Which Is Worth Pursuing Further? Linguistics or Creative Writing?

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  7ekn00 on 19/11/2022 - 23:01

  +2

  Chicks dig cunning linguists way more ;)

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  Benoffie on 19/11/2022 - 23:24

  +7

  Who precisely employs linguists? For what purpose and what salary?

  All the people i know who ever did linguistics ended up either a) in linguistics academia (good luck getting employment nowadays) b) translators or related fields (NAATI qualifications but spotty employment - most jumped to HR or APS) c) TESOL teachers.

  If none of these sound enticing, creative writing might be better. However, there's equally no point if you're not actually out working in film/TV lands. Hoping to write the next great novel can just as easily be accomplished with a day job.

  Source - English teacher surrounded by many creative arts types that are working for The Man.

  • 

    TruePursuit on 20/11/2022 - 15:04

    I see. I'm not particularly interested in being a teacher or an interpreter. Academia sounds like something I would want to do on a casual basis.

    Yeah, but I personally find novels to be lacking. I want to be able to communicate my ideas to others in a visual manner. Would I be able to get into the film or TV industry through work experience and self-learning or would I have to undertake more studies?

    • 

      Benoffie on 20/11/2022 - 17:13

      My experience with this is limited to VET courses and Year 12s gaining work experience. In SA, this would normally be something we would direct students to TafeSA or SA Film Corp.

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  Mechz on 20/11/2022 - 00:58

  If I know anyone who's ever got a degree in 1 or more things, Option 3.

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  TheRealCher on 20/11/2022 - 04:48

  +4

  Youve chosen two tough fields - content creation, unless youre extremely lucky or have your finger on the pulse of things, is incredibly difficult to make a libing in. Its worthy though. You just need a second gig. Also AI is going to cause huge changes - soon we may not be able to tell whays wrotten by a human.
  Linguistics - pure linguistics has little opportunities. Applied slightly more if you want to go into a field like speech therapy. Alternatively, military intelligence is one of the major employers of linguistics grads. How many languages do you know?
  Academia is a vipers nest and covid has made it worse. A lot of linguistics tied in with tesol and teacher ed. Jobs were slashed and many areas continue to be shut down if research cant be monetised or joined to broader projects. Unis are pretty miserable places to work right now. And dont get me started on how they use money from students to fund pet research projects while employing thousands of people on casual contracts to teach.
  So….pursue what yr interested in. But ensure that you have an income stream. Think about getting a sideline in tech or science communications - "translating" the complex to "real world" can get you big bucks on projects.

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    TruePursuit on 20/11/2022 - 15:10

    Hmm, so I should find something else to pursue in addition to Creative Writing that'll supply income? Besides English, I know 2 other languages and have dabbled in 2 others. Right, so it's pretty risky to work in academia at the moment.
    Could you please elaborate on what you mean by tech/science communications?

    • 

      TheRealCher on 20/11/2022 - 16:43

      +1

      Tech writer = https://www.yourcareer.gov.au/careers/212415/technical-write…

      A good explanation of the pros and cons of science communication is here https://www.science.org/content/article/how-experiment-caree…

      One of the great points of that article is that right now, because you're not in that career, making that leap and then deciding if ir fits can be a really bad option.
      I cant tell from yr post if you've finished or are still studying but if possible, see if you can line up an internship (if you can afford it. I have a big problem with unpaid work but maybe you could do a day a week?) Also talk to your lecturers about their career paths and suggestions. Ask them about the best and the worst parts of the job.
      I'd also suggest thinking about your values - from what ive read, having an interesting job that uses writing skills is important. Other things you might like to consider are money, stability, variety, solo or collaborative, gig based or ongoing etc. And do a dive on the Australian governments career website about expected growth - that can give you an indication of possibilities.
      This is all to figure out what you can live with and what you arent willing to do. That guves you some limits and then you can start exploring. Career paths in content creation arent straight forward but they are interesting and diverse. In academia, you'd need to do a phd at a high level university, be publishing your research and conpeting with every single person who's done a phd and is currently a casual and is looking for work in that field. And there are no guarantees after 10 years of study.
      Investigate the languages option.
      I think the key here is finding something you dont mind doing do you can do something you enjoy doing. Creative life is often like that. Alternatively it's to find something that engages your skills and attention in a way that you find satisfying and makes you feel like youre contributing to something meaningful.

      • 

        TruePursuit on 20/11/2022 - 18:22

        Thank you kindly. I will have a look and take some time to consider and investigate :)
        Yes, I'm still studying, only 22 years old. I was studying 2 separate degrees simultaneously but have finished the Linguistics one and am awaiting my certificate.

