One of my characters is a 21 year old werewolf and I cannot for the life of me think of a suitable job for him. It needs to be flexible enough that he can explain away absences on the full moon. It cannot require a degree since in my story younger werewolves are not allowed to attend college at first for safety precautions. Yet, I want him to be able to fend for himself financially. Does anyone have any ideas or places for me to look for a job that would suit a young adult werewolf? How do you pick out occupations for younger characters?
How attractive is he? There's always the world's oldest profession. No questions asked, no schedules to keep, no request for time off slips to fill out.
Do you need him to go to a workplace to interact with other characters or do you just need a job so that he is able to support himself? If it is the latter, you could have him do freelance type things -- writing of some sort, maybe writing technical documents, or some sort of technology or web-based business where he does a lot from home or remotely, or has some say in when he has to be on a job site? Many of these things don't necessarily require a degree, but knowledge and experience, which some people get even before college. (Some high school students are extremely tech-savvy, and there have been instances of some of them making large amounts of money due to their expertise in computer games or security or some other technological-based service.) There are many instances of jobs where it is the skill that is required, irrespective of whether the person with that skill holds a degree.
Could you not just have him on a shift pattern which happens to mean he's not at work during a full moon? Loads of jobs have odd shift patters - for example I know someone who works 3 12hr shifts a week and has the rest of the time off. Or, go for a more casual job like bar work where you say the hours you can work the week before to get rostered onto certain shifts? I suppose the ultimate is temping - I did some temping when I was at uni and I simply told them the week before when I was free and when I wasn't. It all depends on how much money you also need him to make - does he have a flash lifestyle etc? Another option is to create some system whereby money isn't a problem because the werewolf community has a way of raising funds and supporting themselves because historically there were problems with werewolves being in normal jobs (fits with the not being allowed to go to college?).
Give him a government job; no nights or weekends ever! Or he is an author, or day trader, or any other number of jobs. Does he need to be absent for the entire full moon cycle or just night time?
He operates one of those little wagons that scoop up poop in Paris. Milkman Ach milkman is the best. 'Extra pint Mrs Jones?' 'Wolfie, why don't you come in...? For a cup of tea.' 'Eheh heh eh heh wah hah hah.' FANGS
Eh? Like cops or Crime Scene Investigators? Cuz the bad guys only work 9-5... How about a web developer or a pizza delivery guy?
Dealing drugs? Fencing stolen goods? Stripping cars for parts? After all, not everyone earns a living legally.
Bare-knuckler? Or some other illegal fighting ring? I'd imagine that would fit in well with a werewolf's temperament.
Some jobs, like working on boats, require people to work for months without vacation, and then they get months of vacation time to make up for it. If he timed it right, he could always be on vacation during a full moon. Or worse, stuck on a boat with lots of innocent people! DUM DUM DUM!
How about working as a field man for a collection agency? "What do you mean you can't pay?" Full moon. Yoooowwwwllllll...
I went through something similar for my MC, Riley. My book is a mystery as well as an urban fantasy, though Riley is a Water Mage, not a werewolf. Early on, I nixed the idea of making him a PI, and then a journalist, before settling on making him a freelance graphic designer. Flexible hours, interesting, and a field I knew about, so no research was required. Where does the story take place? That will affect the types of work available. What sort of story is it? A mystery,a romance, a thriller? It might be hard to sell a romantic hero who works a job which limits his ability to interact with the other characters. How much research are you willing to do? If it isn't a field with which you already have experience, you'll need to find a way to learn about that job. Some are easier than others to research.
What about a writer? he keeps his own hours so when a full moon occurs he can go out and do his Werewolf stuff.
Obviously, we could compile a huge list of possible jobs for your wolfie. But not all of them will suit him. More than just meeting logistical requirements, the job you choose for him needs to fit his personality. Who is he? Is he creative? Academic? Introverted, extroverted? Is he concerned with helping others or forwarding a cause, or does he just want to live his life? Will the job you choose be a big part of who he is, or just a way to pay the bills? Find out who your character is, and that will narrow the field for you, making it an easier choice.
How about a keep fit instructor, coach or pro athlete, after all that chasing young maidens to despoil and plunder would most likely give him a good body and high levels of strength and stamina. What about a stripper or prostitute?
common jobs work the best. restaurant jobs, retailer jobs, jobs the readers work and can relate to. It can be your ace in the hole, to differentiate you from all the other werewolf stories
I have two perfect jobs: Manpower - one of those jobs where either you get manual labor on your own hanging out where manual laborers get hired (Home Depot around here, for example, always has a cluster of men hoping to get some manual labor), or there are employment agencies that provide short term manual labor workers. Or, self employed which can be anything from gardening and housekeeping to selling on EBay.
If he lives in the city he could be a roofer, or if he lives in a small town maybe own a small carpentry business. Or maybe a general handyman for hire? I'm guessing a werewolf would be in good shape and those are "manley" jobs where being in good shape would be an asset for sure as well as having a flexable schedule because they almost never work at night.
He could be a biochemistry honours student with the key to the lab, so he can do experiments in his own time.
Construction Something in the service industry Artist of some kind Maybe he could be a librarian on a shift schedule? Blood bank Works for a non-profit Look around and see what the most common jobs for young people in your area do to get some more ideas
