I’m rounding off the final weeks of my second degree, throughout which I’ve worked long and hard as a freelance journalist. I can honestly say I relate to and wholeheartedly agree with the views presented by the study participants of Gill’s research (2007) - as I type this post, I’m rounding off my third 16 hour-plus working day in a row. Ironically, today is Labour Day, the holiday commemorating the Labour Unions' victory in standardising the working day - eight hours work, eight hours play, eight hours rest per day they said – yeah right!
New media jobs like mine have an irresistibly dangerous appeal – creative, self-driven, and new, with an undeniably “cool” factor consistently implied. However, opportunities for autonomy and innovation, and the pleasure garnered from translating passion into profession need to be balanced with the stark reality that very few can feasibly carve a career in this industry, and those who do face a hard slog – long hours, loneliness, lack of professional guarantees and financial instability.
Blogger Katherine Kirkwood describes herself as “a creature of consistency” admitting the unstable nature of the new media industries makes her uncomfortable, and understandably so (Kirkwood, 2011).
I, however, relish the prospect of competing in such an exciting arena. In Mediopolis I describe myself as a “citizen of nowhere”; change has been an innate factor in my life. Sure, my career may have its professional victories and defeats, but my need for security is trumped by the opportunity to work with passion, innovation and a little bit of fear to keep me motivated.
Life, after all, is fluid and transient. To me, that’s what makes it so terrifying, so beautiful, and so worth it. Why should my work life be any different?
References
References
Gill, Rosalind. 2007. “Informality is the New Black.” In Technobohemians or the new Cybertariat? New Media work in Amsterdam a decade after the web. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures: 24-30 & 38-43. Accessed May 1 2011 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal
Kirkwood, Katherine. 2011.Week 7 Post: Is a Career in New Media really for me?, Katherine’s New Media Blog. April 28 2011. Accessed May 1 2011 from.http://katkirkwood.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment