Education & Careers » advice

5 Circus Career Paths I’m Curious About

marcus — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:14:51 +0000

As far as non-traditional career paths go, circus careers may be king. I mean, it’s not exactly something you tell your future father-in-law the first time you meet him, is it? It doesn’t really scream business card material. And yet there is some attraction in our minds, some senseless fantasy about sneaking out of your house and running away to become a juggler or an elephant trainer. (I actually have a great-grandfather who ran away with a Chinese circus, so maybe it’s just me…)

Along this train of thought, I began to wonder how one enters a career path with the circus. How does one qualify themselves to be the Bearded Woman or a knife-swallower? Inquiring minds want to know, so I went digging… but didn’t find much.

So now I’m reaching out to you internet researchers for help.

Tight rope – Also known as funambulism, this art requires one to walk dozens of feet above the ground on a length of wire only a half-inch wide. I found some information on the metrics on this art but nothing on how to become one. Can anyone help me out with this?

Fire-eating – Cool stuff. There is actually a Sideshow School at Coney Island, NY, where you can learn fire-eating. They also offer programs in snake charming, sword swallowing, and burlesque (if you’re, uh, into that kinda thing). The Spice Group in the UK (possibly an offshoot of the Spice Girls?) is rumored to also have a decent fire-eating training program. Couldn’t find anything about them online. Help me out…

Clown – I have a deep-seated fear of clowns. Poltergeist started it. It put the nail in the coffin. But anyway, for those who are interested in becoming a clown (go figure), it looks like there are clown schools out the wazoo. Just google ‘clown school’…

Lion-taming – I turns out you can start down this path at a traditional 4-year college. A good start is a bachelor’s degree in Biology, Zoology, or Psychology (Who knew?). The degree is followed by some rigorous on-the-job training. So trainees must be in top physical and mental shape. This is kind of the traditional path for anyone who wants to work with animals in show business.

The Dog-faced Man – This is a joke, of course. When it comes to this career, either you’ve got it or you don’t. I suppose some high doses of testosterone would improve your chances. Just realize, such a choice will have serious implications for your personal life. There’s a reason why those guys are called freaks.

So, can you help me out, internet researchers?

Best Job Markets? Not For Long…

marcus — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:29:15 +0000

A list of America’s Top 5 Fastest-Growing Job Markets has just been released, which should get lots of recession-phobes ready to pack up the moving van and move to the promised land.

But have you ever thought of the bitter irony of such lists? They list metropolitan areas with lots of well-paying jobs. Millions see the list, think they’re the only one to see it, and descend on these El Dorado’s of employment. The result: these once comfortable job markets become rather un-comfortable, virtual feeding frenzies. It’s kind of like the Gold Rush. It must have been great to be one of those guys alone at Sutter’s Mill. But once word got out, you had people fighting for every scrap, lawlessness, dysentery- all bad things.

My suggestion: don’t trust the lists. Do your own research. Put out applications if you want. Don’t move without a job offer in hand. Chances are these fast-growing job markets will not be fast-growing for long.

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The Sudden Fall of Eliot Spitzer and Ethical Leadership

marcus — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:44:43 +0000

The story broke, sending exclamations of shock across the country. New York Governor Eliot Spitzer addressed the media. His statement was brief, providing as little fodder for the press as possible. He declined to answer any questions. And perhaps there was little that he could have said. After all, the federal investigation provided quite enough unsavory details. In the course of a day, the Crusader, once dubbed Eliot Ness, who had doggedly pursued and prosecuted the scum of Wall Street, organized crime, and, yes, prostitution, had been reduced to just another corrupt public official. And, just like that, public confidence in ethical leadership fell another notch.

Watergate. Monica Lewinsky. Enron. Martha Stewart. Larry Craig. Scandals can bring down an administration, a company, a career. They can cost billions of dollars and untold losses in public confidence.

What is it about leadership, corporate and political, that seems to put even the mightiest at risk of corruption? Is it because they are in the limelight, their imperfections bared for all to see? Or is it due to the enormous stress and conflicting interests inherent in these positions? These questions have the business and political worlds scrambling for solutions.

Recent reports in the Wall Street Journal show that companies are more concerned about the ethics of their employees than ever before. Business schools are responding accordingly, adding courses on business ethics to their curriculum. These classes introduce students to philosophical concepts and dilemmas formerly reserved for liberal arts and law students. The goal behind these is to produce students who can navigate the often murky waters of leadership. Whether these courses will reduce corruption in the real world is yet to be seen.

Perhaps the fall of Eliot Spitzer only highlights the peculiarities of the times we live in. Perhaps in a less connected world, the impact would have been unnoticeable. Perhaps, as permissive as we have become of certain behaviors in private, we are still shocked when our leaders are revealed publicly to have engaged in the same behaviors. Perhaps we have an insatiable appetite for scandal but very little for goodness. Perhaps we are hellbent on proving that no one is as good as they seem and somehow find satisfaction in revealing their weakness. Perhaps, deep down, we don’t believe that people can be as good as Eliot Spitzer seemed to be. I hope not.

To become a leader in politics or business is to be held to a higher standard, to have the media and public eye, with their x-ray vision, fixed on you, trying to chip away at your seemingly flawless facade. And for every Eliot Spitzer or Martha Stewart there are hundreds of other leaders out there who perform wonderfully without falling. These leaders should be celebrated and held up as an example. I’m not recommending turning a blind eye to corruption. I am, however, recommending that we also show how leadership can work, how we can still look up to our leaders.

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