There seems to be a very vast range of careers within metalheads, I've seen everything from History teacher, to Biochemist, to Falconer, etc.
While we do share common interests and often tastes of music, we all know that interests and music often do not pay the bills/or, to extremes, can be considered more than a hobby.

College/High school people: What do you want to do when you grow up? If you haven't put much thought into it, maybe looking through this thread could help!
Working people: Is this your final/desired career choice? What made you want to go through with it? What steps did you have to go through to go into it?

It would be cool if you could list your top sub-genres in metal, AND your career/desired career. Could be cool to see!

I can start with mine:

Favorite subgenres: Melodic black/death metal, Funeral Doom, OSDM...

I would like and have wanted to work in Prosthetics and Orthotics for quite a while now. It is the process of creating, designing, and fitting personal artificial limbs for amputees and the like. The reason I want to push for this career choice is because I have a fascination with amputees, the integration between humans and technology, and having a front-row seat to the passage of progress. I've been looking into what I need to learn in order to earn a Master's degree in this field (that is the bare minimum to work in this line of work) in order to get this sort of career.

So, what are your desired career paths?

Line of work: Jesuscop (thanks Tony, I may have to switch my username now...)

Actually, I'm a police officer in a medium sized city of around 50,000. I've been where I'm at now for five years. I also worked for the state police for two years before moving on because I didn't like pulling cars over all day. Now I have a chance to get into some cool things: barricaded gunmen, shots fired calls, large disturbances, burglaries in progress, etc, etc. Much better than traffic stops all day. So, I've been a cop for seven years now.

Honestly though, if you would've asked me fifteen years ago what I was going to do with my life, that would have been my last answer. It's amazing how things change.

Favourite subgenres: Death, black, doom and most of the hybrids between those three (including funeral doom, the dissonant stuff like Abyssal or Mitochondrion, etc)



Pfft, growing up's for chumps. I'm in my final year of undergrad (bachelor of science) and I've been planning to try and get into vet science for next year. That said, I'm getting fascinated with synthetic/medicinal chem as well, so I'd be happy to go into a career in that field too at the moment.

Both of you have really interesting career choices. How did you get into those fields?

I got into my field because I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do after college. I majored in political science and English. My dad and my grandfather were both in law enforcement, so I guess it felt like a good fit to me.

I forgot to put my favorite subgenres too: black and power, although I pretty much dig a little of everything. After nearly 20 years of metal, I'm starting to explore death metal a little more too.

Believe it or not, I got into my field because of combined interest from amputee documentaries, and the original Deus Ex game back in 2000. The fact that the new DX game is essentially all focused over augmentation and all that stuff didn't dwindle my interest, haha.

Hahaha I'd believe it I was like... 5 when I decided I wanted to be a vet (an avian vet to be specific). My 5 year old reasoning was that birds are really cool, vets are awesome (I saw a vet do surgery on a cat when I was 6 - i was in awe), and that while dinosaurs are also really really cool, I couldn't be a dinosaur when I grew up. 18 odd years on and that's still my reasoning

Anyway, speaking of prosthetics - I'm not interested in pursuing a career in the field, but some of the prosthetics that have been developed are just amazing. I think I saw a documentary a while back that said something along the lines that able bodied athletes are becoming concerned that the prosthetics that amputees use may be better than the real thing! That blew my mind when I heard it.



That's fair enough. It's funny, quite a lot of people that get into law enforcement seem to come from a law enforcement/millitary background. Are you thinking of specialising in anything (dog squad, detective etc)? I'm not sure how it works in the US, but from what I know in Aus it's a gradual sort of thing - you become a police officer, then you get experience dealing with more serious crimes, then after a certain amount of time you can apply for more specialised fields.

Death, black, doom and thrash primarily.

Currently through my bachelor's degree in computer sciences and enjoying it very much. Hopefully take a job as a programmer in whatever they have me do, and maybe do a small indie game studio as a very expensive hobby.

I mostly listen to Black Metal nowadays, and I want to be a Social Worker. I don't know how the two things are related, but there you go.

Favourite? Probably speed/traditional and doom/stoner/sludge kinda stuff? I listen to a fair bit of different types of metal, though.

