What do you do for a living?
- Thread starter Digital
- Start date
I'm normally a ASP.NET developer but i'm currently trying to build my own business (P S Web Solutions) and decided to go freelance full time.
I studied Information Technology at University which covered programming so i'm definitely in the field I studied for.
I'm currently looking for a decent short term contract in my local area, in the mean time i'm taking on any freelance work small or large.
I studied Information Technology at University which covered programming so i'm definitely in the field I studied for.
I'm currently looking for a decent short term contract in my local area, in the mean time i'm taking on any freelance work small or large.
I have been a freelance illustrator for about10 years. This kind of job in my city is extremely bad paid so I had no option but to keep working through internet. It has been a challenge but I think I wouldn't change my experience for anything! I've met the most amazing friends and workpals and I think I've grown a lot as a person because of this multicultural environment.
I kind of work in the field I studied for but not exactly. I studied architecture at the university and for the past years I have done background illustration & design by using my architecture skills. :B
It's alright, I wanted to study animation but that was not an option back then.
I kind of work in the field I studied for but not exactly. I studied architecture at the university and for the past years I have done background illustration & design by using my architecture skills. :B
It's alright, I wanted to study animation but that was not an option back then.
I work full time as a Barista until I decide exactly what it is I want to do with life haha. I love my job though and all the pepole, so I will probably forever stay at least part time as a Barista. I am probably going to join Babcock under their Business Apprenticeship in September, which can open up a lot of opportunities in the world of business whilst gaining vocational qualifications at the same time. I regret leaving A-Levels but I'm going to look into other routes to university and hopefully one day will either study Business and Marketing or something IT Based for a degree.
Nice to hear about your guys' other work and backgrounds =D
I make most of my money through freelancing and a small sign manufacturing business that I run from home with a press. I use my artwork on the signs and then sell them online. I also have my website, but that doesn't really bring in any money.
I make most of my money through freelancing and a small sign manufacturing business that I run from home with a press. I use my artwork on the signs and then sell them online. I also have my website, but that doesn't really bring in any money.
Pretty cool to hear you've been working as a freelance illustrator. I think that's one of my dream jobs, haha.
If you don't mind me asking, but how did you increase your presence online? I've been doing well for my writing pursuits on Twitter since it seems there's a big writing community on that site, but with art it's always been a hit or miss on Facebook. I've gotten more responses using Instagram for my art. Sometimes it just feels difficult, even to chat with like-minded people about art/design/writing online.
@Digital I work full time in tourism sales, but I'm hoping to transition to my industry after graduating this year from uni. Have some great contacts for that. But right now I'm waiting for the tourism season to start up again, so technically I'm a freelance artist and an aspiring writer, who does some web development on the side. I'm working on a craft start-up and hoping to make a living with it one day.
Well, I upload different things to different websites, for example with deviantart, I upload my most rendered stuff since that's what usually gets more attention over there. On my instagram account highly rendered stuff is very hard to see so I h ave to upload simpler drawings like sketches plus many tags, 1 characters, etc. For twitter, if it's fanart & trending it gets tons of reblogs, same for tumblr, they're crazy about fanart, I don't do much fanart but I do upload a lot of work in progress. Then there are particular sites like Furaffinity, weasyl etc where i mostly upload anthro art and animals since that's what people is looking for over there.
You have to be constant, you have to be active as in talking to people and creating relationships, comment on other people's work, sometimes out of curiosity they check your art.
Also I used to go to a lot of conventions and give away business cards.
It's difficult, I used to have a more active fanbase back around 2010, but then because of a problem I had with my hand and not being able to post for a long time I had to basically start all over again.
Just be persitent. It is hard and you might get frustrated at times, but keep doing it.
Well, I upload different things to different websites, for example with deviantart, I upload my most rendered stuff since that's what usually gets more attention over there. On my instagram account highly rendered stuff is very hard to see so I h ave to upload simpler drawings like sketches plus many tags, 1 characters, etc. For twitter, if it's fanart & trending it gets tons of reblogs, same for tumblr, they're crazy about fanart, I don't do much fanart but I do upload a lot of work in progress. Then there are particular sites like Furaffinity, weasyl etc where i mostly upload anthro art and animals since that's what people is looking for over there.
You have to be constant, you have to be active as in talking to people and creating relationships, comment on other people's work, sometimes out of curiosity they check your art.
Also I used to go to a lot of conventions and give away business cards.
It's difficult, I used to have a more active fanbase back around 2010, but then because of a problem I had with my hand and not being able to post for a long time I had to basically start all over again.
