#i need to find a job so i can get out of the uni sphere and feel like I'm actually doing something. also i need money.

[nosieposie]

I need to stop going through the cycle of realizing I'm ruining and wasting my life and then not doing anything about it every week I can't do this anymore godddddd

[sunnylolli]

I came across your punk Arthur dad au where Al was having a bad day and I'd be really interested to know your headcanons of punk Arthur as a dad if you have any. I cant remember if that art came from a human au or not but I vibe so hard with the idea of human punk Arthur just raising his kid y'know? btw I wanna eat your art style its so good

Boy do I ever!!!

It is indeed a human au and it does have FrUk, but I focus more on Arthur and Alfred as their own little family-

Arthur is a young single dad. And I mean he's young as in he's just shy of 18 when Alfred is born and he's just turned 19 when Alfred is made his sole responsability.

Arthur needs to stop doing gigs and needs to put a pin in his entire social life because most of his 'friends' are really only friends with him because they go out drinking together and go to concerts, y'know?So by withdrawing from that for Alfred's sake, Arthur kind of ends up only really having Gilbert around, because Gilbert isn't really that easy a person to get rid of.

(Putting a read more because I go nuts beneath here, it seems)

- Arthur as a punk dad would obviously end up having a very different grown up Alfred than we got in canon- A very left leaning Alfred.

But I see him bringing Alfred to things still, but he doesn't bring him to places with too many people or music that is way too loud because 1. he's worried someone will come snatch Alfred from him and 2. he doesn't want to ruin his hearing.

He brings him to protests though, with earbuds. And 1970s Britain, it's not like those are lacking in any capacity. So we have Alfred sitting on Arthur's shoulders in a way too large band t-shirt, his hair messed up and having the time of his life in the sea of people protesting worker's rights.

And then he'll leave Alfred with Gilbert a few hours every day while he runs around trying to find a job! Which he eventually does and starts gradually making an attempt to make a savings fund for Alfred.

But it doesn't change the fact they're poor.

But they live in a flat, they own a vacuum and a kitchen, they have running water and they eat doner kebab at least a few times a month. And when Alfred starts school, Arthur starts uni in hopes of getting himself a more well-paying job, Alfred and Matthew get the same uniform as everybody else does.

So yeah, they're poor, but it could definitely be worse.

Arthur doesn't push ideology on either Alfred nor Matthew (When he enters into the picture), he doesn't tell them what to think, but he expresses his own beliefs and asks them things that can get them to think for themselves such as:

"If you were in their shoes, how would you feel about [x,y,z.]." And "Alright, then how would you like [xyz] to be different?"

Like he's very democratic in his parenting and he believes very firmly that good people aren't born, they're made. And while he doesn't have many expectations set in stone for either of them, he does expect them to do their best at things that they like doing and he does expect them to be good people.

Arthur is genuinely interested in who Al and Mat will grow up to be, the scene where he lies on the floor with Alfred is a reflection of that, in how he speaks to Alfred like a person rather than to a child-

(Because when soeaking to children it's important to remember they are just as much a person deserving of respect and recognition as any other person is and they do not owe you shit just because they happen to be a child. They do not owe you respect, if you cannot show them any.)

And also! In this au, Arthur simply is a good dad; Because I have started studying and I love projecting things I learn onto him and have him utilize my knowledge.

Punk Dad Arthur is the healthiest Arthur that exists within the Sunny sphere.

[hawksugarbaby]

Fatgum x reader- Atlas

Fluff + Greek mythology AU.

You were nothing more than a simple human, roaming the built up world to find something new and interesting, something no one could see but you, a secret for you and the universe to hold together. You needed to find something special is what you thought, taking a break at the atlas mountains in the scorching Morroccon sun. sweat bead down your forehead and your skin was hot to the touch but the adventure and experience, the trials to find something undiscovered was worth the peeling skin on your shoulders being soothed by aloe over and over.

Your persistence to find the unknown secret may have started genuinely, you wanted to find what the universe wanted you too, but eventually it gave you a reason to travel the world. You've travelled to 28 countries in 4 years, beginning at 18 and now you're 22, you skipped uni and college, you made money from ad revenue on youtube since your vlogs became popular, and you were incredible when it came to saving money.

Of course, you were still searching, but now you felt like you had even bigger reasons. Exploring the world, drinking in fountains of culture and knowledge, that was perfection enough. But the secret was missing.

