly what I would do. I would find a celebrity who was just past his or her peak. We all have our 15 minutes of fame. This is somebody who's had it and is just starting to go down. I would call them and say I'm a huge fan. I wouldn't lie. I'd pick somebody who I was a fan of. I'd say, "How would you like to write you a memoir, or a biography?" That's music to the ears of this person, this celebrity who's terrified that her 15 minutes of fame are over. I would then (once I got his or her agreement) go to a major publisher and say, "I am the ghostwriter for this celebrity, and I'd like to write this book." That's how I would become a ghostwriter.

Why is a career as a "muralist" or "faux finisher" cool?

A muralist is somebody who paints those large murals on the freeway tunnels or underpasses or in restaurants. A faux finisher is anybody who picks a wall and puts either what looks like an old stone or leather finish on it. There are a million artists who would love to make a living through their art as muralists or faux finishers. That's one of the under the radar kind of ways in which somebody can make a living through their art.

How do I become a muralist or faux finisher?

You become a faux finisher just like you become any other artist. You learn through a combination of apprenticing and working on your own. The magic word? Focus. You must decide that you are going to become the king or the queen of different faux finishes and become a master at it. I go into, for example, a plain old chain restaurant like Olive Garden, and a lot of those walls look like old Tuscany. Well, they were built in the year 2005, but there was a faux finisher who did it. If you really expect to make a living at almost any career that is popular like the arts, the key is obsessive focus. The problem is that, frankly, a lot of artists are not obsessively focused by nature. They tend to be kind of hang-loose folks, and that hang-loose attitude and very non-business-like attitude ensures their failure. To be a successful artist, whether it be faux finisher or cartoonist or any kind of art work, requires being really focused and developing a business sense because without it, you're probably going to starve.

Why is a career as a "harbor pilot" cool?

It's a really little-known career. A harbor pilot is somebody who essentially is an escort, but not an escort of people looking for a date, but an escort of boats and ships as they come into harbor. Every harbor is very different. There are different rocks here and different tides there. The regular sea captain pilot doesn't know how to negotiate those shoals. So they bring in, right when a boat or a major ship comes into shore, they give you this harbor pilot person who comes on board and escorts the ship into dock.

How do I become a harbor pilot?

Well, here's how you become a harbor pilot. Typically you start out as a deckhand. Somebody who is doing kind-of low level works on a variety of ships in your local harbor. Then you may get promoted to something called an engineer, it's not like your typical engineer (it's actually a ship engineer). Then you may move from there to be a captain. And then, and this is surprising, you have to be a huge networker because these harbor pilot jobs pay a fortune. Some of them make three hundred thousand bucks a year and not everybody gets that. So if you're a sea captain, you are schmoozing with all the people running the harbor so that you get to be the person chosen.

Why is a career as a "heart-lung perfusionist" cool?

A heart-lung perfusionist is the smallest medical profession of all, and yet maybe the most critical. When a person is having open heart surgery, a heart-lung perfusionist has to take the blood out of the heart while they're doing the surgery, otherwise the blood's going to squirt all over the place. There's something called a "heart-lung machine." Blood gets pumped out of the heart and into this machine, and then after they finish working with the heart they pump it back into the heart. The person who operates this heart-lung machine is the heart-lung perfusionist.

How do I become a heart-lung perfusionist?

The good news is you don't have to go to medical school. It's a program that is a few years of very specific training. You might go to a website called heartpumper.com, which includes all kinds of information. Also, amsect.org, the American Society of Extra-Corporeal Technology of all things, is a website that will give you information about training for heart-lung perfusion work.

Why is a career as a "genetic counselor" cool?

A genetic counselor is a wonderful career for counselor-types who want to help with problems that have more of a definitive answer than, "How am I going to improve my relationship?" A genetic counselor helps people - usually perspective parents - decide if they should have a baby, given their genetic condition. They may have predisposition to a particular genetic condition such maybe severe depression. The genetic counselor tells them both the logical, statistical, practical, and emotional issues that may help them make a decision more wisely.

How do I become a genetic counselor?

You get into genetic counseling with a master's program. It's a two-year program; there's only a small number of schools that offer it, but it's a nice, defined, clear path into the field. So often people are frustrated about getting into a career because there is no one, defined, clear path to becoming a marketing manager. But, there is a clear, defined path for becoming a genetic counselor; it's a two-year master's program.

Why is a career as a "foundation program manager" cool?

Being a foundation program manager is a really cool career. A foundation is an organization whose job is to give away money! What could be more fun? The program manager is a person who gives the money away. He or she decides which programs, which social needs, are great, and just gives away the money. A foundation program manager monitors the program and makes sure that the money is being spent wisely. What could be cooler than being a 365-day-a-year Santa Claus?

How do I become a foundation program manager?

There is no clear path to becoming a foundation program manager - it is the ultimate schmooze job. This is a networking thing. It is such a cool job that does not have a specific set of skills associated with it, so most people simply network their way in the foundations. One degree that might be of great help is a degree in evaluation. There is a discipline called "program evaluation," often taught in graduate schools of eduction, that may or may not be helpful in opening the door to becoming a foundation program manager.

