Hey, All my friends have started, or are preparing/applying for, jobs in the cities. That's where most of the firms are. The thing is, I need my story to take place in a dying small town and I need my MC to be new there. What type of job would bring a newly-starting-out young adult to a small town that's isolated and slowly dying? It doesn't have to be a ghost town or anything, but in a rural area and with few people. Thanks!
Geological surveyor in employ by the US park service or some other environment agency. I have also heard people quitting city life and setting up small farms around small towns and in rural areas.
Agricultural Specialist, Nuclear Power Station decontamination, Real Estate Developer with hope to revamp it, Police Officer/Teacher looking for a quieter existence, Author, Software Developer etc basically can work anywhere and want to get out of the city. Mental Health Worker/Prison Worker maybe there is an asylum or prison. Hippy starting up a retreat. Someone to inspect mine or whatever main industry used to be. Is their a weird museum someone famous lived and worked their maybe - someone comes to be the curator or open it ?
Archeological Historian as well. And Archeologists in general, studying local ruins around a small town in a 3rd world nation.
Hey, Thanks to all who replied. The real estate worker fits best, as it actually would make other plot aspects more credible. I'm not familiar with the world of real estate -- how does it work? Is it each entrepeneur for himself, or is there a real estate company? Could she be a newbie real estate saleswoman for a firm? (Because that's ideal for the plot. I need someone to be hush-hush about a horrible secret about the town, so wanting people to buy homes there is a decent motive) Thanks!
not an expert but yes she could if it is rural maybe they have built holiday homes - and the company have hired her to sell them.
How about something medical? I've been watching a lot of these shows on Discovery, History, etc about "Pickers" which are people who travel around looking to buy and sell other people's stuff. There's one called American Pickers on the History channel and the two hosts go all over the hell.
Probably you've already found the profession you want, but in countries like Germany, Russia, and China, medium to large factories are frequently located far away from anywhere in small villages. The Chinese and Russians are famous for doing this, partly for defense reasons, but the South of Germany is also littered with small highly-specialized companies, that are located in tiny villages for obscure reasons. Perhaps some of the most prominent German examples are the companies Carl Zeiss, Adidas and Puma, who all have their headquarters in tiny villages and towns. These companies obviously employ a wide range of people, from engineers to economists, from secretaries to janitors.
Hey guys, Thanks for replying - I've decided to go with the real estate option, that puts my MC in a position to be faced with other things that will play an important role in the story. If anyone can tell me more about how a real estate firm operates that'd be awesome -- would it be just her being hired to sell houses or is it more complicated? Thanks!
I mean it's not like the plot centers on real-estate. It's a horror story. I just need something that would cause her to be out there and that would allow her to trek around in creepy areas while having a boss who wants her to be hush-hush about the town's secret.
Along these lines, your protag could be a sort of corporate prospector, searching for viable locales to establish an HQ or factory. Coupled with this suggestion and your description of horror, I immediately think of Resident Evil, haha.
Just google selling real estate, or life of a real estate agent. A little research will go a long way. You could also talk to a real estate agent and see what it's like. To make your character realistic you'll need to know more about it than anyone on these forums will know (unless they are in real estate).
crews are brought in to disassemble the contents of manufacturing facilities that have been lured elsewhere (usually south by a decade long tax abatement incentives ) . The millions of dollars worth of machinery is broken down and labeled carefully . Often lower priority x ,y and z must be removed in order to allowing exit access for the urgently needed a,b and z ....sometimes the welds will be x-rayed before being deemed safe for travel .......dig ?
Maybe somebody fresh out of college with a medical license but unable to get a job at a hospital so they take a job working for the local family practician? (That's the initial result from like 5 seconds of thinking about it. I'd need more time for something better. )`
Journalist jumps to mind For real estate agent: maybe y can add Feng Shui to her expertise, and she starts to discover why the town is dying.....
Leo, usually my protags are journalists 'cause I am one....but you wouldn't move to a small soon-to-be-ghost town as a journalist, you might just go there for a few days to get with your sources and cover the story.... Hal and Guam, I'm not saying that the MC *HAS* to be young per-se, but it would fit better in the context to have someone who's relatively inexperienced; I'm doing a horror/killer-mystery-turned-supernatural-villains story and I don't want to use a cop or detective as a protag because that's too overdone, you know? I'd like to use someone who sort of gets thrust into events, although in a believable manner; I feel like having my MC be a retired cop would be great for any other plot situation, but here, it would be too convenient because he/she could just dust off the old uniform, get the weaponry and crime-solving expertise out and be good to go. Real estate works perfect. And I have a friend who sells real estate, so I can facebook her about this, too. Thanks a ton everybody.