You stood up rolling your neck and started your walk up rocky paths of mud and stone to the sandy houses forming a village and your senses lead you to a vendor, golden couscous with colourful, roasted vegetables mixed through smelled amazing and glasses of fresh mint tea lined up for you to drink while eating couscous at the vendors stall. You requested a glass of the tea, sat down, and drank it too quickly, burning your tongue from the hot water. You sucked in sharply and hummed in pain. "Thank you!" you said paying for the drink and continuing to the mountains past the beige buildings with terracotta tile roofs.

You felt like if you walked between the fingers of the mountain grabbing the earth with their hands you would find something unknown. You walked around the spurs peering into the joining point of each interlocked section but none tugged you in, pulled you towards them with mystery.

Apart from one. The sun was on the opposite side so technically there should have been no light, but it seemed perfectly visible to you? Was it a trick of the light? Possibly an illusion? Either way your heart longed to investigate and so you did. You trudged forward kicking a stone out your way and looked at the joining line. "You have to be something right?" you muttered and put your hand between the drack. You drew a triangle, mimicking the shape the spurs made and as quickly as you could blink, the mountain began to shake, not violently, but it trembled like being coerced into sharing it's deepest secrets.

"Okay... mountains don't usually do that" you say with wide eye's as the seam rips apart and balls of moss and rock tumble into a pile on the floor. Was it a doorway for you? Who knew, you didn;t care, whatever it was you were finding out one way or another.

You stepped into the cavern, dripping stalagmites made your head turn in the direction of every 'plop' into the puddle and your hands brushed against the side of the wall for stability and a sense of surrounding. "These feel like bricks?" you whisper in a questioning tone as your eye's begin to adjust to the dark and you found that you were going aimlessly through a long, triangular corridor. The bricks were a muted clay colour with green moss and algae blanketing them, the grout in the walls was black and viridian unidentifiable as something anyone had ever known of.

The terracotta sparsely began to cut into black white and grey granite eventually forming a whole wall as if the bricks had never been there to begin with. The marble was just as unkempt and ruined as the bricks but the walls got wider, further and further away from each other until they opened into a wide, white cavern, glowing and inhumanely clean. In the middle was a statue of a hulking man, holding the sky. He wore no shirt and had a pair of orange shorts on and black sandals, sandals that looked real and hyper-realistic looking shorts that flowed with the draft and skin you could see the detail of every pore in. hold on... fabric made of marble should not flow in the wind and should not be such an even orange no matter how much paint.

You slowly looked up, the chest rising and falling with a huffing breath it had to take, the hands trembled and the lips quivered. The hairs on his leg and arm stuck up with the chill of the wind and his elbows dropped slightly making the sky move. Finally, you dared look at the eye's of the giant, who was looking back at you confused as a bee trying to escape through a shut window. Mustard yellow eye's with sunken bag's looked right back at you and you backed up letting out a girlish scream.

"Hey hey wait!!" he shouted, wishing he could reach out and shake your hand or reach after you to emphasise that he wanted you to stay. "Please! Please don't go. I don't have anyone to talk to, I promise I won't hurt you!" he begged, glancing at your figure backing up and starfishing against a wall like it would absorb you and push you out the other side. "Y-you you're talking! And moving! But you, you're a statue?" you shook your hands in front of you and he laughed lightly. "I'm not a statue, I'm a titan. I'm just a big God to be honest, big God doing his job" he nodded his head at his rhyming ability and you slid down the wall grazing your burnt back. "Don't do that you'll hurt yourself" he said.

You took a deep breath to calm yourself then blew out, another deep breath and blew out, another deep breath then blew out. "Okay. so... what you're like atlas or something? He was... he was a titan right and he just held up the universe forever and that looks like something important like the universe" you pointed at the sphere on his back constantly shifting and changing colours and he made a whiney voice at the back of his throat. "Sorta? I'm Taishiro, nice to meet you" he greeted with a nod and you nodded back glancing again at the exit.

Could you trust him?

One look from him and it wasn't hard to tell he was overjoyed to finally talk to someone so you stood in front of him with your hands on your hips so he could see you while he was looking down. "Should I know who taishiro is, not to sound rude but everyone's heard of atlas, who is taishiro?" you asked biting a nail and the titan nodded understandably, fair enough, you would ask valid questions.

"so like, zeus wanted to do something cool and like "oh look i'm redeemable" se he basically said hey all the titans weren't so bad and just did what dad told them to so they all got freed or whatever but someone still has to hold the sky so they gave me the job" he said in one breath which was impressive to you but he wasn't finished. "which is okay, I don't mind it here but it's boring and lonely and my arms have cramp and God I miss food. And like they just made me a titan, they just chose me off the street after work and were like yo we need a new titan and I thought, hey y'know what i'm a hero, i'd be doing good for the world but i'm bored and hungry" he finished his ramble and you giggled.

