Hunting for Buried Treasure...Namely, a Fitting Career

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

-Alexander Graham Bell

When you consider how a hopelessly-obsessed gamer/writer might find a way to transform elements of her beloved hobby into a job that pays the bills, the answer seems obvious: Become a video game designer. No brainer, right? Well, as someone who understands a grand total of nothing about programming and who hates math with a fiery passion, this solution is about as helpful as the "p" in psychology.

Therefore, figuring out what to do requires a more creative approach. When considering this dilemma, I had to break down the skills involved in these pastimes that would help me in a professional setting.

Writing. Editing/Proofreading. Organization. Strategy. Personality assessment. Helping others. Finding resources.

This was the easy part. The stress arose when I realized I would have to narrow these skills down to fields, occupations, and companies. Throughout adolescence, I radically changed my mind about what job I might like to have. I bounced from veterinarian to video game designer to writer to anthropologist. After gaining college experience, I focused on 2 fields that skillfully combined my counseling and writing education while calling out to those core characteristics I so enjoyed in my hobbies.

To say that Google strikes a familiar cord with me likely seems like a statement that could apply to everyone. After all, what individual with constant access to a device doesn't use Google? Who isn't addicted to the immediacy of finding information within seconds? In my case, however, I have visited Google Headquarters in Dublin, Ireland on account of my wonderful aunt being a high-tier professional in the organization.

During the summer of 2015, I did an externship at Google in which I interviewed several Human Resources workers. We discussed the nature of the organization--namely, that one of its primary strengths is the incredible teamwork that goes on behind-the-scenes. The facility itself is filled with countless amenities, from a gaming room to an on-site gym.

Most important to our discussion, however, is Google's aspect of fostering productivity. Aside from enjoying the company's luxuries, employees participate in activities designed to bring the workforce closer together--in other words, team-building activities.

This immediately brought back memories of high school when I spent my days crafting murder mystery dinners as team-building activities for clubs and fundraisers. It required careful consideration of the participants, planning how they might function as a unit, and meticulous writing, editing, and proofreading. Here, in this company, I could pursue a job which uses those exact same skills.

In addition to Google, there are innumerable organizations devoted solely to the creation and implementation of team-building trips and activities. One such company, Team Bonding, particularly caught my attention (https://www.teambonding.com/). Team Bonding conducts an analysis of the size and nature of the group that requests a team-building activity. Using this data, they design and execute the event to ensure that the organization itself is able to focus on building rapport among its workers.

According to the website, the company focuses on hiring individuals with specific skill sets. Among these, the employers list such skills as counseling and activity planning. Combined, my psychology training and prior experience with game design provide me with characteristics well-suited for this organization.

The last and greatest focus of my job search took a rather different turn than the previously-mentioned occupations--the field of career counseling. Florida State University's College of Education offers a combined M.S./E.D.S degree in this field, which I intend to apply to at the end of next semester.

Although this career is not directly intertwined with game design itself, it does implement many of the skills listed at the beginning of this post. Interpersonal, planning, helping, and writing/editing/proof reading skills--all of these elements are intrinsic to career counseling.

Organizations such as FSU provide on-campus career centers that employ workers of this field. They engage in activities like personality/skill analysis, career matching, professional writing, strategy, and resource allocation in order to aid students in their college/professional lives.

So...which one is the best?

Each of these companies harbor their own unique appeal and all of them speak to the core values I have established as vital for a long-term pursuit. While the third option is the most appealing and smoothly combines strengths of my major and minor, I intend to keep all of them on my list for consideration.