I have a degree in writing. I'm currently doing an internship writing for a business magazine, but that isn't my main goal in life. I'd like to do a broader array of journalism, or make a living off my fiction - novels, films, etc.

Favourite genre is black metal. And power metal. How never nobody thought of blackened power metal is beyond me.

I'm studying to be a lawyer. It's very metal actually. No, really.

Being a judge and sentencing stuff is metal for sure, at least.

oh, thank you!
that's why I love metal, somebody already did everything

I'm into traditional metal and black metal, mainly.

I'm in a biochemistry PhD program. When I grow up, I want to be a primary investigator (professor with a research lab) at a university.

Mostly into lots of progressive stuff, as well as some gothic/doom, also enjoying thrash, heavy and power.

Currently year two of university, my more down to earth plan is being an independent translator (rather written stuff, I'm not very good at handling stress and pressure so oral translation is an unlikely option) to/from Polish from/to English and French, with German (and maybe some more languages) arriving later when I improve it. My studies are heavily oriented towards this and it's looking pretty good this far, I'm enjoying all sorts of translation classes quite a lot and managing without much trouble overall. Besides that I'm drawn into this idea because of having more freedom (yes I'm aware it also means more responsibility, but at least I'll have more control over not fucking up), being able to adjust my working hours more and being able to work in a bit more friendly environment than a total mindfuck in a corporation - I think in the long run, for me the advantages will heavily outweigh the weaknesses.

Besides that, I want to be a professional musician. It's all a "crazy dream" kind of type, the only thing I keep realistic here is that I don't expect it to be a source of money. But generally I take it very seriously and I'm going to pursue it no matter what.

Unfortunately I work for a relatively small department (between 60 and 70 officers) so we don't have that much in the way of specialization. There's the standard promotion, which you can test for after five years if you want. We also have CID (detective type stuff) in which you can specialize in computer crime, sex offenses, etc, but you always end up with a little bit of everything. Aside from that there's not much else to specialize in.

I have training in accident reconstruction, so I guess that can count as some type of specialization. It only comes into play on major accidents (i.e. serious injury, fatal crash type stuff), though.

I'm in university right now majoring in History with a minor in literature. I've switched between liberal arts, literature and politics before settling on my current major. Liberal arts wasn't really anything, political science was really hard to get decent marks in and the literature classes almost ruined books for me for a while with the profs having such a wildly pretentious attitude ("the way this tree is angled on the cover of the book represents imperialism and the oppression Chinese immigrants faced while building the Candian Pacific Railroad"). I've come to the point were I've realized that university will probably be pretty useless (at least it's a good time I guess, and people look at you in a more positive light when you have a degree). Not sure what I want to do, kind of wish I went to college to learn a trade. Perhaps I could become a teacher, really not sure. I'd love to make money off music, but I've always realized that's an unrealistic goal (even more so since my preferred style to write in is based in metal and punk) , especially if I want to keep a true artistic vision. Whatever, I'm not that great of a musician anyway.

As for favourite genres I would have to say doom in most forms as well as sludge and Neurisis stuff. I'm also quite partial to atmo/post/Cascadian/blackgaze (read:hipster) black metal stuff. Not my specialty, but I've been getting into death metal more and more lately, especially weirder stuff like Portal/Antediluvian/Flourishing ect.

@Markov, can't wait to hear slow when it comes out, I definitely dig the concept and know your a good enough musician to do something interesting with it. Also, please post a new Eternium song instead of Markoving out the same one over and over again!

Surely you've heard Sigh?

Also, I love reading these responses, very interesting to see if music taste takes a toll on the development of one's life choices.

I'm finishing my second year of Community college and will be transfering in the Fall to Evergreen State College where I'll be majoring in Media.
I'd list my favorite genres of Metal being Death Metal, some Power Metal, some Black Metal and ocassional Folk.

I barely listen to any metal anymore, but my favorite genres within are NWOBHM and Doom. I'm doing film and new media studies at a university at the moment. I'm still deciding whether to do a master course after my bachelors in New Media and digital culture and pursue an academic career; or to put my more practical talents in writing to use and seek a job in a creative department at one of the game studios in our local entrepreneurship the Dutch Game Garden.