Just be persitent. It is hard and you might get frustrated at times, but keep doing it.
So glad I wasn't the only one who had to start all over again. :c I vanished from the internet for a good year or two and during that time I lost a bunch of my fanbase. But slowly working my way back, which is good I guess.
Going to conventions and stuff is my list of goals this year, and also staying active online building relationships. Thanks for your advice, they're super helpful!
BTW I just watched you on DeviantART. Love your work
Wow, we have a pretty diverse group here!
I'm currently working part-time as the Systems Administrator for a college in my hometown. I'm finishing up a degree in Computer Science, so although we didn't really cover a lot of IT skills (I took introductory Networking and Information Security classes as electives but that's it) I guess it's related to my field of study... The college I work for and the one I'm attending aren't one and the same so there is some weekly travel required and also a bit of a learning curve, but I'm learning a lot and have really enjoyed it so far.
I'm also a registered Pharmacy Technician and have worked in both hospital and retail pharmacy over the past 6 years. Now that I have the IT job I've been transitioning away from it though, and only work prn.
I'm currently working part-time as the Systems Administrator for a college in my hometown. I'm finishing up a degree in Computer Science, so although we didn't really cover a lot of IT skills (I took introductory Networking and Information Security classes as electives but that's it) I guess it's related to my field of study... The college I work for and the one I'm attending aren't one and the same so there is some weekly travel required and also a bit of a learning curve, but I'm learning a lot and have really enjoyed it so far.
I'm also a registered Pharmacy Technician and have worked in both hospital and retail pharmacy over the past 6 years. Now that I have the IT job I've been transitioning away from it though, and only work prn.
I started in Systems Administration, the skills you gain there can if you keep an open mind allow you to apply a different thought process to software engineering and design later. It gives you the larger perspective that you may not have had if you just went with engineering or programming!
Cool, that's good to know. I have wondered if I was making a mistake taking it rather than something more directly tied to software development, so it's reassuring to hear that my IT experience might be valuable in that area as well. ^_^
It's useful to have the knowledge. With the growth of cloud computing, more and more in our industry companies find it worthwhile to have developers who have system administration backgrounds. The cloud makes it so they don't have to have to have a full time systems admin on staff, but they like to have staff that know what's up in case.
I have always found my systems admin background incredibly marketable.
Yeah I have to second the recommended experience in Systems Administration. I've more or less landed myself in the position where I had to be a Systems admin, with no training or experience so that was fun.
I work as the lead Developer/Programmer in a small Web Agency. We build branding, websites, business applications and mobile applications among other things. In addition the my share of the development work I'm also responsible for maintaining the servers, managing our website hosting and networking, basically making all the IT decisions and doing everything no one else wants to or know how to do for the company. I learn a lot, and it's taught me to be a quick learner and more confident decision maker, definitely a lot of responsibility though.
I work as the lead Developer/Programmer in a small Web Agency. We build branding, websites, business applications and mobile applications among other things. In addition the my share of the development work I'm also responsible for maintaining the servers, managing our website hosting and networking, basically making all the IT decisions and doing everything no one else wants to or know how to do for the company. I learn a lot, and it's taught me to be a quick learner and more confident decision maker, definitely a lot of responsibility though.
hurricaneviolet
Senior Member
I make a living from my game, HP! I opened it 8 years ago with absolutely no experience and no idea what I was doing, but it was successful almost immediately, and that's what I've done since then. It has definitely a learning experience over the years, haha.
It's a full time job managing the community and the game in general. I don't track my hours, though. I'd say I probably work 30 hours a week actively sitting at a computer, but I am on-call to mods and admins every hour of every day but Sunday, so it amounts to more.
I have a degree in culinary arts/hospitality, so I am working far from my "field", but I started going to culinary school to get out of those house. I never really intended for it to replace the game.
It's a full time job managing the community and the game in general. I don't track my hours, though. I'd say I probably work 30 hours a week actively sitting at a computer, but I am on-call to mods and admins every hour of every day but Sunday, so it amounts to more.
I have a degree in culinary arts/hospitality, so I am working far from my "field", but I started going to culinary school to get out of those house. I never really intended for it to replace the game.
I must say that is quite inspiring as I am sure many of our members would love to learn how you achieved it
jakdacrowe
Artist
Oh man. Everyone has cool jobs here.
Currently working at a cinema, just to pass the time so I can finally figure out what the heck I wanna do with my life.
Was thinking of getting into game development... But eh. I just have to work on that.
Currently working at a cinema, just to pass the time so I can finally figure out what the heck I wanna do with my life.
Was thinking of getting into game development... But eh. I just have to work on that.