If you’re just starting your career in the biz, please gather round the campfire. Perhaps more important, if you have children entering high school, college or a university — please read on. As I climb up on my soapbox, this is a subject that I’ve preached about for years, and in our harsh economic climate, it still rings true.
I’m speaking specifically about marketable skills, that wonderful toolbox of talents in your hip pocket that sets you apart from all the others. It’s your specialty, your knack, your keen area of expertise — and it’s the primary set of skills that gets you the gigs.
For me, it was a harsh lesson, and one that was tough to understand at the time, yet patience and perseverance in the acquisition of those skills has paid many dividends over the years. It’s a lesson worth repeating and sharing — and even though you might have heard it from parents, friends and mentors, you’re not necessarily going to hear it from your professors.
A Lesson Learned
Let’s rewind back to the dark ages, somewhere in the mid-1970s. There I was, fresh out of the university with my broadcast communications degree in hand. I was (in my opinion) at the top of my game, and ready to seek my fortune at call-letter television stations on the West Coast. As each successive interview unfolded (and ended as one might expect), the parting words of each chief engineer were carbon copies: “You’re a nice kid, Berliner, but what skill can you offer us?”
“I guess eagerness doesn’t count,” I mumbled, as I drove away from the station. No, Sparky, it sure doesn’t. I quickly learned that my education, although broad and in-depth, never really taught me how to do anything that I could market as a talent or a specialty. Little classroom-based bits of producing, directing, script-writing, camera, lighting and audio — spread out over two years — certainly were not the skills that the chief engineer had in mind. I had nothing marketable.
Skill Number One
I persevered, continued my job search, and worked part-time at various non-industry jobs to keep the rent paid. After almost a year of sending out resumes, an opportunity arose at KMUV-TV, channel 31 in Sacramento. At that time, KMUV was an all-movie station that ran 24/7. They needed someone foolish enough to work the night shift (midnight to 8 a.m.), edit the giant commercial reels together for the next day’s broadcast, and keep the movies running all night. Because this was back in the era before video servers, all of the editing was performed on huge old Ampex VR-1200 “quad” videotape recorders. The station was willing to train. Bingo, marketable skill number one — videotape editing.
When Channel 31 fired the entire station and changed their format to religious broadcasting, that single skill led to a staff editing job at Versatile Video in Sunnyvale, CA — one of the premiere video production houses in the Bay Area at the time. That job, in turn, plus additional skills and video knowledge gained, led me to the mighty Ampex, as a producer/director/editor in their corporate Teleproduction Center.
One marketable skill gained — many doors opened.
The Path You’re On
A nice story, but what’s the point? It’s important to note that my liberal arts university education did not pave the way towards employment. I had to gain my marketable skills after the fact — yet while in the university itself, I never questioned my course work, or what might actually be required of me in the job market.
If you’re currently following a course of engineering, electronics, information technology, computer science, bio-tech or economics (to name just a few), you’re on a very good path. Your skills are in demand, and even in this economic climate, opportunities are truly on the rise for marketable skills.
On the other hand, if you’re following a course in history, philosophy, sociology, anthropology or any other abstract program, you’re not on the path towards a marketable skill. The point is — it’s critically important to question your pathway, and never lose sight of the need for a marketable skill. Students need to focus on their post-college goals, and clearly realize that public (and even private) institutions are not always concerned with job placement. If you’re not on the right path — then change course, Sparky!
A Brilliant Option
This brings up another important point, and one that’s often overlooked in discussions about careers and future employment. College or university isn’t for everyone — and one size doesn’t fit all in this respect. In fact, trade schools, junior colleges and many private education programs are gaining favor once again, and for many, it’s a brilliant option.
For example, if you compare the four-year college degree in which you have zero marketable skills upon graduation against the two-year trade school degree in which you have a targeted learning course and clear skills upon graduation, it’s an easy decision for those with the right aptitude. Often, these programs are also focused on job placement, and will assist the student with internships and placements in the target industry.
I’m not dismissing the college education by any means. Instead, it’s all about matching the right program to the person and knowing a little bit about one’s core aptitude. As an apprentice in our wonderful entertainment business, if you’re technically inclined with an aptitude for cool gear, then cut to the chase! The trade school, junior college or private program may be just the ticket. A marketable skill awaits.
Due Diligence
In many ways, I wish that our high schools were not eliminating traditional programs such as wood shop, auto shop, metal shop and the electronics lab (which we called the original “radio shack” back then). Hands-on programs such as these provided (and continue to provide) an alternative to the strict academic classroom, and they often help students to recognize their core aptitude at an early age and help them aim for what might be an enjoyable, challenging and profitable career.
As parents, we need to broaden our views and consider educational alternatives. Whichever institution one selects, due diligence is required in order to qualify the best programs, identify affordable tuitions, assess the instructors’ qualifications and gather data on placement ratios.
Regardless, if you’re starting your career, starting school or simply looking towards the future, never lose sight of the requirement for marketable skills. They provide a clear path towards success and profitability. Now, just in case you’re multi-talented with more than one marketable skill in your pocket (which I strongly recommend), you now have a range of tools on which you can fall back — just in case skill number one is no longer in demand.
Paul Berliner is president of Berliner Productions in Davis, CA. He can be reached at pberliner@plsn.com.
