CatholicMom Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Anyone want to play guidance counselor? My oldest son will be in 8th grade next year and I'm just mulling over what "fields" might be a possibility for him in terms of career. He really loves literature (he listens to audio books like Treasure Island and the Chronicles of Narnia literally every night when he goes to bed for years). He is an avid reader. He also loves to draw, paint, build with legos, etc. He does fine in math but I can see that is more of an "arts" type of kid. He is also dyslexic, so spelling is really hard for him, but ironically I can see that he is a good "writer" in terms of the thought process and content. But he loooooves stories. Is it impossible to be an English or Literature major (is that a thing? lol) while struggling with spelling? Thoughts? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 I don't think spelling will be nearly as big a hindrance as you think. Most computers have spellcheck, and even professional writers have editors who look for things like that before the book gets published. And he can have someone proofread his stuff before he even tries to shop it to different publishers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 With these questions I always try and think of the people I know who are actually working. The thing with "creative" is that it can actually be found in a ton of fields, and a background in things like literature can be great in many areas as well. For example, there are people who do things like computer animation or games. Working in film or the recording industry. That could be writing, directing, costume design, set construction, painting, sound engineering, running an extra company. My aunt is a commercial artist, she makes a good living and works for herself. There is library related work, which can be pretty variable in type, from archives to cataloguing to children's departments. It can be done at a diploma level or masters degree level. Some of the trades can be very creative, cabinetmakers, plasterers, landscaping, gardener. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 I'm in a city. I have a friend who works in a museum, and others who have in the past. There is a very wide range of jobs in museums, from security and maintence, to tour guides, to I don't know what some of those people do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 (edited) oops Edited January 16, 2016 by Hunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 A better question is "which careers are closed to those who love literature and the arts"? Once you've compiled that list, you'll have your answer. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 (edited) A better question is "which careers are closed to those who love literature and the arts"? Once you've compiled that list, you'll have your answer. I think that a love of literature and the arts can be a wonderful strength to any field, though there may not be the time or status given to these areas in the education/training side (i.e., at college or university). My uncle completed his engineering degree and immediately decided to read through various classics in literature as he felt that his university experience was completely lacking in this area. When I was teaching at a sports college in Norway, we required the students to take a class in their choice of a "creative arts" throughout the year. It was like torture for some of the athletes, who felt that the arts had nothing to do with soccer. For many students, it opened up a whole new world of exciting possibilities. For some they never did see the point of it, and it was wasted time and effort. Edited January 16, 2016 by wintermom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 My brother loves to read but struggles with spelling. He barely graduated high school because his grades were so all over the place (A's in math but C's at best in English). But he attended a specialized music college and got a degree in digital music and has worked as an audio engineer. https://www.berklee.edu/electronic-production-and-design/major Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 I have a high school friend who did a fine arts degree - now she works as an editor in the publishing division of the MMoA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathmarm Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Our library has a section in the kids wing with books on careers. Encourage him to take out a few of those types of books each time you guys go and see what catches his interest. Despite what current political/educational agendas would have you believe the economic world is not divided into categories of "STEM" jobs and "The Arts" jobs. Perhaps call up a local vocational center and ask them about those career matching type tests--see if your son would be interested in taking some of those exams to help give him ideas of where he might like to look. Perhaps he can research some of the suggested matches for him and see if he's interested in shadowing people in those fields. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSHS Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 I don't have an answer for career choices, but I can say that YES you can major in English while being a poor speller. I've never been a good speller but did improve some in high school, even into college. Spell check covers most spelling mistakes and I never had a professor mark a handwritten assignment for a misspelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 On one contract job assignment, I worked with a young Engineer who had Dyslexia. I'm sure it was hard for him to get through Engineering school, but he did it. Also, I knew a man who was a writer for a Computer magazine (all magazine writers are called Editors now?) and he had Dyslexia too. The harder thing might be for him to find work that pays well. Possibly Journalism? GL to him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Marketing or advertising? Or working with children or animals or elderly people? Running a recreation department at a hospital, nursing home, city? How about becoming a lawyer..that takes a lot of creativity and reading. So does anything in politics. Maybe even working in logistics and supply as that takes problem solving and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Librarian? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 My oldest dd is a literature and language nut. She is working at a library and LOVES it. After she gets her Associates in German, she plans to pursue a degree in Library Science. Anyway, she gets to work with kids, help out with crafts and the various after school programs they have, help choose literature for library book orders, and helps with their media. It has been a great fit for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 My interests were all centered around literature, reading, writing, editing, etc., and I worked in publishing, bookstores, and libraries. With dyslexia, editing is not going to be the right choice for him, most likely. But he might want to look into marketing, with the idea that he could work in either book or magazine publishing. Marketing departments actually pay more than editorial departments generally. In marketing, he would still be involved in the publishing process, but he wouldn't have to do the detailed proofreading and close reading that editors do. Library science is also something for him to consider. There are many various opportunities for someone with an MLS -- it's not limited to working in a public or school library, though that is an option if he thinks he would like it. You might be able to access an online catalog for a library science school to see what kind of courses that they offer, so that he can see the wide variety of options available to someone with an MLS degree. (An MLS is a graduate degree). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalusignan Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I think some of these were mentioned. I was a copyeditor and marketing executive in another life. Depending on the job, copyeditors with advertising agencies do more creative writing than editing. Graphic design is also a great field to get into. Graphic designer Advertising Marketing Copyeditor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocassie Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Teacher Writer Editor Librarian Marketing Advertising Journalist Graphic Design Book Reviewer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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