Is Dog Training Right For You?

Before you rush into things though, be sure that this really is the right job for you. One thing to consider before making this a career is to try things out on your own dog. If you’re an unable or do not enjoy training your own dog, it makes little sense to pursue a career training other people’s dogs. Of course, even if you enjoy trading your own dog, keep in mind that is only one dog. There are many different breeds, each with their own different behaviors. However, if you’re really passionate about training your own dog and find yourself starting to help other people’s pets, then this career might just be for you.

Getting Trained

As you might imagine, the first step in actually becoming a dog trainer is getting the proper education. There is no formal degree in dog training at this point. However, there are organized programs, certificates, and plenty of learning materials available. You could learn from online courses, videos, books, or in person instruction. Which choice is best for you depends upon your unique learning style. Since many dog trainers are business for their selves, do not worry about impressing anybody with your credentials. Rather, focus on becoming competent and effective dog trainer. If you do a good job at teaching dogs, your reputation will grow and you’ll get business via word-of-mouth. Nobody will care where or how you got your training, just that you are good at training dogs.

Depending upon where you live, there can be different organizations that offer professional certificates in dog training. One such organization is a Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. On their website, you can find certified trainers in your area to get the certificate. However, there are many other organizations and groups that can teach you dog training. If you are involved in the pet lover community, you may already know some dog trainers. Why not try asking them where they got their training, and what their experience was like? They should point you in the right direction.

Finding Work

To get more experience and training, consider an internship. To find an internship, you need to find yourself a dog trainer and ask if you can assist them. This will get you some on-the-job training, which is invaluable for finding future work. However, some trainers might be reluctant to take you on initially, since they could see it as training their own competition. However, if you can find somebody to work with, doing an internship like this can be quite helpful.

So, you’re all trained, how do you find work? Well, you are hopefully already involved in a community of pet owners who values training dogs. Try using this personal network to find work for yourself. If you do a good job, you find yourself with referral business on your hands in a fairly short period of time. One big issue for many beginning dog trainers is where to set up their practice. If you rent, keep in mind that most landlords might not be too happy with you running a pet training business in your own home. You will need to have access to enough free space to let the dogs run. Also, you will need to consider insurance, office space, advertising, and other business expenses. When setting your rates and making your plans, be sure to consider all of these expenses.

Marketing

One of the keys to success with any small business, dog training included, is the ability to market yourself successfully. As stated before, your own personal network is a great way to get started. However, as time goes on, you may want to expand your market. A great way to start expanding your presence set up your own website. If you create an informative, well targeted site, you find yourself getting free search engine traffic which could lead to potential clients. Be sure to include your local city or town name in the title of your website along with the words “dog training”. For example, if you live in the town of Lakewood, you would want to title your site “Lakewood dog training”. Unless there is a lot of competition for this phrase, you have a good chance at ranking number one on the Internet search results, leading people to your page and eventually to your business for free. Also, you might want to consider taking a traditional ads in print media. Of course, the dog training somewhat locally targeted, taking out an ad in a national publication might be counterproductive. However, if there is a publication that reaches out to pet owners in your local area, consider taking out advertising in it.

It can also help to have a focus.  Do you train show dogs, household pets, or service dogs? If you specialize in one particular type of dog training, be sure to emphasize this fact when you are advertising. It will help set you apart from those who just do general dog training.

Conclusion

So, you can see that there is not one single clear path when it comes to becoming a dog trainer. However, this gives you great flexibility in setting your own path. Make sure to get good solid training and get as much experience training dogs possible. Once you have the skills and the reputation for being an effective dog trainer, finding work should not be very difficult. It will take a lot of hard work to get to that point, but if you’re passionate about dogs, and have a knack for training them, there is no better profession to be in.

Speaking of looks, if you’re a model you will be expected to maintain your looks.  This will require eating right and exercising regularly.  For some types of models, such as fitness models, this might become almost a full time job in itself.  Even if you are gifted genetically, eating right and looking your best will still help keep you looking your best and give you a leg up on the competition.

