geek pride

Pro-Fan Pride: The Joy of Knowing

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What makes you great as a profan/progeek – or a fan/geek/otaku that wants to turn their hobbies into a job?

The fact that you know this.

Seriously.  You, from your love of anime to your disturbingly deep knowledge of sports statistics, have an idea of just what you want to do with your life.  Your fanfic, fanart, web pages, blog posts, reviews, what have you all give you a bloody good idea of just what you should be doing in your career.

Right now you're lucky.  Right now you have direction.  Right now you have something you care passionately, deeply, obsessively about and will push yourself to achieve.  It could be anything from finishing a video game to writing a web page.

But you care and you know what you want to do.

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Geeks, Fans, Otaku, Nerds, and More: Don’t Be The False You

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So you're looking at yourself from a professional point of view.  You're a raging fangirl, a complete geek, a classic rock snob, what have you – and you don't want to show it.  After all you worry about how you'll come off at work, on the job, to clients, etc.

Chances are, it's backfiring.

The more you choke off who you really are, what you like, what you do – even if it seems ridiculous – the less you're going to act like yourself.  Since you'll be busy being something you're not, you're going to screw it up anyway.

Your clients, co-workers, employer, etc. are going to notice this and notice something is wrong.

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Your Office and Geek Pride

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I'm not one for decorating my cube at work – mostly as my ideal decoration is printouts.  But I want to take a moment to praise the decorating of cubes for progeeks and profans.

I could talk about motivation, reminders, etc.

But instead I'd like to praise the geek pride of it.

When you've got your baseball figures, your anime figures, your posters, your pictures, your  bust of Optimus Prime, you're saying "I am a geek and I am proud of it."  You're telling people about yourself – perhaps even exposing yourself to ridicule – as well as opening a dialogue about what you like.

This is a good thing (done with some forethought of course, depending on what your fandom is).

This is making a statement about who you are and what you like – proudly and openly – at a place that your livelihood likely depends on.  It takes courage, and it asserts who you are.

So I say go for it.  Let people know who you are – in fact, if you plan your "fan display" carefully you can generate dialogue and respect for you as well.

Even that bust of Optimus Prime can benefit your career if you know, for instance, the head of IT is a big Transformers fan . . .

– Steven Savage