No idea what that has to do with my taste in metal though

Favourite genres of metal: heavy, progressive, and some of the more wacky/avant-garde types
Career: as of right now, I am a wannabe-writer of darkly-weird comedy. In the future, I would love to be a full-fledged published author. Time shall tell.

Oh, and I also love gardening.

My favourite genre is black metal. Most other genres I listen to are not metal at all (neofolk, oi, ambient, etc.).

Currently, I work in a dual function that includes teaching Dutch at a high level to Spaniards, and writing newsletters, texts for the website, texts about the company I work for, etc. I'm happy in this job as I get to use both my linguistic and writing skills, something which wasn't possible in any of my previous jobs.

I don't have a clear future prospect or dream, apart from some worn-down "I want to be a writer" pondering. Maybe I'd eventually like a job closer to music, but right now I'm happy with what I've got, and I'll see where the future takes me.

I just started my second summer season in the landscaping trade and, to put it lightly, I'm counting down the days until the grass stops growing so I can find a different job. I'm 22 now and I've been working since I got out of high school; most of my experience has been doing boring factory work through temp agencies. I wouldn't mind going back to factory work for awhile, really. It definitely makes your life seem extremely mundane but it's easy money. You just have to learn how to make the best of your free time so you don't feel trapped in the "routine" of the daily grind.

I'm not sure what I want to do in the long run. I'm considering going into truck driving. I'd love the chance to travel the country and just "explore" what's out there. And it'd be great to be able to consistently work alone without a boss yelling at me every two minutes. I think it'd be a perfect career for someone like me- and probably a lot of other people on MA.

EDIT:
I'm more into extreme metal than power/symphonic stuff these days. I actually just found out one of the new guys on my mowing crew has been to a couple Deicide shows back in the day. I was ecstatic to, for once, work with somebody who shared an interest in metal.

My favorite genres of music are black metal and the more extreme variations of doom.

I am about to graduate from high school (in less than a month actually) and will be starting college this fall. I'm planning on studying physics and want to be an astrophysicist, and I'd especially like to do research in cosmology. I really love thinking about the big questions relating to how are universe is formed and it's large-scale structure, some of the stuff just blows my mind when I think about it.

My favorite style is anything with good lyrics and production. My favorite band is Thin Lizzy but I also love Hail of Bullets. Then when I go run its mostly trad/power.

I work in the film industry. Happened by accident. I guess I'll do this until the next accidental thing comes along. When I tell people what I do they get all excited because everyone watches movies, so that's cool. All my other jobs didn't illicit that response.

Well, I graduated law school in 2003 and since 2006 have my own office, working manly in family law which is something i really really enjoy. The reason why I chose law wasn't really special. When I was 17 I had to pick a major and I ended up choosing law thinking that after a year if I didn't liked the classes i could give up and opt for something else. In the end, things worked out for the better and is now my career.

As for metal, I wouldn't say I have a favorite genre, just a bunch of bands from the varied fields of metal. Nut if I had to choose one, it would probably be Thrash Metal, manly the stuff from the 80's.

Favorite metal: Opeth, black, doom/drone, some death. (Not metal, but also a big Swans fan.)

I got a bachelors in general studies some six years ago, went into retail (hated it), then got a menial office gig doing data entry and filing (hated it), then returned to school for an MA in philosophy, with the aim of teaching it at the college level. I ended up teaching as an adjunct for a semester and realized it wasn't going to pay the bills, unless I spent the next several years struggling (likely in vain) to get one of the few available "full-time" gigs in the country. ("Full-time" not because the work is substantially greater or different, but because it's secure and pays a livable salary.)

Now I once again have my eye on menial office crap, preferably something largely solitary. I'll just have to learn to tolerate it, and find whatever joy I can outside of work: reading, friends, music, etc. It'd be cool if I could come up with a book worth writing, too.

I love black metal, death metal (melodic, old school), blackened thrash, viking metal, and some 80's/90's thrash. Outside of metal i also love dark ambient, neoclassical, punk, post-grunge and folk.

I'm currently on what could basically be described as a pre-engineer school programme, which will hopefully grant me access to flight school so i can become a pilot. I hear the salary's great, not to mention the job itself seems very fulfilling.