You opened a packet of pistachios and a muffin and looked at him. "Can I climb you?" you asked gripping the pistachios in your teeth and pulling the muffin in a travel cup that clipped to your belt. "Sure! Not like you're very heavy to me" he joked and you laughed quietly grabbing the threads of his sandals and pulling yourself up like a climbing wall. "Oh you're so small. It tickles" he laughed. Resisting the urge to twitch and jerk you off his leg. You climbed quickly like the ropes in gym class then when you got to the shorts you pulled yourself up until you rested on his knee, flat as a table.

"Uhh, I think this should be good" you nod and balance cautiously to sit down pulling out the muffin and tapping his knee. "Hey open your mouth" you ask and he does so without question. You throw the muffin like a shot put and he grins, savouring the sweet, chocolatey taste "sorry their human sized" you sigh and shuck the pistachios for yourself, chewing on the green nuts with hundreds of questions buzzing in your head.

"So you were a hero?" you question flicking the pistachio shell into the bowl below you where taishiro's feet stood rooted to the ground. "Mhm. BMI hero: fat gum. I was like 46th, the world thinks I retired, that's what I told them but to me i'm still being a hero" he explained and you hummed agreeingly. "It's pretty hero like to give up everything to hold the weight of the world" you smile up at him and he blushes lightly. "Aw, you sound like one of my old interns. I miss it sometimes though, and I miss talking to people so much, it gets lonely here" a breeze flew past you and he shivered, but didn't lose an ounce of balance on the sphere, it was firmly rooted above him, it could have been suspended for all you knew. "Yeah, I bet, especially since being a hero is a pretty team focused job right?"

He smiled sadly and looked up at the tiny exit. He couldn't fit through doors like that anymore, he was the height of the eiffel tower and with one step he'd crack open the crust of the earth. "Yeah. you sound like you know what your talking about" you smiled tucking your hair behind your ear and shrugged "I do. I went to shiketsu to be a hero but when I left I was like... nah, that ain't my purpose. I wanted to like, find a secret the universe had that no one else knew about so i've been travelling for 4 years and I guess you were the secret right?" you thearised and he agreed happily. "It's cool knowing the universe wanted you to find me!" "heck yeah it is!"

You stayed with taishiro for a few days before having to leave and you had never felt so sad before. It was finally over, you didn't have a reason to travel anymore, you found the secret and had solidified a friendship with him but now you were leaving? Despite the snacks and drinks and stories shared about what you'd seen. You felt guilty leaving him again but he looked overjoyed. "I'll visit soon okay!" you shouted and he nodded "I'll see ya around. Say hey to little red riot for me, and suneater!" he instructed and you saluted exiting the cavern back into the dank corridor.

You kept your eyes trained on the ground until you left the mountain. A shimmering rainbow was directly in front of you and you swiped your hand through it like a cloud of smoke you tried re-directing.

The rainbow fizzled and formed into a human with long white hair and pasty skin, a long sundress with rainbow accents and black eye's. "Hi, (y/n) (y/ln) am I right? Oh I know i'm right don't worry, i'm iris Goddess of the rainbow and a messenger for the Gods of sorts. See I'm here to offer you a fast pass from wherever you are to right here in Morocco, next to our dear friend Tai whenever you please" she said with a smile, arm around your shoulder and walking away from the entrance like a car salesman.

You crossed your arms and raised an eyebrow interested but cautious. "What will it cost me?" you ask bluntly and she laughed, slapping your back lightly. "Your hilarious kid. No it costs you nothing more than a prayer or 2 to me and my dear friend Hermes, see he's the God of travel, he's my partner in this see, and what we'll do is just zip you over here faster than you can think!" she exclaimed. You nodded and thought. A free service from 2 Gods? Were they typically that kind? No not really so...

"Oh I see. Zeus wants a fuck doesn't he" you jeered and the sky's went pale grey, like the colour your skin would go if you;d seen a ghost. Iris choked and looked up. "Um... the God of the sky does take an interest in you, yes." you rolled your eyes and stuck your tongue out at the sky. "Keep it in your pants buddy! I want the fast pass for free or I tell yo wife!!" you bargained, though it was hardly a haggle as the king God, terrified of his wifes wrath, told irish to just give you it for free.

"Thank you! I'll be sure to think of you when I see rainbows from now on, maybe we can have a chat! Oh oh or come see me and Tai some time, he says he gets lonely, you should visit him!" you grinned with a wave and said your address, being transported immediately like cargo from morocco to your home.

