HELLLLLLLLLLLLP (AGAIN)

[soundop]

so i got into, and am going to western illinois university, but i cant decide what to major in (broaadcast tech, or theater) i know the broadcast degree would give me and my family insurence benifits later on in life if i work for a broadcasting company, however i really want to do light design and audio design. so im thinking maybe major in broadcast and minor in tech theater? helllllp

[icewolf08]

You know that you can get jobs in theatre/entertainment that provide a benefits package.

However, the choice is really yours. We can't really make up your mind for you as we don't really know you. Ultimately, you need to pick what will make you happy. Also, if you don't need to declare a major now, you might just try taking some courses from both departments, see which fits, and then declare later.

[gafftaper]

Follow your passion. Don't wake up at 35 hating your chosen career. At the same time be realistic. You'll never be rich working in theater. You can get good reliable jobs with benefits but it may take you 20 years to work your way up to that job. You may have to work nights and weekends much of your life. Will your future personal life be ok with you working every weekend night? Going on the road? Working long hours?

Have you read this collaborative article? It's the harsh but true reality of working in tech.

I'm in educational theater so I have more normal hours than most around here. But it's really hard on the wife and kids when it's show time.

[RichMoore]

Gafftaper is absolutely correct!!!

If, at this point in your life, you are foot-loose and fancy-free, the odds are that will change as you progress through your life and you take a wife and have children. Ours is a profession that requires us to spend many hours at odd times and keeps us from our families, who always want us to spend more time with them than we do on our work. Of course, you should follow your passion and do what it is that you love to do, but remember that when you have a family, they are your primary concern.

It is my firm belief that each of us should have some sort of "back-up-skill" on which to fall, should the need arise. Find something else, perhaps in a related field or perhaps not, that you enjoy doing and that you can make enough money to support and care for a family, because you just never know what will happen tomorrow or the next day.

My $.02,

Rich