Incidentally, while it is good to stay in shape, not all female models have to be six feet tall and stick thin, and not all male models have to have rippling muscles.  There are many different types of models that serve different purposes.  The tall female supermodels that many think of are the runway models.  These models typically have very strict height, weight, and figure requirements, but runway modeling isn’t the entire modeling world.  There are models who only appear in magazines and publications, not necessarily showing off clothes (think the background people in ads).  There are models who specialize in certain parts of the body, hand models being a classic example.  There are swimsuit and fitness models, who are required to have very fit figures.  There are even models who get to dress in flashy costumes and hang out at booths in trade shows (often known as “booth babes”).  Limiting yourself to one area of modeling is a poor idea.  Check out all the options, and find your niche.

Building A Portfolio

So, if you’ve decided to become a model, one of the first things you will need to take care of is getting a portfolio together.  A portfolio is a collection of photos that show off your “look.”  Your portfolio will show potential clients what kinds of looks you have to offer.  To build a quality portfolio, you must be sure to work with a quality photographer.  Look through the photographer’s own portfolio, and see if he/she can capture “the look” that you are going after.  Build your portfolio from the work of several photographers, and choose only the very best photos of yourself to go in the portfolio.  It is often useful to ask the photographer which photos are best, since he/she will have a good eye for what photo editors will be looking for as they go over your portfolio.

Use a variety of different photos in your portfolio.  You want to have some solid headshots, full body shots, and perhaps some “arty” pictures.  You want to give prospective clients a very good idea of what you have to offer.  Variety and quality are key.

Now, building a portfolio from multiple quality photographers could be tricky.  Some photographers will work on a “trade for pictures/CD” (abbreviated TFP or TFCD) basis.  These means that you give them your time in exchange for photos of yourself to use in your portfolio.  With this arrangement, both parties get photos for their portfolios.  Not all photographers will do this, though.  Also, it pays to be careful which photographer you choose. Try to find one with a good, professional reputation who is known for doing solid work.  It is unfortunate, but there are some sleazy “photographers” out there who don’t have your best interests in mind, so do your homework.  However, most are professional, and will help you greatly in building up a high quality portfolio.

Marketing Yourself

So, you have a portfolio, now it’s time to start getting your name out there and find some work.  There are two approaches to doing this.  One is to strike out on your own and find work, the other is to find an agent who will get you work in exchange for a cut of the money.  Let’s talk about the first method now, freelancing.  If you are freelancing, you will need to become a skilled marketer.  Develop a web presence, which will probably require the help of a professional developer.  Make sure your site is well targeted to what you offer.  To help you get found in search engines, consider the keywords you put in your title.  For example, don’t just call your site “Sarah Evans Modeling.”  Instead, go for something like “Denver Editorial Model – Sarah Evans.”  This increases your chances of being found by a random search, since it is rare that someone will search for just your name until you are well known.

You can also join sites that connect models with photographers, editors, and others.  See the resources below for some of these.  Be careful on these site to make sure that you are dealing with legitimate professionals, and not scammers.  However, wise use of these sites can definitely help you find some jobs to start with.  They might not be the best, but they can get you going.  Once it starts going well, you might even find yourself an agent.

And, really, finding an agent or agency is hitting the big time in modeling.  With an agent, marketing becomes their job, leaving you free to focus on the modeling.  Of course, the agent will be taking a cut of your fees, but most successful models will ultimately wind up with an agent or get signed to an agency.  In order to get signed with either of these, you need to have a very solid portfolio and have the perfect “look” that is needed at a given time.  To accomplish this, you will need to market yourself well at the beginning, using the techniques above.  So, ultimately, becoming a model is all about becoming a good marketer.

Stay Smart

No discussion of becoming a model is complete without talking about avoiding scams.  Since some many people want to break into modeling, there are many scammers out there try to cash in on this dream.  Don’t let them do it.  To avoid scams, be sure to hold on to your common sense.  Get everything in writing.  Search for the party in question on the internet, and see if there have been any complaints.  Ask for references and check them out.  Most people out there are legitimate, hardworking people, but there are a few scammers out there that will take your money and leave you with nothing.  Doing a little homework goes a long way in avoiding this.

So, that is a basic outline on how to become a model.  It’s not an easy path, and it’s more about marketing and promotion than it is about being really, really good looking.  However, for those who can make it, it can be a very rewarding career.