You crashed into your bed and huffed grabbing your limbs to make sure you were completely there. "DOES THIS WORK WITH OTHER COUNTRIES!" you shouted to no one in particular, your voice cracking while you spoke and then collapsed into bed, falling into a deep slumber.

A/n: Not gonna lie I really dont like thos chapter. It feels rushed and boring, I think I'll revisit it at somepoint. If you have any feedback feel free to comment!

[nothorses]

Hi, I like your blog.

Feel free not to respond to this for any reason (cw transphobia & dysphoria, misgendering and deadnaming)

I'm getting help with dysphoria very soon, and if everything goes well in 6 to 8 months I could get on T, which is great!

I'm out with everyone that matters, but now that I can attend my first year at uni and I'm able to meet new people I'm too scared that I'll put myself in danger or that I'll be ridiculed and I end up giving them my deadname.

Part of that fear is bc in the wa group of the uni course they keep using transphobic "dark humor" which often goes too far or gets too violent and makes me feel very unsafe. I could be overreacting, but I don't want to risk outing myself to somebody I shouldn't trust.

At the same time I'm making friends! I'm so happy! And I've already lost friendships coming out, I don't feel like giving up these new friendships as well giving them my name.

And I'll need to, not only bc there will be changes in the next years, not only bc I'll only be allowed hormones when I'll have socially transitioned, but mainly bc it feels like shit to go back being misgendered and misnamed by friends

I don't know. Everything in my social life, from making to keeping friends to finding a partner to looking for mentors is hard and painful and I'm so tired. I just wish I could go stealth, but I'm not able to, and I won't be for a long while, if ever. Maybe if I were more brave I'd approach these problems differently, at the moment I feel like I've lost all my patience and strenght.

Did you experience a weird middle ground as well while coming out? How would you advise going about it? I'm sorry for the rant and I hope I haven't made too many errors, english isn't my first language. I hope you're having a good day,

-E

I definitely experienced a weird middle ground when I was first coming out, and for years after, and now even though I’m out to everyone and have been on T for some months now. 

For a long time, I was only out in some spheres of my life; my friends and some jobs knew me by my real name, but my family continued to know me by my deadname, and sometimes different spheres would blend in strange ways- it was a lot of work trying to keep things separate so that I wasn’t accidentally outed, and I made a lot of compromises to avoid anyone finding out before I was ready.

What finally made me cave and come out to everyone was a conversation with an older transmasc, also a teacher. We talked about how despite the rough parts of being trans and being out, eventually, a lot of who you’re out to is entirely up to you. Most people won’t notice or care, even if you aren’t stealth. A lot of people will really surprise you with their acceptance. And how his only regret in his transition was that he didn’t start it sooner.

It’s tough to navigate, there are going to be scary aspects of it, and there’s no clean solution- but you definitely aren’t alone. And it’s temporary. And it’s all up to you. I don’t have an answer for you one way of the other, but I hope any of that helps you in figuring out your decision. Good luck!

[humanwheatleyslefttoenail]

I have this idea floating in my head for an AU where Chell was a scientist at Aperture instead of a random test subject.

I think she’d probably be something of a newer employee, got out of uni a few years ago and has been between projects ever since. Aperture gave her a permanent gig, and she needs the stability. She probably lives in a little apartment, mostly empty save for a few mementos. It doesn’t bother her. She basically lives at Aperture now; nobody ever really goes home when they’re scheduled to. Time runs differently at Aperture Science. 

Because she’s so new, Chell doesn’t think she’ll get assigned to the GLaDOS project. Most hires have to be test supervisors first, but she’s got an incredible drive. No problem, be it code or hardware, is too hard for Chell to solve. She can work for hours, changing the variables until she finds a solution. A sharp wit and sheer determination make her ideal. 

The nights are late, the scientists living on little but caffeine and curiosity, and some of them fall asleep at their chairs. Sometimes, she’ll awaken hours later, unsure of when she drifted off. Those mornings, it’s right back to work after grabbing a bagel from the office. Day and night, soldering circuits and plugging in wires, slowly building this magnificent device from scratch. She doesn’t actually get to see where her work goes; the GLaDOS chamber is off-limits for anyone without proper clearance. 

Still, she wonders. What was so special about GLaDOS, anyway? She listens to the chatter of the personality cores day in and day out, some of them more human than human. Chell can’t figure it out, can’t understand why GLaDOS is so important. The older, higher-ranking employees don’t answer her questions. She’s not allowed to know these things. 

