Next Steps

[nemorathwald]

Going forward in the immediate short-short term, I will set myself to do the following as my "job" during the normal nine-to-five hours.

• ... draw sixty illustrations for a game company (paid freelance work).
• ... draw samples for a published novelist's manga comic proposal (work on spec).*
• ... assemble and update my digital portfolio and pursue freelance work aggressively.
• ... improve my resume and look for leads. Maybe apply to work in the Google AdWords office in Ann Arbor?
• ... rediscover the culinary arts. OK, what I really mean is "dig out the wok and stop living on Hot Pockets."

Over the medium term, I have the following steps, to figure out ...

• ... how to find freelance writing assignments.
• ... how to land a job scanning the library of the University of Michigan for Google so that poster children in Guatemala have access to complete world knowledge**. I have professional experience in scanning, I care passionately about the success of that project, and I know people who work at U of M.

Over the long term, I have the following steps, to figure out what a person does if they want to switch to a career in ...

• ... tech project management.
  
• ... user interface design.
• ... edutainment software design.
• ... tech startups, assuming that this is the quickest way to being in a position to design. By "design" I mean "decide what a given piece of software should do and how it should interact".

*I have never drawn anything in an anime or manga style. It will be easy to imitate; hence all the imitators. This will be my first attempt to elbow into that overcrowded field. If I succeed, I would acheive a lifestyle envied by hundreds of thousands of my fellow mortals. Wish me luck!
**Great green garfunkle, I love living in the twenty-first century!

Comments

[dbvanhorn.livejournal.com]

My experience with google ad words was less than stellar.
Over $1000 later, not ONE lead generated, much less any sales.

[matt-arnold.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, I should have specified I meant applying for work in their office in Ann Arbor. *goes and edits the post*

[dbvanhorn.livejournal.com]

Well, perhaps you can improve things then :)

[dbvanhorn.livejournal.com]

User Interface design: Even though it's not about software, I can recommend "Turn Signals Are the Facial Expressions of Automobiles", and "Emotional Design". Both very good books in that vein.

[rikhei.livejournal.com]

... how to land a job scanning the library of the University of Michigan for Google so that poster children in Guatemala have access to complete world knowledge**. I have professional experience in scanning, I care passionately about the success of that project, and I know people who work at U of M.

Actually, U of M students don't even have access to the digitized copies of copyrighted works in U of M's library, at least so much as I heard. I don't really know how much of their collection is in the public domain or orphaned copyright.

In any case, to make this a useful comment? You want to contact Adecco in Ann Arbor. Tell them you're interested in the Google scanning project. As I recall, it pays $10 an hour.

[rikhei.livejournal.com]

You've probably figured this out already, but U of M's not responsible for the hiring; Google is. And they're contracting through Adecco. I believe there are temp-to-perm positions, but I'm not sure.

[tlatoani.livejournal.com]

A clarification on the Google thing: Google has two separate operations in Ann Arbor. One is the scanning project, which has been going on for some time. The other is the AdWords office. They recruit separately.

On rediscovering the culinary arts: there are a lot of excellent online resources, but I can vouch for the recipes at www.kitchenchick.com, because she's tested all of them on me. ;-)

[matt-arnold.livejournal.com]

I'm certainly no foodie or gourmet; it's just not that important to me. My mention of the culinary art was sarcastic, I'm afraid. :) I think I'll tend to use Frugal Cuisine: Eating Well For Less.

[treebones.livejournal.com]

I don't know if he's still working there, but a friend of mine named Phil, mistrtoad was working for that project a while back. He is a motorcycling buddy of elizilla, and significant other of my former roommate, Jennifer.

[avt-tor.livejournal.com]

It's my understanding that the Google Adwords office in Ann Arbor is a sales operation.

I'd be a little surprised if scanning paid well, but it would look good on a resume.

out of curiosity,....

[trav13369.livejournal.com]

Which U of M library, the one in A2 or the mardiggian in Dearborn?

[temujin9.livejournal.com]

Are you sure the scanning effort will provide data to Guatemalan children? From what I know of it, there are far too many copyright respecting provisos to how the data will be used to allow this.

However, Google has successfully taken legal stands I would have thought suicidal; the whole scanning project, for instance, mirrors the project that brought MP3.com down. Maybe they've found a copyright loophole, which allows them to donate freely in Guatemala information they have to lock down in the US. They can certainly afford the lawyers to find and defend such a trick, should they decide it's good business.