Resources

Model Mayhem – A good resource site for models.  You can post your portfolio, connect with photographers, and get good advice on the forums.

Modeling Advice – Some good general advice about breaking into modeling.

What Is A Geophysicist?

In short, a geophysicist is, as the name suggests, something of a hybrid between a geologist and a physicist.  Geophysicists use their knowledge of the material properties of the earth (and sometimes other planets) to form an image of the area beneath the surface, known from now on as the “subsurface.”  The most straightforward analogy is to the world of medical imaging, where practitioners use their knowledge of the physical properties of the human body to see under the skin in a non invasive manner.  In the world of medical imaging, there are multiple techniques (ultrasound, x-ray, MRI, etc.) with different applications, and the same thing applies to the world of geophysics.

In their quest to image the subsurface, geophysicists require an understanding of geology, but it is important to understand that a geophysicist is not a geologist.  If your dream job is running around outside get up close and personal with rocks, being a geophysicist is not for you.  However, if you’re into physics and mathematics, and are looking for a very applied field to use these skills, geophysics might just be for you.

Some of these applications include mineral and petroleum exploration, water exploration, archeology, detection of unexploded ordinance, the study of earthquakes, and engineering.  As you can imagine, being able to see underneath the ground without digging a hole is a useful for a broad range of applications.  Each of these different applications typically use a combination of different methods.  Seismic exploration, which is somewhat similar to a very large scale ultrasound, is king in the world of oil exploration.  Mineral exploration often uses a combination of electrical, magnetic, and gravity based methods.  Archeologists will use ground penetrating radar, and the bomb finders will use electromagnetic methods.  There are a broad range  of detection techniques that fall under the umbrella of “geophysics.”

So, what does a geophysicist actually do from day to day?  As you might imagine, it really depends upon the application.  Some will be out in the field, collecting data with various geophysical instruments.  Others will be in the office, processing the data.  There are people who take the processed data, interpret it, and make decisions based upon what they determine (i.e., is there oil here)?  Some others will be developing tools to help others do all of this.  There may be some jobs that require a little bit of all the skills outlined here.   There are those who research new methods of doing all of the above.  As you can see, the day to day life of a geophysicist can be almost anything you want it to be.

Becoming A Geophysicist

So, how does one become a geophysicist?  As you might imagine, formal higher education is involved.  There are several schools that offer undergraduate programs in geophysics.  If you already know this is the field you want to be in, enrolling in one of these programs might be a good idea.  However, there are many geophysicists who majored in physics, geology, math, computer science, and any number of other technical fields before proceeding to graduate school in geophysics.  It really depends upon what your goals are academically and career wise.  However, it is certain that you will need to get a good solid grounding in college level math and physics before proceeding on to any graduate program in geophysics.

Once you have your undergraduate degree, it’s time for graduate school.  Most geophysicists have a post graduate education, so if you are going to be making this a career, it’s not a bad idea to make sure you have at least a masters degree.  Here, you will want to have some idea of what discipline you want to go into.  Do some serious homework into the different departments from different schools you are considering, and make sure you find one that is right for you.  While in grad school (and even undergrad), you want to be networking as much as possible in order to get in touch with future potential employers.  This won’t be hard to do, and can be accomplished easily by attending the annual conferences for the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) and the American Geophysical Union (AGU).  Keep your ears open, work hard in school, do some internships, and you should be ready to find a job.

As stated before, there are many job options in the world of geophysics.  However, the bulk of the jobs are in the oil and mining industries, which are often cyclical.  This can be scary, but if you’ve been networking and gaining experience in internships while still in school, you have a pretty good shot at finding a job.  Of course, some choose to follow the path into academia, while others will choose to start their own businesses.  It really depends on what you want to do with it.

In short, geophysics can be a great career for those looking to use their analytical skills for something very useful and rewarding.  If this sounds like something you want to do, be sure to check out the resources listed below to find out more about how to become a geophysicist.  It’s a rewarding career for many, and it might just be a great choice for you.

Resources

Society of Exploration Geophysicists – One of the largest industry groups in the field.  The annual conference has to be attended if you’re at all interested in the petroleum industry.

American Geophysical Union – Another group, more focused on science than industry.