Need Suggestions...

[jadecat]

So I have this character that's a senior in high school- and I'm trying to figure out what kind of future she's going to have job-wise. Not that this is something SHE would ever think about... But I thought it was kind of important for ME to know. ;)

So- what kind of job/career/education plan should a character take considering she's:

A were-jaguar (born that way, not turned)
Thus mostly concerned with the 'now' future and past are less important.
A hedonist mostly concerned with her own pleasure
A manipulator who excels at inserting herself in with the 'Popular People' at every school she's been in (and there have been several) - knows how to play people to get what she wants. (In her mind she has to be popular, though she doesn't get why. My reasoning is that Popular People are at the top of the high school 'Food Chain,' Jaguars are pretty much the top of their particular food chain. Connection.)
Snarky
Smart- but gets bored trying to really study.
Not terribly introspective
Has moved around a LOT so her transcripts are a mess
Currently living somewhere in the midwest/central US.

I cannot come up with a good job sort of thing for her. She is an amazingly fun character, and I love writing her.

So any ideas what she can do with her life? If it's something like 'hobby turned career' I could work that in. School too.

Comments

[celticboy.livejournal.com]

Personal Assistant to a company director/owner

[jadecat.livejournal.com]

Hmm... would totally depend on the personality of the person. Jessica (char) doesn't really do well with 'orders...' it's a cat thing. ;)

Thanks!

[celticboy.livejournal.com]

Think PA to Dubya. Dumb as a post CEO with bags of money... :)

[stormkitty.livejournal.com]

Sales, marketing, anything where she's out there "selling" and competing against other coworkers.

[azbound.livejournal.com]

I second this. And for some reason, pharmaceutical sales quickly came to mind.

[bernmarx.livejournal.com]

Something financial. Maybe a personal/small business financial advisor, perhaps for a call-in show? I see her on the talk shows being an annoying know-it-all guest. :)

[zen-kitty.livejournal.com]

Here's what came to my mind.

Gets a job at Blockbuster video because she has to get a job. Quickly becomes manager. Likes movies and acting and talks to local theatre company about being an extra. The owner takes a shining to her and encourages her to come to Hollywood with him for his next movie - think Purple Rose Theatre and Jeff Daniels. She Loves the attention and does well on film except for those pesky full moon time periods. *smiles*

[myfanwy-65.livejournal.com]

Radio Talk Show Host, something late night, giving her opinion and annoying the hell out of people

[losgunna.livejournal.com]

Tatoo Artist.

No, really :)

[dagoski.livejournal.com]

Stripper. It fits the manipulative aspect and here and now aspect. It's easy money with consequences she'd never think about. And, if the story is set someplace like LA, she's perpetually auditioning for acting jobs. And probably getting some roles in movies in the direct to DVD market. Especially if she's a were-jaguar. That hints at Mexican or Central American ethnic background and the direct to dvd movie market for the Spanish language is huge.

[jadecat.livejournal.com]

I should have mentioned this perhaps... Her mother is an alcoholic who makes a living as stripper (sometimes waitress or bartending- depending on where they are and whose hiring). So my girl would go to great lengths to avoid that one.

(Drowning herself in alcohol has numbed mom enough so that she doesn't shift anymore...)

Acting could work... She is vaguely of Aztec/Central American extraction.

[dagoski.livejournal.com]

Go with B movie actress. She could be in films like The Guns of El Chupacabra. Go to the Smithee Awards site to look at some of the movies she might be in. Now imagine them in Spanish.

[ayoub.livejournal.com]

Move to L.A.

Become an actress :D

[jaimem30.livejournal.com]

Politician?

QVC or HSN host?

I agree with the marketing and stripper suggestions as well.

[edith-jones.livejournal.com]

PR for a celebrity/celebrities. Then she'd always be dealing with people at the top of the food chain.

[frawg-angel.livejournal.com]

I'm not reading the other comments before I post this, but here is a thought... Music Store. She gets to know all the popular music, deals with the now of customers and listening to her own type of music, doesn't really care about the long run, and retail is an easy job to keep up with when you jump around. Plus, it might be a settling experience, a comfort, as her home changes, she can work at a place where the music is newer, but still the same kind of place as before, and she can find and play any music in the store, giving her the freedom to have a bit of a comfort attachment.

Also, if you want, you can make it more of a trendy listening spot (they have these here in CA, where you can browse any number of CDs they have, and the pay to download the songs onto a custom CD or onto your MP3 player), or it could be a retro store, which gives more freedom as far as the listening materials, but might be less "popular" and more trendy, plus reduced foot traffic, unless in a very A2-ish type alternatown vibe. Not sure her feeling and motivation. But a thought.

all these are pretty sketchy but..

[theliel.livejournal.com]

massage therapist
pro domme
wedding photogapher / wedding coordinator
sales (any)
mortgatge broker

[sylo-tode.livejournal.com]

In high school, she'd have to be a cheerleader (an athlete wouldn't be as high on the food chain).

I don't think she would be happy in a job as anyone's second banana, no matter how important the job. Whether or not she goes to college, she would actively seek to be on a reality TV show.

[scodiddly.livejournal.com]

Works for the sales department for a dating service. She'd be great at getting people to imagine that their soon-to-be-assigned date would be the Perfect Partner.

I'm not entirely ashamed to admit that I did go in for one of those dating service initial sales call things, though the main lady was older and a "registered psychologist" or some such. The receptionist was the amazingly cute and wholesome hook. Why I'm not entirely ashamed is that I'm a good enough judge of BS to have held off signing on while I figured out how the sales pitch really worked, and I didn't sign on. It's all about getting you in a vulnerable frame of mind before the heavy pressure to close the sale. Luckily I'm very good at recognizing heavy pressure to close, and that I have a strict policy of holding off on major purchases until I've had a chance to figure out why there's something that bothers me about the whole deal.