# A Whole New World? (Yes, You've Probably Already Guessed)



## NateJanota (Jan 12, 2016)

Hello CB.

I'm Nate, a 24-year old lighting programmer and technician who's been bouncing around the entertainment industry for 9 years.

_What's your background?_
What background? To be fair, I don't have the flair of a degree, the never-ending resume, nor the formal education to call myself a professional. But I've been studying on my own for 9 years to earn that title, and still yet I haven't earned it (in my mind, though my employers might agree or disagree!). I started in television hauling cable around for a television show in Las Vegas, then moved up to running an old Jands Hog 1000 for a church. From there, it was a succession of manuals and consoles to where I am today.

_How'd you get into lighting?_
I caught my love for lighting as a sophomore in college, but I was too deep into my studies in engineering (and far too poor) to switch careers. However, when the federal government denied my financial aid as a second-semester senior, forcing me to drop out of college, I quickly realized lighting was to go from being my hobby to being my career. Here I am.

_What have you done in the industry?_
Nothing the CB pros would consider noteworthy or awe-inspiring. I've worked and consulted for houses of worship, programmed for various venues, worked in theatre, worked for Disney World (and was laid off), and am now working for Universal Orlando.

For those of you who held together for those three long-winded paragraphs, thank you. As someone lacking the degree and the glowing resume, it's been difficult to turn my passion into a career. I seek a multitude of career guidance, advice, and learning opportunities. I'm willing to work my A$$ off at all times, and willing to learn even more so.

It's a pleasure to meet you all, and I hope I can offer something to the community!

-Nate


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## SteveB (Jan 12, 2016)

Nate, welcome to CB

First off you're a professional. You're getting paid to do what you do, so that fact alone lets you tell folks who ask, that you're a professional lighting technician. 

You're lucky enough to know that lighting and theater (well, the entertainment business) is what you love, so count yourself as very fortunate. Tons of people are working careers they hate and you're not one of them and you've known this and been doing it since 15. Reminds me of me, and I'm now 41 years as a professional. 

Everything you wrote shows a great attitude and that's sometimes all you need to succeed, so stick with it. If you get time, get a degree in something, but never stop learning and eventually you'll have a multi-page glowing resume.


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## NateJanota (Jan 12, 2016)

SteveB said:


> Nate, welcome to CB
> 
> First off you're a professional. You're getting paid to do what you do, so that fact alone lets you tell folks who ask, that you're a professional lighting technician.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the encouragement! The attitude of people like yourself is what helps me keep striving to learn and grow! I love what I do! I have a passion for communicating emotion and storytelling through lighting, and what better way to help accomplish that then to meet like-minded people?! Once I get acquainted with Control Booth I will definitely get involved and do my best to be a thorough part of the CB community. Thanks for the warm welcome!


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## burgherandfries (Jan 13, 2016)

Welcome, Nate! 

Don't count yourself out. You're working in what you love and have experience, that makes you as professional as anyone. Good to have you here.


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## NateJanota (Jan 13, 2016)

burgherandfries said:


> Welcome, Nate!
> 
> Don't count yourself out. You're working in what you love and have experience, that makes you as professional as anyone. Good to have you here.



Thanks! Glad to be here!


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## gafftaper (Jan 15, 2016)

Welcome to the Booth. I always tell my students that tech theater is a weird career with three equal forces acting up on your future: Education, Who you impress with your hard work, and dumb luck. The more education you have, the less hard work and luck you need to build a career. In your case, you don't have much formal education. Fine, that just means you need to work hard, impress people with your skills and attitude, and get a lucky break now and then. From what I read, it seems like you have the right attitude, you just have to keep grinding. Make friends with everyone, be the first guy to show up for the call, the first person to volunteer for the dirty job, the guy who picks up a broom and sweeps because it needs to be done, the last person to quit for a break, the first person to get back to work, the person who always sticks around and says "do you need me to do anything else?", and the last person to go home from the call. Be humble. Ask questions of your superiors that show you want to know more, be more, and don't want to settle. It may not be your passion, but find a way to develop skills in sound and rigging. The more skills you have the more valuable you are to an employer. When I'm choosing crew to work a gig here, my first calls always go to the guys who can handle lights and sound.

You'll get there. Along the way hang out here meet some new people from all over the industry and most importantly, learn something new every day.