Why is a career as a "professional speaker" cool?

A professional speaker obviously speaks at conferences, conventions, on cruise ships. There are a remarkable number of people who, even in this era where we all get so much content off the internet and on tv, still want to hear a live speaker. You know, we still see lecture series of famous people. So, that's what a professional speaker is.

How do I become a professional speaker?

There is no formal training required to become a professional speaker. If I wanted to become a professional speaker, I'd read a book like "Speak and Grow Rich". It's a very famous book about how to become a professional speaker. Then I would pick one topic about which I cared deeply, and that I think would be also very, very commercial. For example, I have a real interest in talking about procrastination. It's something I've studied for an awful long time. So, say I want to become a professional speaker telling people about how to overcome procrastination, which by the way is not easy; I would craft an outline, and I would come up with great anecdotes, really powerful anecdotes that would reveal my major points, end with another anecdote that was very inspirational and powerful, and then I would practice, practice, practice. I'd hire a coach to help me with the power of my delivery. I might create a multi-media presentation to accompany it. Then I would create a videotape, of this really polished speech, and I would send it to every conference coordinator, at any conference for which I might be able to be a potential speaker, and that's how I'd become a professional speaker.

Why is a career as a "venture capitalist" cool?

A venture capitalist is somebody who looks for cool, new businesses to invest in. Typically, they're biotech startups, they're software startups, but occasionally they can be retailers, like restaurants. They're looking for businesses to invest in and often, to take partial control over. For example, if it's a biotech company that's developing a new kind of an artificial leg, the people who are developing it are usually scientists, they're genius scientists, but they're not brilliant business people. And the venture capitalists will say "I will invest in your new brace company if you will let me bring a couple of my team members, who are great business people, in to help run your business, and I want a share, in exchange, for a percentage of the profits."

How do I become a venture capitalist?

Typically this is one of the few fields for which you really need a designer label diploma. Unless you're going to become self-employed (in which case you can be a college dropout) the field of venture capital and venture capital firms are really looking to hire only brand-name pedigrees: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and maybe also an MBA (although not necessarily), and substantive expertise. For example, if you were interested in restaurants, you would have a lot of experience already running restaurants, managing restaurants, or consulting to restaurants. Venture capital is very tough field to get into, unless you can become a self-employed venture capitalist and say “I think I want to be a venture capitalist.” Let's say I care a whole lot about game software. You might find these little garage operations where somebody's developing these cool games or whatever. You simply open up shop and you find people; you don't invest your own money, because you may not have the money, but you find rich people or sometimes pension funds or banks that are looking for a more speculative investment. You convince them to invest in your collection of these garage-sized software companies, and you're instantly a venture capitalist.

Why is a career as a "sports information director" cool?

The sports information director is somebody who, at a college, high school or professional team, is in charge of providing information primarily to the media to help them. Obviously, the sports teams wants as much publicity as they can get. A sports information director is a schmoozing job. You have to know a lot about the team. It is a very cool, very fun career.

How do I become a sports information director?

To become a sports information manager, you typically major in sports management at college. Like in almost any other field, you want to make sure you get internships in the field. Be a lackey for somebody with power. It's fine to be a lackey, but if you're being a lackey in your first job for somebody who's got no power to hire you, train you or teach you the ropes, it is a waste. It's a dead end job rather than a launch pad job. Apprentice to a sports information director and you might find yourself launched into a job like that yourself.

Why is a career as a "physician assistant" cool?

Physician assistants are people very much like doctors. They perform basic heath exams. Physician assistants do diagnosis, basic treatment and basic health education under the supervision of a physician, but sometimes it is very distant supervision. In this era when we are trying to control healthcare costs, physician assistants are very often replacing doctors as the primary healthcare provider because they are much less expensive. However, they still make good money - about $80,000 a year, on average. Becoming a physician assistant only requires about two years after a bachelor's degree and some practical experience. It is a great career.

How do I become a physician assistant?

Here's how you become a physician assistant. While you're in college, you should be getting some experience, like as an EMT or a volunteer in a hospital, some kind of healthcare-related experience. Then, there are some science courses that are required. At least two years afterwards you must do a specific training program to enable you to get qualified physcian assistant. Then you can be a physician assistant!

Why is a career as an "adoption attorney" cool?

Attorney is one of those fields that's overrated. 75 percent of all attorneys would not be attorneys again if they had a chance. But adoption attorney is a really neat niche within the field of adoption. Unlike traditional lawyering, where you're fighting dog-eat-dog against the other corporation's lawyer or representing a family who's fighting over an armour, here you're helping to match up a kid who needs a home with parents who want to adopt. So I think adoption law is probably the neatest niche that exists; not for everybody, but for someone who is certainly family-oriented, adoption law is great.

How do I become an adoption attorney?

You've got to be an attorney first. But, then the American Bar Association has a seperate interest group that specializes in adoption law. And I would go to the website of the American Bar Association, look at the special interest group for adoption law, and they will list a number of ways you can get trained. Some of their training programs are offered through law schools, some are just simply through the Bar Association. But go to the American Bar Association website, find that special interest group.