<p>Is there some great career out there for technically sharp kids with a creative bent? </p>
<p>My 16 yr old son is a very interesting kid - a real mix of great qualities. He is a mix of analytical and creative...so he is very strong in all his academic classes and is also a great musician/story teller, etc. </p>
<p>But...he is not very motivated and pretty much does what is asked but does not pursue things on his own very often.</p>
<p>Both hubby and I have engineering backgrounds so it seemed natural that S would also choose an engineering field - but he really has no interest in anything engineering-like. He doesn't take things apart, isn't curious how things work and has little interest in computers. (Neither did I...and I ended up leaving the engineering field.)</p>
<p>He excels at CAD/CAM and loves putting things into order (he will spend hours sorting and re-sorting trading cards, cd's, etc.) He is loving econ right now because they are filling out 1040EZ forms...(yuck.)</p>
<p>He has been told by teachers that he would be a great writer. He LOVES World History. He has said before that he would like to teach World History but he has no interest in the education curriculum that goes along with that. </p>
<p>As I mentioned, he is not very motivated for anything other than homework and his music, so he is not paying attention to the whole college thing (he's a junior). Without really considering too many other options, he has just decided he will go to Michigan Tech - possibly for computer engineering (even though he has no interest in computers at this point in time).</p>
<p>It just seems like there might be a better fit for him...although we don't really know because he hasn't taken a computer programming class - perhaps it will be perfect for him. </p>
<p>Just wondering if there is something we are 'missing'. Is there some great career out there for technically sharp kids with a creative bent?</p>
<p>“even though he has no interest in computers at this point in time.”
But he is interested in what computer software can actually DO, as evidenced by his skill at CAM. Software design sounds like a strong possibility Or architecture?</p>
<p>If he’s not sure he wants to do engineering, maybe it would be better for him to attend a college of arts and sciences, where he could take a broad range of courses in his first two years, and figure out what he enjoys and where he excels. (My son, who has known that he will be a computer scientist since the age of 12, still didn’t want an engineering school because of the rigidity of the curriculum–he’s doing a cs and math double major through a college of arts and sciences, but taking courses in Hinduism, Russian, acting, gender studies, and philosophy as well.) If your S enjoys economics, that might be a possible major.</p>
<p>“technically sharp kid with a creative bent”</p>
<p>This just shouts Theater Tech. Happykid is on the Design side, but without the hard-core tech people who dream up the wiring and communications systems, she wouldn’t be able to get the lights on and there surely would be no sound at all. Any chance he’d be interested in something like that?</p>
<p>I used to think my younger son with a similar profile ought to design history based computer game plots. (He’s not that technical though.) He’s ended up in international relations and except for the foreign language issue it’s perfect. (We’re hoping immersion this summer will help with that particular problem!)</p>
<p>Does he have to decide now? Does Michigan Tech require students to know/choose their majors and careers right away? If not, then my suggestion is to let him enroll, try out some of the Gen Ed requirements for a few semesters, then decide his future when he’s a little older. </p>
<p>My son has completely abandoned the college/career plans he made in high school. With 2 semesters on the books, he’s now Undecided/Undeclared. </p>
<p>Software design, architecture occurred to me. Have him look at some of the things going on at Carnegie Mellon, the program started by Randy Pausch (RIP). I’ll look for a link. Not saying he should necessarily go to that school, but just for ideas of what the computer/engineering field can be for creative types. </p>
<p>Career: Sound editor, working in the movie industry. Some work on-set as the film’s being shot. Others find employment with a film Post-production company. My S’s friend enjoys being a sound man in post-production in L.A. because he doesn’t enjoy the stress of crawling around others on a sweaty-hot film set, 14 hours/day. He finds that too intense, and prefers an airconditioned office. They interact with one director, not dozens of moody actors, to get their working orders for what to do to the film to realize the director’s vision.</p>
<p>Long after the scenes are shot and the cameras and actors go home, the post-production people get busy coordinating the sound to every frame. They can be creative/inventive in how to generate a certain sound (footsteps, car squeals, rain, etc…) with a certain tone quality. </p>
<p>For college program ideas, look over at the College Majors section of CC for “Visual Arts and Film Major.” He could take a major in Film Production somewhere (NOT “film studies” which is more critical/academic). Try to find one that is connected with a college so he can get his B.A., rather than a freestanding technical school. Then if he doesn’t like film work someday, at least he has a college diploma from an accredited university.</p>