#also private investigator role leads into the investigator / reporter duo with nancy that i personally think should be endgame lmao

[scoopstrooptm]

HC: robin + potential career paths!

            so I really want to talk about this because unfortunately I feel like it’s made very unclear by canon exactly what Robin’s plans are for the future, despite the fact that she is in her senior year in season 4 just like Nancy and Jonathan. we hear that Eddie plans to finally graduate in ‘86, we know that Nancy and Jonathan have that tension over which colleges they plan to go to after they graduate, but what of Robin? 

            this is obviously a sign in itself that I think Robin doesn’t really know what she wants to do with her life in terms of a career: she is not driven or ambitious in the same way that Nancy is, to make an obvious comparison between both girls, and her character is not centred on her future but on her present, working with Steve at Family Video, and her relationships ( i.e. her crush on Vickie ). but it is important not to forget that despite her neuro-divergent coding, particularly in s4, she is still very intelligent! she cracked the Russian code in s3, she can speak four languages ( and we know from Rebel Robin that she took the time to learn those languages herself, outside of the school curriculum, which I will come back to in a moment ), she has very engaged and sophisticated discussions with her English teacher, Mr. Hauser, in the Rebel Robin podcast about works of classic literature like Frankenstein and 1984, and she is said in the book to be a student who coasts along with good grades in her sophomore year but fears putting the effort in to become known as an overachiever and therefore stand out from the crowd ( something which I’m sure she fixes going forward into her junior and senior year once she becomes more comfortable in her own skin ).

           I think Robin’s issue, and why she is noticeably bright but no mention is made of college plans by her or others in s4, is that she doesn’t like working or learning within the rigid education system. she talks to Mr. Hauser a lot in the podcast about reading books outside of the syllabus, as I said above she makes the decision to learn different languages in her own time because Hawkins doesn’t offer any foreign language provision. in Rebel Robin in particular, I think she sees the education system as just an extension of the Hawkins monster --- something that swallows people up in this town and turns them into small-minded sheep that follow the crowd and don’t challenge or question the world around them. she doesn’t see any challenge in the school curriculum that is offered and, more importantly, she doesn’t see herself represented in anything that she learns --- where is the small town lesbian in her English literature texts? where is the history of the LGBT+ movement and the Stonewall riots in her history lessons? these are all things that bother her and frustrate her about her school education.

            academic study also doesn’t necessarily suit her or her learning style either: Robin is someone who is fiercely motivated when she is focused on or learning about something she enjoys or finds interesting. the education system is not necessarily friendly to this idea: even at college / university level, there is still an element of having to read and study what is on the syllabus, even though Robin would no doubt find greater freedom for example in pursuing a humanities-based subject and being able to write essays on what she finds interesting about a particular novel or subject.

            so when it comes to advancing to college level study, I think Robin would have to weigh up the limitations of continuing with a rigid education structure, with the most obvious benefit of her of going to college: getting out of Hawkins. applying to a college out of state and making that move is the easiest way for her to leave ( she just has to ensure that both she and Steve have the money that Steve could come with her, because she would never leave without him ), and being in a university environment away from Hawkins in a big city gives her the chance to broaden her horizons while still having the safety net of being a part of a college community.

           there is also her mom, who as we know puts a lot of pressure on Robin within her canon, and I think she would push for Robin to go to college in order to secure a future for herself regardless of what Robin actually wanted. with this pressure and the benefits of leaving Hawkins to an out of state college, I do think Robin would likely go to college post-canon and had likely filled in her applications and was waiting for her acceptance letter in the same way that Nancy and Jonathan were. whether she could actually settle on a major to study or stick out college for the long term is debatable in my opinion: I think this all depends on whether Robin is able to figure out what she wants to do and what she is most passionate about while there. otherwise I could just see her going through the motions, much like she did at school, until a better opportunity that wasn’t academic-based came up and actually gave her practical experience and a chance to learn something she felt strongly about. 

           once she gets to the city, too, I can see her horizons and potential for herself opening up to the point where, unless she needed a college education to attain a certain career path she’d set her sights on, strict education would probably no longer be necessary for her. college could therefore just function as a springboard for Robin to something better.