I like all metal, but I usually stick to power and traditional metal, and more toward the rock origins of the genre a lot of the time. Throwback bands that recreate the old sound well as well as the classic bands themselves. I also like European power metal a lot. Favorite bands are Slough Feg, Maiden, Edguy, Sabbath and Alice in Chains. Also love anything Urban breed puts his name on.

I'm currently working for West Orlando News Online part time, also interviewing for more full time, better paying reporter jobs in other states.

Black Metal fanatic. Hoping to become a diplomatic aide in the Middle East/North Africa/Central Asia.

Don't have a favourite sub-genre. I listen to OSDM the most, but I wouldn't say I prefer it to DragonForce, Demolition Hammer, or Emperor on certain days. I play in a touring and recording death metal band, but I know it will never earn me anything money at all. So I'm going to college this august to study social sciences. 2 paths for me, either I stick with it on the academic route and become a researcher/lecturer/etc or I hop over into the banking/finance sector, which I already have some experience in. Money making on monday to friday, and death fucking metal on the weekends on my guitar, with rivers of beer to end the nights. Don't see how a man could ask for more.

My first choice for a career would have been to play in a speed/thrash band, tour the country in a van or bus, record a series of killer ripping death/thrash albums, sleep with hot metal chicks, party my ass off and then eventually one day get on the cover of "Guitar World" magazine. But lets face it, that's not realistic for most people. Sure it's a nice dream, but- I'm getting a little old to be trying to persue that dream anymore. I admire the fuck out of people who can make that work for them though.

So what I did instead was, go to a vocational technical school, learn computer-aided drafting and design, and eventually got a job in that field- and yeah I did have to cut my hair. Life is more stable now, but I dunno, it's a trade-off I guess.

I'm an educated librarian. I also hold a degree in comparative literature.

As of now, I am working as a part-time teacher in primary school. Involved in after-school programmes. Looking for anything permanent though.

Favorite genres: death, black (or the mixture of the two), doom, NWOBHM and industrial.

genres: traditional, death, black are probably my favorites

career: just finished my BA in Psychology/English with a Religious Studies minor this past December

going to grad school for clinical or counseling psychology next year, looking into existential-phenomenological programs because I have a background in philosophy.

ultimately I want to be a therapist/clinician. Maybe some teaching on the side.

I got my BA in politics 2011, steadfastly ignoring the fact that there's jack-crack-all to do with it. Now i just need some filler job until the Canada Job Grant kicks in March 2014, then i can get re-trained in something useful.. electrician?

Alternately, i could start a farm where i grow the essentials: cabbage, corn, potatoes, blueberries and onions. Sell the surplus for money to buy meat and other essentials - pagan black metal and underground thrash! Oh, and weapons too. Maybe a water filter.

I never went to university, and I only have a bit of tech college experience under my belt. Never really did it for me, honestly.

I have been a bartender for some years, and a cook in the more recent ones. Been working at the same place since 2008, save for a bit of time off in 2010. Same people opened up a new restaurant inside of a country club, and I have been working in the kitchen there recently, as well. I am all about the service industry and really enjoy cooking...but the nights where I am slinging drinks are more relaxed and I usually make more dough.

I like music.

Doing this already. Only 2 years left and then start the Masters degree
in Astrophysics. Let me tell you that it is absolutely amazing. I've
never had teacher happier doing their stuff than in science. They all do
research in what they want and that's basically what I want to do.
Genres: thrash, melodic death, death, melodic black, and Apocalyptica.
Haha.

EDIT: and what about family? Would you like to have kids and a partner for life?

I work as a janitor by night, but during the day, I run a metal review blog called The Autistic Metalhead.

I already told you to stop posting your blog outside of the Promo forum. I think pretty much everyone knows you have it since the only thing you do on this forum is bumping this thread.

It's cool to see another metalhead interested in the same stuff! As for having a partner in life and kids, I do want to have a family at some point, but I definitely want to get some work under my belt first.

Metal: Melodic death and doom, with progressive variants

Career: Exploration geologist

I spend long tracts of time (4+ weeks straight) working in remote locations (boreal shield, Arctic) and find that metal is a good antidote for its effects. The work is fun, though, and I love the act of exploring and learning about the geological history of each project.

Thinking about shifting careers and becoming an accountant, however, for stability.