        • 

          TheRealCher on 20/11/2022 - 20:04

          @TruePursuit: No probs.
          I was readijg the rest of the thread and it sounds like youre wanting what's called creative control - the ability to shape what you write and make it public. Much of the content producing industries don't work that way, largely because they're income driven but also collaborative. Writing seems solitary in comparison to film but publishing your work is very different; editors, publishers , agents etc will all impact this. I would encourage you if you go down this track to find people you trust because that makes it easier to accept that what is personal for you becomes a product. It's a work of communication in a very saturated market whete you have to compete. Using other people's money.
          As someone who loves literature. Cinema, games, theatre etc, i hate to frame it that way. But thats the "industry" you are in and unless you are independently wealthy or even dependently wealthy, you will need to be aware of this.
          The great thing is you're young, you have a chance to gain experience in different fields and find your niche. Uni also provides you with the chance to network so start collaborating on things. Youll learn a lot about the work and the art and the business.

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  morse on 20/11/2022 - 08:43

  What do you enjoy? Which path excites you more?

  I don’t know either industry well but as a general rule if your heart is in it you’ll be more likely to be successful and fulfilled.

  • 

    freefall101 on 20/11/2022 - 10:21

    +1

    My partner is a published author and has a creative writing degree. And let me say, this is bullshit. It’s an incredibly tough industry where financial success is usually found by abandoning what you love for commercial opportunities, or having fantastic industry connections.

    What makes a success book is mostly marketing these days. And most books getting written as a side project, not full time with a six figure advance to live off.

    • 

      morse on 20/11/2022 - 10:33

      I’m not saying interest is the only factor for success, but it’s one factor to help OPs decision. If linguistics doesn’t motivate them as much it may be a poor choice. Remember success isn’t only measured in $. Absolutely they’ll need another income stream if not immediately successful, it doesn’t mean it’s not what they should pursue.

      • 

        freefall101 on 20/11/2022 - 14:11

        +1

        I get where you're coming from and it is true of comparable industries, but creative writing specifically is loaded with people who feel it is their life dream to write a book or write in a creative field. And success is measured by people engaging with your work which usually at least translates into some dollars (even if not many).

        OP is talking about a future career of casual linguistics research and writing books as a career. A dose of reality is very much needed here - they'll be doing that casual research as a self-funded adventure and writing scripts for video games basically

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          TruePursuit on 20/11/2022 - 15:12

          @freefall101: Thank you for your insight. I will take this into consideration.

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  nubzy on 20/11/2022 - 09:19

  +1

  You would be well suited to content/copywriting which can be done on a freelance basis, pros are that you can work from home and be your own boss, cons - not easy to find consistent and well-paying work so you might need another side gig to supplement your income.

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  HelpMeiCantSee on 20/11/2022 - 11:48

  +2

  Linguistics has more possibility of income, but neither are hugely desirable to be honest, unless you plan on teaching. Even then, it’s a pretty saturated market.

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  freefall101 on 20/11/2022 - 14:22

  +1

  The future career I have in mind is creating compelling narratives through a visual medium such as films, video games, graphic novels, etc

  Just an FYI, writers don't create compelling narratives in video games, that's done by senior people in the team who likely have years of videogame experience. Writers get told what needs to be written by a production director and they flesh it out. Here's a text box, we need to get from point a to point b, you have x seconds/space to put it in, now write. No, that's no good, rewrite. You need to understand branching, maybe have a play with this - https://twinery.org/. If you really want to get into it, find a mod group to work with, as applying directly to jobs would need some excellent demonstration material (and a mod will give you practice).

  With graphic novels, you need to make sure you have the basics in art to at least design the scene. You can't just write it out a story then have someone else convert it into a graphic novel, you need to at least be able to draw out stick figures having the conversations and such. If you can come up with something compelling that someone else can draw from that, but it's not just the writing that's important.

  Films, take a course in screenwriting, see if it works for you. It's very different to writing a book.

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    TruePursuit on 20/11/2022 - 15:24

    Ohh, that's disappointing. I thought there would be more freedom. It sounds like graphic design which I studied a bit and changed because I hated having to constantly go back and forth following the requests of others. I want to have control of my ideas and don't want interference from others changing key themes unless it's suggestions which I'm okay with.

    I did study fine art before switching to Creative Writing so I can draw simple stuff but not like really impressive sketches without a guide. My skills are more geared towards writing which is why I made the switch.

    Okay, I will have a browse. I did a subject which had a screenplay component. Do I have to take a course in screenwriting to be able to work a job related to it? I have a limited amount in my HECS-HELP.

    • 

      freefall101 on 21/11/2022 - 19:33

      Pretty sure absolute freedom doesn't exist early in anyone's career, unless you're extremely talented or able to self fund yourself while working on an indie project and hoping for the absolute best.

      I did study fine art before switching to Creative Writing so I can draw simple stuff but not like really impressive sketches without a guide. My skills are more geared towards writing which is why I made the switch.

      I'd recommend reaching out to someone who works in graphic novels to find out what they look for in a creative writer to work with.

      Okay, I will have a browse. I did a subject which had a screenplay component. Do I have to take a course in screenwriting to be able to work a job related to it? I have a limited amount in my HECS-HELP.

      Like above it's probably best to look around at pathways to where you want to be specifically, but it's more important to have a good portfolio than anything else. Do you do a lot of writing that you consider good, and have you found what you really enjoyed writing?