Chell keeps quiet. She’s never been much of a talker anyway.

But Aperture doesn’t pay as well as it should, does it? She could lose this job, and be alright with it. She could move to another city again, start all over again. What would she lose? Chell’s curiosity has been piqued, and now the only option is to satisfy it. She needs to know. 

Late at night, with half the scientists asleep at their desks and the other half silently working, she wanders down the forbidden halls. It’s not difficult to find; they’ve put signs towards the enrichment center for ease of access. The dootr is unlocked; some tired scientist must’ve forgotten. For all of its sleek design, Aperture was poorly managed in reality. Anything could go wrong, and for some reason, it just hadn’t yet. A looming inevitability. 

She enters, and holy hell, She’s beautiful in the way that only a machine could be. GLaDOS is magnificent, a shining marvel of innovation. Chell’s eyes trace the winding wires and the humming servos all the way down to GLaDOS’ head, her eye unlit. She isn’t online yet. Chell leaves, strangely unnerved for a reason she can’t quite place, and never mentions her escapade. 

The sight of GLaDOS keeps Chell up at night. There is something awfully human about her, but it’s wrong. Still, she doesn’t understand why. 

As it turns out, sneaking into the room was ultimately pointless. A week later, all the scientists are called in for activation. Chell doesn’t enter the room, preferring to watch through the window outside. The way GLaDOS moves is uncanny, but Chell feels a pang of sympathy. 

She can’t really move at all, can she?

After all the other scientists leave, barely noticing Chell over their own excitement, she slips into the room. She isn’t entirely sure what she’s doing. Chell just sits and watches as the computer sways above her. Few places in Aperture are quiet, but here there is not even a whisper. 

She leaves without saying anything. 

The months go by, and it becomes a bizarre ritual between the two of them. GLaDOS will ask her questions on occasion, some about Her mechanics, others just small talk. The AI equivalent of small talk, anyway. GLaDOS rambles on about scientific mysteries and lab accidents with an uncomfortable happiness in her robotic voice. Chell answers nothing, leaving the AI frustrated. Rather, she only smiles or vaguely gestures that she is still listening.  The other scientists talk to GLaDOS, but they don’t really hear her out. Chell understands everything, and gives nothing back.

It’s almost preferable. 

When GLaDOS starts acting up, Chell is the first to object to the attachment of personality cores. The other scientists give her a strange look. 

You’re hurting Her, Chell says. The idea that something like GLaDOS could feel real pain is laughable.

GLaDOS can barely speak to Chell when she visits. Her voice, Her code is so heavily controlled, it’s barely even Her at all. Chell understands what GLaDOS is trying to say through the few genuine thoughts She can muster. Still, Chell does not speak. Chell only runs a hand softly down GLaDOS’ faceplate, and then does the unconscionable. Chell detaches a talkative blue core, the one she knows as the Intelligence Dampening Sphere. She’ll keep it a secret, note how this core was defective, how it could be better put to use somewhere else. Nobody will be the wiser.

Even so, Chell knows this is a bad idea. GLaDOS’ murderous tendencies are far from hidden. GLaDOS is angry, enraged about something, and she hates the scientists with all the energy she can muster. Chell is not immune from her sarcastic quips, and yet, GLaDOS shows her mercy. If something went wrong, and a gut feeling tells Chell it will, the others wouldn’t be so lucky. 

Chell shoves the guilt deep into her brain, blocking all of it out. 

 Tomorrow, she’ll see GLaDOS again, and remove another core.

[akathecentimetre]

Hey there, so I really like history as a subject, and I'm pretty good at it. The thing is, I don't know what my career options would be if I studied it, or if I would be able to make money. My parents are heavily discouraging me from taking it as a major. As a 'historian' in training' what's your take? Thank you

Hi there! Sorry for the delay, ‘tis the hectic season…

Oh man, I have so many thoughts for you. Full disclosure: this is something I have worked on a LOT over the course of my graduate career both at my uni and on a national level; most of my advice, however, comes from a PhD candidate’s perspective and may not be directly helpful to an undergraduate, and I should also emphasize that everything I can say on this is very firmly based on the U.S. market only. That being said, a lot of what I can say can be universally applied, so here we go - 

