Aaron Camp
Pre-AP English I – 6
November 4, 2014
Career Choice Comparative Essay

Since middle school, I loved creative activities such as illustrating, participating in the school band, and playing video games online, so, in my search for three possible careers, I used my talents to find these three choices: artist, classical musician, and web developer.
Based upon the level of education, salary, aptitude, future prospects, and schedule, I would choose artist because of my pre-existing artistic talent for a career that allows me to express my creativity and artistic abilities.
The comparison chart below explains the criteria I used when making my decision for my career:

	Artist	Classical Musicial	Web Developer
level of education	High school diploma or equivalentoptional college classes	High school diploma or equivalentBachelor’s degree in Music theory or performance	Associate’s degree
Salary	$44,380 per year$21.34 per hour	$23.50 per hour	$62,500 per year$30.05 per hour
Aptitude	Artistic creativity customer service dexterity interpersonal business	dedication discipline interpersonal musical talent physical stamina	concentration creativity customer service detail-oriented
Future prospects	3% growth52,942	5% growth175,700	20% growth169,680
Schedule	no set schedule	rehearsals during dayperformances during nights or weekends	full time schedulebusiness hours strict scheduledeadlines

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov 25 October 2014.

By reading the chart and considering education, a web developer will require the second highest level of education with a two year associate’s degree. The associate’s degree will pay off, though, with a yearly salary of $62,500. Since the need for web developers is growing, the estimated growth is currently at 20% for the next ten years. This will create 169,680 jobs in web developing, which will provide stability for this field. This job will involve creating and designing websites for companies. Since I enjoy designing, I might want to look at developing websites which would combine my love for the world wide web with designing. Overall, this job appears to be a profitable career based on the criteria.
Another job which sparks more of my interest would be a classical musician, which utilizes my musical talent and dedication. Contrasting the web developing career, the growth rate for this job is slower than average at 5% producing 175,700 job openings in the next ten years. If I consider my experience in the school band, I feel that this job is suitable for me. I already have some of the skills: dedication to musical talent and physical stamina. The schedule for a classical musician would mostly be performances at night with rehearsals during daytime hours, which would allow me to sleep later occasionally. Although, I would still have to obtain a bachelor’s degree in music theory or musical performance, but I could most likely achieve this with ease.
Even though the increased income from web developing and schedule versatility from the musician field are tempting, I would still choose artist because it combines a self-set schedule with my favorite pass-time.
To help choose this career, I would show you my middle school years of teaching myself how to draw and finding time to practice the more difficult aspects of art like shading. I think this helped me to become more creative. This would not require a college course, but I could still take classes to perfect my style. I know that there may be instances where I may have no inspiration to draw, but I believe my love for art can help me overcome this obstacle.
My careers that I researched all have interested me in some way. They also all include a skill of which I already possess. However, the career I would like to spend my time and energy in would be art. I think that being an artist would help me find my creative potential while still having fun and enjoying my career.