It is just me?

[urbanpreppie05]

Hello Matthew! I work at one of our colleges, and I wanted to chime in on some things...

I think in some ways you have hit the point of no return..but you can remedy this quickly.

You need an online portfolio, website, or something NOW. This is vital to getting your name out there.
Then, you need to work at an internship. You may need to find some sort of job during the evenings and weekends to supplement your income because its very likely that the internship will be unpaid.

For anyone reading this post as well....degrees are not a magical piece of paper that will get you a job. You need to back it up with volunteer experience and other skills.

Good luck, you're behind the eight ball, but you have a shot at catching up.

[Midnight_Plasma1256]

Thank you everyone for all of your responces! It is certainly helpful to say the least. I will add a more detailed background before I respond to questions.

At community college, I have studied a whole slew of classes that includes art with some theater. With motivation through curiosity, I have even branched out into filmmaking too. Since the school doesn't have any film programs, I have outsourced through books and online classes. I have also jumped on getting "hands on" experience at a local public access TV station for free. This was a great opition as I couldn't afford film school and coming from a financially tight working class family.

Since the time I graduated from community college, I have done alot of work with creating short and full length films (By renting out camera equipment from the CA-TV I voulunteered at), while working on my photography and graphics design projects. This was a great way to pursue my labor of love until I can make something of myself creativitly. None of the skills I learned in school would go unwasted nevertheless. Even so, I didn't have the opition to move away to a more suitable place to find work. I decided to do the best for with the tools I have by remaining here in Pittsburgh.

Here are my answers to everyone's questions.

AaronPGH: I haven't done any internships anywhere here. I have obtained a list from career services after graduation. I was told that there is an average of a 100:1 submission and responce ratio in this field locally. They were referring to the majority of them being print shops or entry level companies. I haven't heard back from anyone.

RyanR: I have considered making my various interests in art my hobbies. After knocking on many doors, I have devoted some of the time and energy to my passion. The jobs I have/had allowed me to take time off to go away to do some photography elsewhere, or to work with other directors as a cinematographer out of state. I have soon learned to love the art by doing it, even it will remain a hobby. That is a feeling I will never get tired of.

Groar: Pittsburgh and the overall state has been struggling with jobs and work, I agree with that. After a few years, I have decided to take matters into my own hands by doing freelance as a whole.

I have done video/photo for special occasions (weddings/baby showers/photoshoots/acting headshots). I am in the process of starting up my own website (with the help of the more knowledgeable in html) that can sell my photographs online to expand to other cities and states.

I have already sold some great shots of Pittsburgh so far. I have entered this path knowning I had to work for free/low pay. As for education goes, you are right 100 percent. Being professional is what you do outside and beyond the classroom, as my theater professor said to me. The upside to that, I have grown more appreciation for this craft even more.

Safak: Honestly, family issues plays a large part in this. Being raised in a enmeshed family, it has been hard to find motivation. Having parents and an older sibling who "settled" for less for what they are worth; ended up expressing a bittersweet happiness when I would go beyond what they all did. As for the other areas, I have begun doing that by pursuing photography and indie cinematography instead. I am also looking at other cities as well to see if they have a better overall job market.

Pitt Chick: That is great your son got a job out of college. That is a rareity that someone can get work that fast. My specific field is photography/cinematography. Overall, I have expanded and devloped more over the years. That is how much curiousity I have. The good about this, is having other things to fall back on and learning more possibilities.

Robrobrob: Yes, doing free work will help measure my worthiness. I am still knocking on many doors

JulieGT: That is a great idea! I have thought of asking non-profit companies of doing that. Yes, even advertise some of my photographic work for free. One GPS travel site already asked to use my one South Beach photograph to advert their section of the website.. I am planning to take it one step further, thank you for the suggestion! I will look at your friend's website and take some notes on the overall presentation. How is the San Fran area in regards to the creative arts scene?

Gbpriv: I have a gallery of my photographic work on Flickr.com. I am hopinh that getting my own website will change the search results. As for schooling goes, I have heard alot of good things about Penn State. Unfortunately, the community college didn't have the "portfolio" class part of the A.S. Degree until after I graduated. Going to school was great to learn, I wished I got more out of it when it came to finding work.

Alex Jones: Nine years is way too long. In fact, reality has set in after I graduated. My idea of a "dream job" is not how much it pays, how big your house is, the tally of how many cars you have, etc. It is doing it that matters the most. I appreciate your input, making money can help you live and enjoy free time as it comes.

Urbanpreppie05: thank you for the words of wisdom! I am gathering all of my artwork/photography, and anything creative by posting it on free sites (flickr, etc) until I can afford my own website.

I have a few more questions I will message you about. Thank you for assuring that I have a shot of catching up.

[Goodjules]

JulieGT: How is the San Fran area in regards to the creative arts scene?

It's very vibrant. But it is very expensive to live here. Even the outlying suburbs are expensive compared to Pittsburgh. The average rent for a one bedroom apt in SF is $2700 a month, less in the 'burbs. My son lives in the East Bay and shared rentals there average about $500 - $800 a month. My daughter lives in SF and shared rentals average about $750 - $1500 a month. Any lower than that and you're in a very sketchy neighborhood or you're sharing a bedroom. In SF there really isn't much of anything available under $750 for a shared rental. Many in that price range are shared bedrooms. I'd recommend getting some work experience and a great portfolio before moving here. It's incredibly competitive and because of Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. as well as old school companies like Wells Fargo, etc. it attracts the best and the brightest from around the world. It's a fun and exciting place to live for a young person, but it helps to have a job lined up before you come because the cost of housing is so very high.