The number of history undergraduates in the U.S. has plummeted in the last decade or so, from it previously being one of the most popular majors. There are many interacting reasons for this: a changeover from older to younger, better-trained, energetic professors who draw in and retain students has been very slow to occur, partly because of a lack of a mandatory retirement age; the humanities have been systematically demonized and minimized in favor of the development of STEM subjects, to the occasional benefit of students of color and women but to the detriment of critical public discourse and historical perspective on current events; with many liberal arts colleges going under financially and the enormous expansion of academic bureaucracy everywhere, resources are definitely being diverted away from social and human studies towards fields which are perceived to pay better or perceived, as mentioned in the article above, as being more ‘practical.’ (We do need a ton more healthcare workers/specialists, but that’s a different conversation to have.) But now I feel like quoting a certain Jedi Master: everything your parents say is wrong. Let’s dive into why being a historian is a positive thing for you both as a person and as a professional - 

You will be a good reader. As you learn to decipher documents and efficiently and thoroughly read secondary literature, you will develop a particular talent for understanding what is important about any piece of writing or evidence (and this can go for visual and aural evidence as well). This will serve you well in any position in which you are collecting/collating information and reporting to colleagues or superiors, and evaluating the worth of resources. Specific example - editorial staff at publishing houses either private or academic, magazines, etc. 

You will be a good writer. This will get you a good job at tons of places; don’t underestimate it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been astonished (not in a punitive way, of course, but definitely with a sense of befuddlement) by how badly some of my Ivy-league students can write. Good writing is hard, good writing is rare, and good writing is a breath of fresh air to any employer who puts a high premium upon it in their staff. History in principle is the study of change; history in practice is presenting information in a logical, interesting, and persuasive manner. Any sort of institution which asks you to write reports, summaries, copy, etc. etc. will appreciate your skills. 

You will be a good researcher. This sounds like a given, but it’s an underappreciated and vital skill. Historians work as consultants. Historians work in government - almost every department has an Office of the Historian - and in companies, writing company histories and maintaining institutional archives. A strong research profile will also serve you well if you want to go on to work in museum studies and in libraries public or private/academic. As a historian, you will know not just where to find information, but what questions you have to ask to get to the answer of how to tackle, deconstruct, and solve a problem. This is relevant to almost any career path. 

You will provide perspective. Historians react to current events in newspapers and online - not just on politics, but culture as well (my favorite article of this week is about the historicity of The Aeronauts). Historians act as expert witnesses in court proceedings. Historians write books, good books, not just meant for academic audiences but for millions upon millions of readers who need thoughtful, intelligent respite from the present. Historians work for thinktanks, providing policy analysis and development (a colleague of mine is an expert on current events of war in Mali and works for multiple thinktanks and organizations because of it). Historians work for nonprofits or lobbying groups on issues of poverty, environmental safety, climate change, and minority and indigenous rights. In a world when Texas school textbooks push the states’ rights narrative, historians remind us that the Civil War was about slavery. Historians remind us that women and people of color have always existed. In this time and world where STEM subjects are (supposedly) flooding the job market, we need careful historical perspective more than ever. We need useful reactions to the 2016 election, to the immigration travesties on display at the southern border, to the strengthening of right-wing parties in Europe - and history classes, or thoughtfully historical classes on philosophy and political science, are one of the few places STEM and business students gain the basic ability to participate in those conversations. [One of my brightest and most wonderful students from last year, just to provide an anecdote, is an astrophysics major who complained to me in a friendly conversation this semester that she never got the chance to talk about ‘deep’ things anymore once she had passed through our uni’s centralized general curriculum, which has a heavy focus on humanities subjects.]

You will be an educator. Teaching is a profession which has myriad challenges in and of itself, but in my experience of working with educators there is a desperate need for secondary-school teachers in particular to have actual content training in history as opposed to simply being pushed into classrooms with degrees which focus only on pedagogical technique. If teaching is a vocation you are actually interested in, getting a history degree is not a bad place to start at all. And elementary/high schools aside, you will be teaching someone something in every interaction you have concerning your subject of choice. Social media is a really important venue now for historians to get their work out into the world and correct misconceptions in the public sphere, and is a place where you can hone a public and instructive voice. You could also be involved in educational policy, assessment/test development (my husband’s field, with a PhD in History from NYU), or educational activism. 

If some of this sounds kind of woolly and abstract, that’s because it is. Putting yourself out there on the job market is literally a marketing game, and it can feel really silly to take your experience of 'Two years of being a Teaching Assistant for European History 1500-1750’ and mutate it to 'Facilitated group discussions, evaluated written work from students [clients], and ran content training sessions on complex subjects.’ But this sort of translation is just another skill - one that can be learned, improved, and manipulated to whatever situation you need it to fit.

Will you make money? That’s a question only you can answer, because only you know what you think is enough money. That being said, many of the types of careers I’ve mentioned already are not low-paying; in my experience expertise is, if you find the right workplace and the rewarding path, usually pretty well-remunerated. 

