Last year working at Barnes and Noble I ran across a wonderful little book called Gig, which was a compilation of hundreds of interviews given to everyday American working folk, from drug dealers and prostitutes to major Hollywood film producers and enterprising crime scene cleaning business owners. Great read.
The most striking job interview for me was with a Psychological Operations Specialist. The full interview can be found here. As soon as I get my AA (should be soon), I plan on majoring in Psychology at a university. I like to know what makes people tick. I love taking a handful of features, quirks, and attributes that are immediately noticeable about a person and drawing conclusions about who they are. And then finding out over a period of a few months that I was right from the start. I enjoy giving people advice and opening new doors of perspective for them on the whats and whys of how they fit in with other people. If I could have any superpower, it would be the ability to read minds.
I’d then like to pursue an education in all things multimedia. Film, graphic design, writing, music, everything. Ultimately, I want to find a niche that combines psychology and art. I’ve grown up watching an absurd amount of tv, movies, constantly listening to music, and reading books of every kind. Every time I watch something I can’t but help thing how I’d like to change a line just a little, alter the lighting, rewrite a character’s development, or any number of things. I don’t have much interest being in front of the camera or on a stage, but I think I could be wonderful at developing a major project from the ground up and making sure everything is tight and pitch perfect. I love idea people, and love spending time with them. I consider myself one. I’m constantly writing down ideas for different projects and tinkering around with them. The ones that are doable now I finish. The ones that require more education or life experience, I tuck away for later.
The Army Psychological Operations Specialist appears to train a person for all of these things, and give you experience to boot. From the way I’ve heard it described thus far, I’d be working on tv shows, radio shows, newspapers, pamphlets, and everything else under the sun. I’d be trying to figure the minds of different people as the army moves into their territory and then alter their perception of us so that relations are kept peachy keen.
But those are the Army’s descriptions. I’m weary of researching any field within the military on random websites since you never know if the opinions or factoids expressed are that of an individual, or that of a recruiter/PR guy. Hopefully someone here in the SDMB can weigh in as to what they’re all about and the extent of the education they provide for the multimedia stuff. What I’d really like to know is how comparable their education and assignments would be to a school or program that specializes in digital media and film, like Fullsail University for instance.
