career counseling needed

[jmhislop]

I am a pretty casual user of Elements but LOVE it. I have not posted much but read a lot of the forums. I am curious if this is a hobby for most of you or if you have related jobs and what they are. I would love to know more.

Jessica,
speech language pathologist by day
photoshop addict by night

[GaryK]

Hi Jessica

Hobbiest here. :)

Although Elements is an extremely powerful program, I would hazard a guess that most professionals are using Photoshop.
This is not to imply that you can not make some money with Elements or that you need to use Photoshop as a pro. That is just the way it is.

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

I am a pretty casual user of Elements but LOVE it. I have not posted much but read a lot of the forums. I am curious if this is a hobby for most of you or if you have related jobs and what they are. I would love to know more.

Jessica,
speech language pathologist by day
photoshop addict by night
Hi Jessica,

Mostly, I am a hobbyest, however I have committed to teaching a course on PSE. I am retired, so everything, housework included, is a hobby now:). Welcome to the wonderful world of posting on our forum. Now that the ice has been broken, I hope to see your posts as a regular "feature."

Cheers,

Bob

[baycruisers]

Forensic psychologist.

Hobbyist for sure. I started shooting 35mm in 1980 and switched to digital a few years ago.

[Wendy]

Hi Jessica ...

For me it started off just as hobby .. but nowadays it seems to have turned into something I do 24 hours a day :D:D

Wendy

[sdewenter]

I am a pretty casual user of Elements but LOVE it. I have not posted much but read a lot of the forums. I am curious if this is a hobby for most of you or if you have related jobs and what they are. I would love to know more.

Jessica,
speech language pathologist by day
photoshop addict by night

Hobby...
Administrative Assistant at a medical clinic by day
PSE junkie at night and whenever I can surf the net at work!

Susan D

[troush]

Hobbiest... Homeschooling, stay-at-home-mom of 3, 24 x 7. I do digi-scrapping in-between :)

-Trish

[peaches]

retired but addicted to this
suzi

[cats4jan]

I did make $25 last year. I made some placards for a friend's photo album.

Can one live on $25 a year? If so, I'm employed in the field. LOL

Started with greeting cards (personal not for purchase) - "fell into" digi-scrapping.

[nkeevers]

A hobby! I've done stuff for people but not made much money from it! I just love doing it; and it keeps me off the street!:eek::eek::D

[kevq]

Retired, started as a hobby now an obsession.
Kev.

[deedeeO]

Hobby gone pro:D My son goes to college in 2 years, so I had to start something!!!:p

BTW, previous career life: Fluorescent digital microscopy...used Photoshop for marketing materials and cellular imaging enhancements.

[Rusty]

Strictly a hobby. I've been an avid photographer for 50 years. Retirement now gives me the time to explore digital and, like Kev, it's becoming an obsession :)

I aspire to someday becoming skilled enough to truthfully say, "I'm an advanced armature!"

Rusty

[TonyW]

Growing old and it does seem to be a rather entertaining way to keep a few brain cells alive and active........comes of reading this article :D

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn11106

Tony

[billd2]

Retired dentist and photography and PE happens to be one of my many retirement enjoyments along with golf, fishing, sons, grandchildren, great grand children and my wonderful wife of 51 years.

[quillabee9]

It's a hobby ++. I don't make any money from it. But I get a lot of pleasure. Mostly I do stuff for my Wife's clowning and face painting (advertisement images, etc.) and B'day and Holiday cards for whoever. Then I play around a lot. PSE play is one of the main activities I do to keep my brain active in this age of retirement. formerly I was in construction project management for a government contractor and before that a commissioned officer in the US Army Corps of Engineers. PSE is much more fun.
http://bestsmileys.com/expressions/9.gif

[efarnstrom]

I am a latecomer to photography. My husband always carried the camera. But when I retired I started genealogy of the family with a lot of help from the family. Then I saw the stacks of photos and slides that could be preserved by scanning. And they really were deteriorating. That led to creating pages in Print Shop so they could be grouped together. Print Shop has a rudimentary photo editor. A 50th anniversary for me and DH led to pulling all those pages into PowerPoint for a slide show. I had used PhotoShop some at work, and had some earlier versions bundled with other software. It seemed too difficult for me, but my DGS showed me some of the things you could do with it. Now I show him a thing or two!

