Never Too Late to Pursue a Passion
With over two weeks under my belt, I can now say I have officially worked in the event production industry. Up until this point I had only ever really dabbled in the idea, planning family events and helping non-profits put on fundraisers. As an incoming senior, I am somewhat late to the game to be just entering an industry. But it took me a long time to get to a point where I was comfortable with the idea that I may have a nonconforming career after graduation. My whole life I always believed I would have a traditional job, a lawyer or an accountant. However, as the years went on, my passion for event planning grew to a point where I couldn’t ignore it. So, I decided to take a chance and went for my first internship with an event production company, The Catered Affair at the Boston Public Library. This company is the sole caterer and event production team for the library. They run two cafes and one restaurant in the library and produce all events including weddings and corporate events.
As I continue my third week here at The Catered Affair (TCA), I have settled in quite well to the company atmosphere. On a day to day basis I am really happy here. I love the work I get to do, and the things I am learning. I feel as if I am constantly doing something new and every day is different. I am never stuck at my desk all day, and get to interact with various people within the company. Looking at it on a small scale, in the moment, type of way I could certainly see myself doing this as a career.
But as I dig deeper into this company and industry in general, there are some things that make me very weary. After having now spent two summers living in a city, I find myself quite tired of the fast-paced life. However, a majority of event production companies are located in cities. Many events take place on weekends and that means the people planning those events must work on weekends. This is a real challenge for me as I tend to spend time with my family on the weekends. The final issue is job progression. It seems to be very difficult to move up in this industry, and I don’t want to stay at the bottom forever.
So, I find myself faced with a complex problem. I enjoy the job itself, but not all the aspects that come with it. This makes me wonder if maybe I should pursue another career, or even grad school until I can get a better grasp on what I want. As I enter my senior year I have many important questions that I will need to answer.