Started in one field but found oneself in another in cross training

[ship]

So I wanted to become a set designer or at least a TD or MC. Found myself end result ME as it were and white coller desk worker mostly buyer in a corporate way .

Can always go back to doing shows carpentry or even metal working if/when fired or wanting more money. Learn a bit more for doing it and I am still trained in an overall sense of Cadd up to movers or CNC machines. Instead I found myself with that which sparks in the night in being a problem I didn't initially want to ge into. Done well with it but I also love a pastime of carpentry and design in general.

I'm well taken care of given this second field of study in college that resulted. Anyone else in their secondary field or finds cross training something very useful?

 

[patlienemann]

In my experience with any field cross training is always good. It is something we did in high school with theatre, in college with music and theatre, and in the Army with medical. I always believed that being a jack of all trades instead of just a master of one makes you a bit more diverse than the guy to your left or right, and as you just stated... it worked for you!

 

[ruinexplorer]

I only achieved a two-year degree in theater and am thus working my back-up. I went to school for archaeology. Closest I came, outside of classwork, was building exhibits for a natural history museum.

 

[cprted]

I started my education in a B. Mus degree program (oboist, spent a few years playing in small AFM orchestras), ended up finishing a BA in History. Freelanced in production as a TD, SM and am now working as a Paramedic (while keeping one toe in theatre).

 

[mstaylor]

Never went to college but my two main areas of interest has been carpentry and theatre. I was a general contractor for years and did theatre/R&R/arena type shows concurrently. Presently I am doing arena style shows solely. I do concerts, corporate,convention work, sporting events and odd shows like rodeos and monster trucks.
To pay the bills I have done other odd things like high pressure welding, maintenance in the poultry industry and testing for geotechnical engineering.
I have no formal training and have always done what it took to make a living but have never been out of the live entertainment field completely. Whatever I was doing I was always the crossover guy. I always could do all aspects of whatever occupation I was doing.

 

[StNic54]

Lucky enough to have found my path in undergrad, I had to ditch theatre to pay bills, but still I have worked in lighting every day since I was first introduced to it. We've all got bills to pay, so try to do what you love, or do what you do now so you can do what you love later on.

 

[dancarden]

similar for me. trained and worked in theatre for 10 years or so. knocked it on the head because the money is not good and became a normal jobbing carpenter working in peoples homes. then left london and found a job as a signmaker in liverpool which introduced me to a lot of new materials and machinery. then went back into theatre for three years before setting up my own sighmaking business in spain which lasted 6 years but sadly i had to sell it because i could see a recession on the horizon. now i am in dubai running a scenic department in events. ive never been out of work and always thank the day i decided to be a set builder.

 

[JChenault]

Got trained in theatre - lots of lighting in undergraduate work.
Went to graduate school in the wrong program. More of scenic design.
Ended up being a TD for a couple of years - then selling lighting for a year - then back to TD at a college for another 3 years.

THEN I made the big career switch into software (with the help of a number of courses in software enginering) and put theatre behind me for a while. Picked it up again when I moved to Seattle 25 years ago.
Now I light six to 8 shows a year - develop software to control lighting, and have a lot of fun.

 

[paulsbutiq]

Graduated with a BA in Communication, became a runner/stagehand and eventually production manager for livenation, went on tour for a short stint, wound up doing logistics for an entertainment trucking/tour bus company when i came back for a few years, then ended up at a lighting/production company as the rentals manager and have managed to learn quite a bit about lights/staging/truss/rigging since I got here. Each turn has served me well for the next move and I'm always curious where the next path will take me, each gig has helped broaden my knowledge and experience and they've all served me well especially as I continue to do freelance production work when my weekends allow for it..