            but what would this something better be? I have a few ideas for what I believe Robin would enjoy or be good at, but obviously this is subject to change or revision depending on where she lands at the very end of the show:

private investigator:

                this is the career path I could see most suiting Robin at this point in time. Robin threw herself into the Russian espionage plot in s3 and really enjoyed getting to apply her mind to something that required her to make connections and figure things out. she not only was able to translate the Russian code despite not actually knowing or speaking the language, but she was also resourceful enough to seek out the blueprints for Starcourt Mall to allow the Scoops Troop a safe way in through the vents. then in s4 she was paired with Nancy which allowed Robin to continue with her love of problem-solving and thinking outside of the box as they investigated the Victor Creel lead. Robin was the one who persevered with the Weekly Watcher reel even when Nancy dismissed it; Robin was the quick-thinker who spoke up in her passionate rant to grant the two of them access to Creel’s cell; Robin was the one who made the connection between the music Victor was listening to at the time of being trapped in his son’s trance, and how he survived the encounter, and was ultimately the one to save Max. 

           Robin enjoys problem solving, has a very Sherlockian approach that can be unorthodox at times but always works, and contributes so much to the brains of the Hawkins group. being a private investigator who works on a contract basis also gives her the chance to help others in need too, particularly those who might have been let down by the authorities, and the freedom to work when she wants to. she would be self-employed and I think that would suit her a lot better than to answer to a superior.

tour guide:

             this is more of a stop-gap job role, perhaps a job that she gets once she’s out living in a big city and working towards something more, but is something that I equally think Robin would enjoy. we know Robin loves languages and loves soaking up culture: she could take on this role once she’s established in a big city like NYC or Chicago to help show tourists around, and with the ability to speak several foreign languages she would be a huge asset to that role too and could relate to others in their own tongues. this also would help her meet new people from all walks of life and different countries around the world. alternatively, if Robin was to realise her dreams of visiting or even moving to Europe, she could take on a similar sort of role there.

forensic psychologist:

              this is more of a niche job role that would likely involve a college education and further training, but I always think back to her rant to the asylum director and how much conviction she puts into the line “and learn a little bit more about how his twisted, but let’s face it, totally fascinating mind works.” combine that with Robin’s offhand comment earlier in the season that “serial killers stalk their victims before they strike” and I think it’s clear that her rant was not completely an act. it was based in a lot of truth: I think Robin does find the minds of killers and psychopaths and of those who are not the “norm” fascinating in terms of how these people tick, and it relates to the idea that in order to solve a crime or find a killer, you have to understand how the killer or criminal’s mind works first. Robin no doubt watches a lot of true crime documentaries and would read a lot of Weekly Watcher esque articles, so I think she would enjoy a career that was focused on the psychology of those who had committed criminal offences and then aiding with rehabilitation, once again being able to help people and make a difference.

location manager or other role related to film:

             last but not least, this role would combine two of Robin’s interests: film and travel. I could personally see Robin taking on a variety of roles within the film industry ( purely behind the camera though, I don’t think she would ever want to be on camera ), and maybe even becoming a hot shot indie film director one day, but being a location manager would combine that love of film ( since it was clearly Robin’s idea to apply to Family Video, not Steve’s lmao ), with her desire to travel. she would get to travel the world locating ideal sets for the films she was working on and then get to negotiate contracts for the terms of the shoot.

bonus shout out: music industry

              okay I want to talk about a potential career for Robin within the music industry too because obviously Robin has been in marching band for many years and it tends to be a popular fanon choice for her ( especially as she is so often grouped into whatever the boys are doing in classic fandom fashion of prioritising the white male fave ship ), however I am not sure how comfortable Robin would be in a performing capacity as part of a band. marching band is how Robin defines herself while at school but I don’t think music is as much of a passion to her as something like film or travel or literature. in her sophomore year and during Rebel Robin, she doesn’t really own any music tapes whatsoever, preferring her language tapes instead, and only really develops her own music preferences after the events of the novel. she has the knowledge of musical theory that would help within this career sector, but I think Robin is much more suited to a background or supporting role ( i.e. as a manager or creative mind / lyricist / music composer behind the scenes ) than she is to be up on stage in the spotlight.