I have been using What Color is your Parachute to aid me in finding my next career. It is a useful tool, one that has stood the test of time. There are a number of exercises in the book to aid the reader in assessing their desires and skills. There is quite a bit on networking, making the contacts necessary to find work. All in all, a good reference for the job seeker.
What I have been doing for the past month is not the best job search technique, according to the book. I have been using job sites to find and apply for work. This is relatively simple, and easy to do from home. Most of the other suggestions are good. The best require superb networking skills and a lot of luck.
What I would like to do is more like a hobby or retirement project than a real job. I would really enjoy traveling around, documenting my travels on video and in writing. I have studied a number of highways and routes in the United States, and would love to document these roads and the places found along them.
I visualize a vehicle that is small enough to park in a single parking space, yet can be lived in for weeks at a time. This vehicle is outfitted with camera mounts to allow for video capture while on the road, and enough electrical storage to allow for operating cameras and computers in remote locations. The equipment must be portable, to allow for using motel rooms as editing studios as well as a break from camping.
How can this activity provide income? Well, a monetized web site associated with the adventure could provide some. DVD sales could provide some income. Books about the highways and byways and what is discovered along the way could also provide income. Amazon provides an outlet for such products and the resources to bring them to market.
The market, that is one real issue. How much of a market is there for such travel adventure documents? Enough to provide the income I need? With my pension and other household incomes we can cover costs, but will have little beyond just surviving. I need another income source.
If it were just me, I would do this. I would make it happen. However, it is not just me. I still have a family to care for, even if I have retired from law enforcement. So, I seek a less adventurous source of income, one that will probably keep me from such an adventure.
That is not bad. I love and enjoy my family, and where we live is a very nice place. Still, the road and adventure call to me. Perhaps I can find a next career that will allow me to fulfill this dream of adventure, and still provide for those who love and depend on me.
I won't stop dreaming, and I certainly won't stop writing. I believe I can find a way.
What color is my parachute? Even after reading the book, I don't really know. I do know I am better equipped to find a job than I was before I read the book. I have found jobs before, even though none were particularly fulfilling.
Maybe this time will be my time.
What I have been doing for the past month is not the best job search technique, according to the book. I have been using job sites to find and apply for work. This is relatively simple, and easy to do from home. Most of the other suggestions are good. The best require superb networking skills and a lot of luck.
What I would like to do is more like a hobby or retirement project than a real job. I would really enjoy traveling around, documenting my travels on video and in writing. I have studied a number of highways and routes in the United States, and would love to document these roads and the places found along them.
I visualize a vehicle that is small enough to park in a single parking space, yet can be lived in for weeks at a time. This vehicle is outfitted with camera mounts to allow for video capture while on the road, and enough electrical storage to allow for operating cameras and computers in remote locations. The equipment must be portable, to allow for using motel rooms as editing studios as well as a break from camping.
How can this activity provide income? Well, a monetized web site associated with the adventure could provide some. DVD sales could provide some income. Books about the highways and byways and what is discovered along the way could also provide income. Amazon provides an outlet for such products and the resources to bring them to market.
The market, that is one real issue. How much of a market is there for such travel adventure documents? Enough to provide the income I need? With my pension and other household incomes we can cover costs, but will have little beyond just surviving. I need another income source.
If it were just me, I would do this. I would make it happen. However, it is not just me. I still have a family to care for, even if I have retired from law enforcement. So, I seek a less adventurous source of income, one that will probably keep me from such an adventure.
That is not bad. I love and enjoy my family, and where we live is a very nice place. Still, the road and adventure call to me. Perhaps I can find a next career that will allow me to fulfill this dream of adventure, and still provide for those who love and depend on me.
I won't stop dreaming, and I certainly won't stop writing. I believe I can find a way.
What color is my parachute? Even after reading the book, I don't really know. I do know I am better equipped to find a job than I was before I read the book. I have found jobs before, even though none were particularly fulfilling.
Maybe this time will be my time.
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