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## NateJanota (Jan 15, 2016)

gafftaper said:


> Welcome to the Booth. I always tell my students that tech theater is a weird career with three equal forces acting up on your future: Education, Who you impress with your hard work, and dumb luck. The more education you have, the less hard work and luck you need to build a career. In your case, you don't have much formal education. Fine, that just means you need to work hard, impress people with your skills and attitude, and get a lucky break now and then. From what I read, it seems like you have the right attitude, you just have to keep grinding. Make friends with everyone, be the first guy to show up for the call, the first person to volunteer for the dirty job, the guy who picks up a broom and sweeps because it needs to be done, the last person to quit for a break, the first person to get back to work, the person who always sticks around and says "do you need me to do anything else?", and the last person to go home from the call. Be humble. Ask questions of your superiors that show you want to know more, be more, and don't want to settle. It may not be your passion, but find a way to develop skills in sound and rigging. The more skills you have the more valuable you are to an employer. When I'm choosing crew to work a gig here, my first calls always go to the guys who can handle lights and sound.
> 
> You'll get there along the way hang out here meet some new people from all over the industry and most importantly, learn something new every day.




You'd better believe every ounce of advice you just gave made it into a notebook in my inventory somewhere.  I appreciate the welcome, and the encouragement! I will do my utmost to follow your advice here on CB and develop my knowledge and skills further.


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## gafftaper (Jan 19, 2016)

By the way. Some of my friends around here have long careers working places like Cirque, Disney, and other major venues. They are very careful about keeping where they work a secret as some employers like that really do not like having their employees identify where they work online. In some cases you can be fired for divulging your employer. You might want to double check the employee manual or just change your profile and edit your recent posts that say where you work. Possibly even change your avatar to not be your actual picture.


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## NateJanota (Jan 19, 2016)

gafftaper said:


> By the way. Some of my friends around here have long careers working places like Cirque, Disney, and other major venues. They are very careful about keeping where they work a secret as some employers like that really do not like having their employees identify where they work online. In some cases you can be fired for divulging your employer. You might want to double check the employee manual or just change your profile and edit your recent posts that say where you work. Possibly even change your avatar to not be your actual picture.



I genuinely appreciate your concern. After I read your post I contacted my managers and asked if everything was on the up and up. They told me that as long as I fairly represent my company and avoid presenting myself poorly, it's not an issue. HOWEVER, since you've got years and years of experience on me, I'm going to accept your advice anyway and change it


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## gafftaper (Jan 19, 2016)

NateJanota said:


> I genuinely appreciate your concern. After I read your post I contacted my managers and asked if everything was on the up and up. They told me that as long as I fairly represent my company and avoid presenting myself poorly, it's not an issue. HOWEVER, since you've got years and years of experience on me, I'm going to accept your advice anyway and change it


It's not a situation I am in personally, but my friends around here who are in similar situations I'm sure would all agree it's a good idea to go incognito. All you need is a new supervisor who doesn’t like the way you joke around in the off topic forum or doesn’t like you giving out tiny hints about the proprietary magic, and you are in big trouble. If you ever want to get word out about something without being identified, you can pass it through me and I'll post it. I have lots of little birds whisper things to me.


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## NateJanota (Jan 19, 2016)

gafftaper said:


> It's not a situation I am in personally, but my friends around here who are in similar situations I'm sure would all agree it's a good idea to go incognito. All you need is a new supervisor who doesn’t like the way you joke around in the off topic forum or doesn’t like you giving out tiny hints about the proprietary magic, and you are in big trouble. If you ever want to get word out about something without being identified, you can pass it through me and I'll post it. I have lots of little birds whisper things to me.



That's a big 10-4.


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## ruinexplorer (Jan 25, 2016)

It can be a fine line in interpreting if you are speaking your own opinion or if you are speaking as a "representative" of your company. Some companies have very strict guidelines in the employee manual about your online presence. Your supervisor may be fine, but it's always good to go with the side of caution.


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## NateJanota (Jan 25, 2016)

ruinexplorer said:


> It can be a fine line in interpreting if you are speaking your own opinion or if you are speaking as a "representative" of your company. Some companies have very strict guidelines in the employee manual about your online presence. Your supervisor may be fine, but it's always good to go with the side of caution.



Advice well-said and well-received. Thanks, ruin. Also, now that I have my own company, I can avoid that issue by associating my online presence with it instead of the other.


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