I first saw Photo Album and thought it would help organize the photo files....of course that led to a better program...Elements...then there was no stopping the avalanche of updates and then digital camera came on board and then a better camera...and slide shows...

Of course along the way someone asked if I did video editing...oh no! Elements and Premiere work together then there was another upgrade and another....

Yes, I do work for 'outsiders' but only for the cost of a lunch or two. No money has crossed my palm or under the table at lunch. I consider myself a gifted amateur; my DH considers me an addict, or at least to have an obsession!

[Chuck S.]

Photography and Elements are definitely hobbies! Semi-retired engineer, trying to keep my mind sharp although it seems to be a losing battle....:o

[jhariton]

I am a pretty casual user of Elements but LOVE it. I have not posted much but read a lot of the forums. I am curious if this is a hobby for most of you or if you have related jobs and what they are. I would love to know more.

Jessica,
speech language pathologist by day
photoshop addict by night
What a good question...PSE has recently become my main hobby.I'm a psychotherapist in the rest of my life. Now with 2 kids in college, I need something for my empty nest and this has really helped!!!.

[Diana]

I'm retired. I found PSE a few years ago when version 2.0 came with my new scanner. I then upgraded to 3.0 and most recently to 5.0. I make a little cash here and there from it, but it's mostly an addictive hobby. And one added benefit is it's gotten me more interested in photography. Thank goodness I have my retirement and social security benefits to help support my habit!:D Previously I was a Human Resources Manager in a manufacturing firm where I spent 30 years. PSE is much more relaxing and enjoyable.

Diana

[gcherry]

Mostly a hobby, but I do use PSE extensively in creating my marketing materials. I'm a real estate agent and I always enhance the property photos to straighten, crop, adjust lighting, correct blown-out windows, clone out the shoes left by the door, etc. I used to use Publisher to create flyers and brochures but I find that I can get a much more professional looking result by doing most of it in PSE.

Quite honestly, I'd give up real estate in a heartbeat if I could earn a living as a PSE addict, but I don't think it's gonna happen. :)

[robpendragon]

I actually use it for work, my illustrations & my photography. For work (glass engraver) I have to transform corporate logos into usable black & white images to make into templates for the engraving. I also use it to create artwork for customers who want custom pieces for gifts such as a wedding invitation, I can reproduce the artwork thats on the invite & engrave it on to some sculpture or glassware.

[Fernan]

Jessica welcome to the forum! It's a great hobby.:D

[tnwaltz]

Years ago I was head over heels into film photography but one day I laid my camera down and didn't pick it up for many, many years. Much later, I purchased a Nikon D70 but couldn't quite get my enthusiasm back so put it aside until recently. I purchased PSE4 and have made a commitment to learn to use my camera and PSE4 this year. PSE will help me in my real estate profession by making brochures, etc.

[vawitt]

College prof by day (teaching computer concepts and Microsoft applications)...PSE hobbyist by night. In addition to learning all I can about this fun software, I use it to improve photos that are posted to my class web sites and clean up vacation pix from our summer (best part about teaching) travels.

~Val in rainy IL

[mrod]

A bit of both, actually. I've always enjoyed dabbling with digital images as a hobby. A few years ago, I was asked to include PSE 3.0 in the computer application classes I teach. This gave me a good reason to jump in deeper with both Elements and Photoshop, and that interest has encouraged me to begin learning more about photography. I also enjoy answering the questions in the Q&A column of PET, as well as sharing an occasional video in the Subscriber Area. :)

Mike

[John L Gray]

Retired and addicted to this full time hobby. Several years ago I started doing restorations of my relatives from the 1800's. Word of mouth and restorations my website have brought me clients to due old photo restorations. It helps pay for my print making habit.:D

John

[dedean]

Financial Analyst by day. I love creating and do a lot of multi-media, graphics and photo montages (using Power Point and Pro Show Gold) for our church.

[baderms]

I'm a Senior Systems Analyst/Programmer full time with a side business doing the same thing. I got started with PE about 1 year ago and have started doing some photo business on the side with it as well. So far it's just a hobby, but this year I've made about $300 selling posters, greeting cards & postcards. I've also had local dance studio approach me about doing some work for them. Maybe before I die I can make a living doing this. :D