What should I do with my career path? Read please and serious advice? (credit, profit)

[TySky]

I want to be an aspiring casting director for movies and mostly work for a studio or a small Indie film company, I just really dont want to be freelance.

Casting Directors dont have to go to college but its wise to at least get a 2 year degree,something like Film, Theater, Business. I choose Theater because it has acting and directing classes in it, addition I will take some business classes as well.

My sister highly suggest that I should go into physical therapy or to be a Ultra Sound Technician to get a job and support myself, so I wont come crawling back to my parents. I understand for what she is saying, but Im honestly not good at anything really and I dont have skills or good abilities. The only reason I see myself in casting is because I imagine myself if I won the lottery and were rich what would I do then, and so I thought about Casting or at least be in the TV/Film industry. Plus I get people say that with my personality they could see me in casting. So idk what to do

But first I need to get all of my core classes out of the way Im in school now but Im only taking 2 classes and working. But this summer Im going to be a full time student and take more general core classes at my community college. Math English Public Speaking Psychology and History etc....

I honestly dont know what to do, right now my agenda is to complete all the general core class requirements. I just dont know what to do for a back up plan. Please I need advice.

[nightlysparrow]

The ultrasound tech thing involves looking at a screen or photos. This is ironic for a wannabe casting director who has to look at actors on screen or in their photos.

If you go the ultrasound route, you could do that in L.A., even part-time, while you make connections for your casting director career.

[GiantRutgersfan]

My advice would be to do something practical. Being a casting director for movies doesnt sound very realistic to me

[back2M]

No one can tell you what you should do for a career path, you must make your own decisions and take actions to find your own path. Now there are many internet resources to assist you in making these decisions. Have you done some of the career and personality resource profiles? You answer a series of questions and the results shows the most suitable career fields based on your likes/dislikes, education etc. Once you've done that then you can research the actual jobs and make decisions if you would actually like to do that.

You say your not good at anything, I don't believe that is true, you just don't know what you are good at! Once you do a couple of the profiles you will get an better idea.

For example if you did well in the maths aptitude areas and an accountant career was suggested you could then break it down, I keep my own budget but I'm not interested in current news of business profits/losses, stock market etc then an Accountant may not suit you.

Another example, if results stated very suitable to working with others, ie teacher, social worker, politician, etc. Once I really looked into those jobs I decided that I would not have the patience working with kids, being a social worker I would need to go back to xx yrs of college and could not afford it. I don't follow politics so that's out. I really am interested in medical things and like working with people, I will become a paramedic! See what I am trying to get across?

Look at what works for you and what careers are possible for your education levels. Also the availability of those careers. The fantasy of winning the lottery are pretty much nil and reality is everyday you have to pay for shelter and food, bills, etc.

Also you HAVE to start at the bottom of the ladder and climb up the steps to reach the top, ie your ideal career. You want to be a casting director?
Job Description:

A casting director is responsible for helping to gather a number of actor candidates for a given role in a film or television production. The casting director reads the script and meets with the producer, director and sometimes the writer, to get an idea of the "type" of person a given role calls for. Once this is determined, then the casting director sets to work. They will meet with any number of individuals and begin narrowing down the field. Once a handful of hopefuls have been identified, the casting director then presents them to the director, producer or writer of the project.

Casting directors meet with thousands of actors over the course of a given year. They must determine whether an actor fits the look of a character as well as whether or not that particular actor would be believable in the role they are casting.
Skills & Education:



To become a casting director, you must first have the following skills:

• Eye for Talent: A good casting director can tell right off the bat whether or not a given actor "has the chops" for the role they are auditioning for.
• Good Memory: You are seeing thousands upon thousands of actors -- a good casting director will have a way of remembering the ones that matter.
• Patience: It often takes a lot of time to find the right person for a role, so you must exercise patience and not let yourself be pressured into making the wrong decision.

Career Advice:

The best way to prepare for this position is to start learning as much as you can about available actors and actresses. It's crucial to know their names and faces so that you become familar. Maybe start as a production assistanct and work your way up. Let them know that it is your goal to become a casting director as well. Where possible and if you're lucky, you'll get someone who is willing to teach you all you need to know

[sunny76]

Where are you located? You may want to test the waters a bit by looking at mandy.com and other similar sites where you can find entry level and short term opportunities. Your sister's idea is not a bad one. Getting some type of certificate certification in a in demand healthcare field can be really helpful. The field you've chosen is very, very competitive, I think if you got your feet wet in the industry, even doing PA work, it will get you around others who have more experience than you that you can question and really help you in plotting your career.

[k9coach]

I would watch the credits of all your favorite movies and take note of the names of the casting directors. I would then find some way, any way, to contact as many of those individuals as possible and ask them what path led them to the job. To catch their attention and give them some inspiration to respond to your inquiries, I'd include in your initial correspondence a casting assignment. I'd pick a story, a novel, or a play and "cast" it. Assign the parts to actors and actresses you know of that would also likely be known to the casting directors to whom you're writing. Explain why they'd be perfect for the roles. If you show you have that certain feel for casting and talent, you just might spark someone's interest and get a helpful response.

[EVAunit1981]

VV: how old are you?

[centauri]

I was taught this, If you want to succeed in Film, you need a second career... something you can tolerate, but when the phone calls come, it is time to go at moments notice. I am looking to start working as a DIT/ Data manager. I already poses some of the skills, but I still need to do a few internships with some DIT's. As with the second career, I am working on my basic IT certs and do that when I am not working on set.

[joe from dayton]

As noted above, I would look up casting directors and see where they went to school and what their career path was. I don't know anything about the industry, but my guess would be that their college education was a four year degree at a good film school instead of a two year degree at a community college. How many casting directors are there and how many positions actually become available? Edit to add: I am sure success also depends on internships and connections, which are much more likely for students of well known film/media schools as opposed to a community college.

[harry chickpea]

V.V, it is painfully obvious that you have never had any career counseling. Your reasoning reminds me of that of a five year old wanting to be an astronaut or fireman. Those "reasons" you list are totally ungrounded, unresearched, and seem much more like fantasy thinking than any deliberate attempt to choose a career that would work for you.

I'm not suggesting that a job as a casting director might not be enjoyable, but I would be surprised if there are more than one hundred staff positions of "casting director" in the English speaking world. Those in the position already have contacts within the industry up the Yazoo, and the chances of your making the grade coming from the outside are one in a hundred.

You are yet another person who desperately needs to read the book "What Color Is Your Parachute," take some aptitude tests, and spend some time with a job counselor before going for more costly education. Only after that starting point, once you have some ideas of what you might succeed at, would you be wise to intern and suss out just what the work environment is like. Some work can seem enjoyable from the outside and be stressful once you learn more. Negotiation with agents, unions, and actors with egos the size of Cleveland and attitudes to match might not be as fun as you imagine, especially when you have a producer breathing down your neck to get the job done and minimize costs.

Sometimes, once you are in a dream job for a while, you can also find out that you have sapped the joy out of that area of life. After I had been a pro photographer for a while, I realized that I was always looking at life from behind the lens, focusing on which shot I could get, trying to anticipate movements and lighting changes, and not actually being a participant in events. I put down a camera for over two years to gain back my life.