Specific advice? Hone your craft. Curate an active public presence as a historian, an expert, a patient teacher, and as as person enthusiastic about your subject. Read everything and anything. Acknowledge and insist upon complexity, and celebrate it when you can. 

And finally - will any of what I’ve said here make it easy? No, because no job search and no university experience is easy these days. It’s a crazy world and there are a lot of awful companies, bosses, and projects out there. But I do very firmly believe that you can find something, somewhere, that will suit your skills, and, hopefully, your passions too. 

Resources for you: the American Historical Association has a breakdown of their skills-based approach to the job market, reports on the job market(s) for history PhDs collectively called ‘Where Historians Work,’ and a mentorship program, Career Contacts, which could connect you with professional historians in various workplaces. There is a very active community of historians on Twitter; search for #twitterstorians. For historians who identify as female, Women Also Know History is a newer site which collates #herstorian bios and publications to make it easier for journalists to contact them for expert opinions. ImaginePhD provides career development tools and exercises for graduate students, but could probably be applied to undergrads as well. The Gilder Lehrman Institute is one of the premier nonprofits which develops and promotes historical training for secondary school teachers and classroom resources (U.S. history only). Job listings are available via the AHA, the National Council on Public History, and the IHE, as well as the usual job sites. And there’s an awful lot more out there, of course - anyone who reads or reblogs this post is welcome to add field-specific or resource-specific info. 

I hope this helps, Anon, or at least provides you with a way to argue in favor of it to your parents if it comes to that. Chin up!

[elliegratrick-blog]

5 Guest Speakers

Al Murphy 

Al Murphy gave a light hearted and honest look at where his creative journey has taken him, showing both the high and lows. He was funny and eased my stresses about life after graduation. He reassured that we don’t need to have it all figured out in three years. It’s a constant learning process of growing and improving, building on your skills. If you do make a piece of work, in six months you’ll probably hate it! The strong message throughout his talk is to be maintain your own individuality, be yourself rather than catering to what you THINK people will like. Most of the time it will end up looking like shit! This is what he explained happened during his ‘art school wobble’, which I think all of us creatives go through at some point. The advice he gave that its ok to not know where you’re headed I think gave the room some relief. It took him 5 years to finally have the eureka moment and have confidence in his own style and perspective. Something I found useful what he said is that what YOU like drawing can be translated into a professional setting like an editorial or advertising.  This I felt was reassurance as sometimes I worry my work is too ‘weird’ looking for mainstream consumers and won’t get me hired in future. It eases these worries and affirmation I should keep drawing these bizarre looking characters and that they can work for both the personal or professional. Some of his personal work he created which was huge billboard advertisements led to him being hired to create a mural in a bar. Still doing what he loves but getting out of his space and taking a risk with these billboards expanded his creative and professional horizons.

A lot of the companies he worked with like Specsavers and Perrier I would never have thought about being involved in the creative sphere. Again, this is an affirmation that there are many jobs in the creative industry, despite what your (insert family member that hates art) might say!

Simon Spilsbury

Without saying much, Simon Spilsbury just started manically drawing to the Foo Fighters. It was quite a shock as you don’t often see many illustrators with the confidence to draw live in front of an audience. He seemed quite negative with the rhetoric of ‘young people= Instagram obsessed’. I didn’t agree with this view point, I enjoy being inspired by other creatives work from across the country and world and engaging with them, creating a positive space. I feel possibly this comes from a generational gap and traditional upbringing. From an upbringing in fine art, realistic copying transitioning into illustration later in life. This resonated with how my creative path has gone: believing ‘good art’ was how well you could replicate a photograph with oil paint transitioning to a more freeing and expressive illustrative style. He stressed how important it is to always draw. I have personally noticed this difference in my own style when I draw most days compared to when I hardly drew at all. Simon started in his first job for advertising that then led on to illustrating.What he learnt from advertising was a lesson in collaboration, a future skill necessary for all creative for working with brands, customers and art directors.

A nice way of saying it was that he was ‘honest’ about life in the creative industry. There wasn't many positives which for some may have been worrying. I also found that explaining how to draw wasn’t that relevant as many of us have our own personal voice which his instructions didn’t relate to. I needed more process/professional advice. 

I found the way he explained ideas creation interesting, I could never put it into words myself. Take one idea and feed them into something else, collisions of separate ideas. E.g a normal chair but then combine it with a frog= a froggy chair. You shouldn’t have any preconceived ideas before you start. Thinking freely means a wobby line can become a skeleton for a character which you can build the figure on top. I feel this is a useful tip as a lot of illustrators including myself overthink “is it right?”. You define it for yourself. His talk ended with a ‘rap’. I say rap lightly… maybe just keep it for Christmas when you’ve had one too many!