      I did read this piece the other day though, on someone who is a copywriter to pay the bills while doing other creative writing - https://www.artshub.com.au/news/career-advice/essential-skil… - also if you want to look at advertising there's AWARD school - https://www.awardschool.com.au/ (for an advertising group their website is atrocious!)

    • 

      CrowReally on 28/11/2022 - 10:51

      -1

      freefall's advice is spot-on. Adding on to that, you've coming across as an 'ideas person' who wants others to assist in executing your vision [e.g. game makers, a film crew etc] - outside of funding this yourself the only other way you would make this happen would be convincing them/moneymen that you have the chops to make good stuff. Which means you need to already have made good stuff that you could show them to prove your worth. So you'll need a portfolio of some sort.

      Taking games as an example, I'd make yourself available as a 'game writer' on a collaborative game jam [itch.io hosts a ton of them] and then by working on game jams and chatting in discords, making contacts etc you'll find out if it's for you or not. Trajectory-wise you're a long way off non-collaborative work [and even further from profitability].

      It's frankly not realistic to plan around having a career of being the ideas man and not having someone higher up controlling your freedom. Even vaunted examples like Hideo Kojima only come about as a result of starting out as a junior and being told what to do for long enough to make a name for themselves, and even then they get kicked off their own projects if they get too bonkers.

      Do what everyone else does - get a paycheck career and tell yourself you'll do the art stuff on the side.

      • 

        TruePursuit on 28/11/2022 - 20:40

        Thank you for your insight CrowReally!

        It sounds much tougher than I originally thought it'd be. I have some work from the fine art subjects I did but not a complete work yet. I wish I had the skills in other areas (like design) but even if I did, realistically speaking, I feel that I would not do as well as someone who is geared towards those areas. I'll have a look at itch.io.

        Yeah, I understand. Hideo Kojima is actually one of the people that inspired me and led me to want to do this type of creative work.

        Do you have any insight into the music industry? I mean like making themes for films or video games. I'm considering studying music to do something like that so that I at least can add another skill to my arsenal rather than just being the ideas man.

        • 

          CrowReally on 29/11/2022 - 09:10

          @TruePursuit: Even if you're not a master/highly skilled at an area, that shouldn't hold you back from working on (and finishing) small projects for your portfolio. e.g. if you have a great graphic novel script, you can use stickmen to rough out the scenes that support your words, etc. Hideo Kojima and Steven Spielberg's storyboards are incredibly rough, but that's because it's not about their art ability, it's about their story telling.

          Ideas are wonderful things to have - make sure you're writing them down. "Ideas man" is only a pejorative when it's someone thinking up (usually generic) concepts and lacking the desire/energy to pursue them personally. Wanting to learn skills and add them to your repertoire is what takes you beyond the 'ideas man' area. Skill up (but keep making stuff along the way).

          I'm not much of a musical person myself (much like a writing desk, I only produce flat notes) but I've seen a few of them lurking around the edges of the game jams, working on their craft and making themes for games and so forth.

          Again, I'd find the discord or hang-out areas of these people and ask them questions. They're a friendly, inclusive community, they'll say "Watch this tutorial and follow along with this synth, if you want to sound like that" or so on. Also, YouTube. A bit of Google-fu and you'll find free mini-documentaries and analysis of your favourite musician/scorers, and then you can take it from there.

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  Velt on 29/11/2022 - 15:15

  Have a look into instructional design careers

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  Yve on 29/11/2022 - 16:59

  I don’t want to pour a bucket of water on you like the many others here. But it’s a genuinely difficult pursuit many people have attempted to no success.

  If it’s your life goal, then you’d still need a secondary income source to fund your expenditures. Many creative types work in cafes, retail etc as a side job while pursuing their goals.
  Furthermore you can’t be a master of everything, because you’ll be good at nothing. I’d second the opinion that you should take screenwriting.

  The unfortunate reality that most people live in however is that creative fields demand far more than what most are willing to pay. When everyone has drive, motivation, passion, a life’s goal, it simply becomes another requirement to enter the industry.
  It requires a single minded pursuit to overcome others as you’ll need to compete with people who’ve started far earlier than you, all whilst not losing the enjoyment of doing that job.
  A talented musician, artist etc is someone who practices more than someone else. Think of an 8 year old who spends 4 hours practising a day vs an 8 year old who spends 2 hours practising a day. Persistence isn’t the key to success, enjoying the 2 additional hours of practice is. That is fulfilment.
  Add 10 years, and they have 7000+ more hours of practise than the other. The simple solution is to overtake them in 2 years, spend 10 hours a day digesting content to the best of your ability whilst enjoying it. That’s assuming everything is equal, however education plays a heavy role in this as well.
  Your access to resources in Australia is much more limited compared to an individual who’s in Calarts and gets tutored by industry professionals then goes to additional workshops/mentorship on weekends. The competitiveness of the environment also heavily shapes them.
  So ultimately whether it’s worth pursuing is whether you deem it worthwhile to compete with yourself on the line (with regards to becoming the next Kojima.)