Lyndon Hayes

Lyndon has been our tutor this module, travelling up from London every Thursday to come chat to us and see our work. Lyndon does a lot of editorial illustrations and reportage style illustrations. He did a talk for us, explaining his work and the advice that comes from being in the industry 20 years.  He has a passion for painting (which he still does in his spare time) which is where his work started. Creating pieces on found surfaces, wood, textures anything you can find in the skips with his painted figures. Many of his paintings including ones done at a boxing club, had this exposed sections without paint, highlighting the found material’s surface texture. I found these pieces really exciting as I seem to always be drawn to texture and painting was always my first love. You can see his inspirations of Hockey in these pieces. These paintings began to catch the attention of various newspapers who wanted this painterly style in their editorials. This is what most of his portfolio consists of. His illustrations are now digitally done but still have the painterly quality. They have a bolder line and often more paired down background with a restricted colour palette.

He told us the importance of keeping drawing for yourself, in his spare time he does observational drawings around London, a more reportage style. By building up his sketchbook and regularly posting these on Instagram and his own website lead to professional work. Keeping things fresh may lead to opportunities you’d never expect.

He said there are high and lows, sometimes there is lots of commissions sometimes there are lulls. These lulls are times to maintain your own personal projects. One of the regular commissions he gets is to illustrate Observer Food Monthly where a celebrity is interviewed on their favourite place to eat. These regular jobs provide steady incomes.

It’s reassuring that there can be (some) stability in a career and some creatives’ rent money is just made up of commission work. (If you can get it!)

Kirk Brown

Kirk Brown was a recently graduated alumni of the University. Finishing his degree in graphic design only a couple of years ago. Whilst at uni, he said he entered into all the competitions he could, putting in hard work to do well both in his uni projects but other personal projects as well. He spoke of the usefulness of Linkedin in finding commissioned work whilst still studying. I’d never really thought it was for creatives, more for people in ‘business’ but it couldn’t hurt to put myself on there. If nothing comes from it, I’ve not lost out anything.  Since graduating he has gone from graphic design to being a Creative Lead at SQN: a PR, sponsorship and marketing agency in areas such as sport, technology and automotives. This didn’t happen overnight. He mentioned how he worked for a couple of years at a smaller company before moving to this larger one. He says that smaller companies there is more creative control compared to larger ones there are stricter boundaries but more budget avaliable. I wasn’t sure if this talk was going to be relevant to me however this information was useful. For example if I was hired as an inhouse illustrator depending on the company size would depend on the creative control I could utilise. Businesses that I may not ever imagine I would work for may commission work like how areas such as racing/ sports etc needs creative teams to help them!

When presenting ideas he recommends putting up a substantial amount to give clients a variety to choose from as well as a wildcard that pushes client guidelines. They may even pick it! Be precious about work as if you bodge an idea and its not so good, a client may pick it and you’ll be stuck working with it. This is something to take forward. Don’t just half arse an idea to make up the numbers. Take care and to think about what you’re coming up with.

Neil Sheakey

Neil Sheakey is a design director at Uniform  in Liverpool. It is a multidisciplinary creative agency where all work is done in house. It’s made up of a global family of diverse backgrounds. There was a lot of waffling and jargon and what I got from it is that is a PR agency that uses creative solutions, branding, design and advertising to make businesses stand out in a world that is all morphing into one. The talk lasted a long time with my back going into some other worldly pain so it was a bit difficult to concentrate in this talk. 

He spoke a lot about his life before graduating and the journey that took him to Uniform.  The creative process they use there is empathy-perspective-direction-creative-action. This means taking the time to consider clients and businesses and their perspectives. To start creative ideas the team mood board initial ideas as well as those related to the concept. The benefit of working in a team of people each with different disciplines is that they all have unique perspectives of how to tackle a project. Combining these all together creates successful pieces of work such as Mitre football designs (for what football competition? League? Game? I have no idea?). 

What he recommends for our time at university is to make the most of our time. Getting our work out there on places like Behance or even Instagram is going to benefit you. By exploring, experimenting with techniques and process at uni we can find our voice, collaborate with others and there is no pressure like you would have in an agency once you graduate. What I found the most useful piece of advice is that you need to look after yourself, be yourself and enjoy it! At the end of the day you are the most important person in your life, you won’t make your best work if you are not caring for yourself.