I'm a high school podcaster that got featured on Spotify for my podcast, Major Jobs, where I interview people with different jobs to teach other teens about them. AMA!

Hi Guys, Brett Ambler Aka The Kazoo Kid here.

I was lucky enough to be interviewed by Teland at Major Jobs. He was a total pro with a set of questions that he asks of all his guests and then a separate set of questions that he specifically tailors for each individual guest. He’s insightful and a great listener. I say tune in because he’s only getting better and better at this.

My question for you: has anyone approached you about doing interviews on another platform? Or about doing work in broadcast? If not, where would you want to go from here?

awwww hi Brett! thanks for the kind words!

Nobody has really asked me to do things outside of the platform unfortunately, but I'd love to dabble in that field as well as the business field!

Call up Dave Ramsey's personality Anthony O'Neil. He helps kid prepare for after high school too. He'd love this and would love to have you on. They have a huge audience. Props!! Great jobs spreading valuable info.to your peers and starting a career!!!!

He already did an episode with me :) Great minds think alike

Do you have any interest in interviewing a woman in a male-centric career? Lol

(I’m an appliance repair tech, and I’m the only woman in this position in the company I work for)

Definitely! Shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to talk!

I'd be happy to contribute as well, if you're interested in the perspective of someone who had 0 clue what to do after high school, eventually got a degree at 29 (and becoming a mom of 2 in the process), currently working as a federal contractor in tech. :)

Awesome! After my first AMA I got an overwhelming response so I made a spreadsheet of different requests. I'd be happy to input the ones from today as well!

What jobs blew you away with how differently you first perceived it to be?

I think the language creator one was definitely something I never expected and was so amazed to see how it worked. David J. Peterson is a master of his craft and learning how Dothraki was made was such a treat.

Is your aim to cover more extremely niche jobs, regular jobs, or both?

Both!

As an adult I still find myself surprised and fascinated by the different jobs out there and what they really entail. What kind of insight have you gotten for your own career aspirations from your podcast?

I know that I want to go into the business field, but I also want to tinker into different fields of tech and broadcast.

Do you not think that it would be best to go into business in a field you're interested in, rather than make your field the rather broad scope of 'business'?

That's what I thought as well. I've had some mentors say I'm better for the "Business Administration" field when I asked about Finance, but I guess I'll explore all the fields during college and find out which one will stick with me.

Just a little heads up, majoring in just business administration can sometimes hurt you. You can definitely do it but sometimes if you find a more specific job within business it can help you get higher paying jobs. Totally a suggestion, I decided to major in finance and loved it cause I like math.

You seem to have a great head on your shoulders.

Hm, what is your advice for someone like me? What are the pros and cons for majoring in business administration vs something more pinpointed like finance? I like both but I also need to make a decent amount of money as well.

Have you had the chance to speak with,or tried to get Mike Rowe on the podcast? Though his career path might now be the most straight forward, I think he's experience with so many jobs on the show "Dirty Jobs" and your voracious curiosity and insight from interviewing so many professionals could be a fascinating conversation to listen in on!

You're the second person to tell me! I tried to find a contact but had no luck unfortunately. I would love to have him on but can't find a way to do so :(

Mike Rowe has pretty much become a mouthpiece for the Koch bros., selling working-class people on conservative talking points. He actually speaks out against workplace safety regulations because good workers should look out for their own safety (seriously).

https://m.soundcloud.com/citationsneeded/episode-64-mike-rowes-koch-backed-working-man-affectation

Oh, thanks for telling me. I hadn't done much research, but I'll do some more from now on.

How did you go about establishing contact with a figure such a elevator Ernie?

Also do you know what you call a group of aged 24-33 white males? A podcast! So you’re definitely ahead of the curve. (I mean that all in a good way, get that media wave)

Contacting emails and hoping for a response. I can send fifty emails in a day and two can respond back, and sometimes I get lucky haha.

Edit: Grammar

How wide of a net have you cast? Like the process of arranging an interview is just so intriguing

Edit: honored to be your first response!

I will literally interview anyone. Anyone, haha.

Yes this is what I wanted to know as well! Did your podcast garner so much attention that some big names heard about you? Did you try to reach out to them directly? Ernie and the producer of Conan are no joke, and it’s really cool to see someone my age expanding their network like that!

I email a lot of people. Like a lot. Sometimes two hit in a pile of 50 that I send. I guess that's the way it goes haha.

I want to say well done for this, you're making opportunities and options available that many of us didn't have at this point in our lives. Keep up the good work.

I guess my question would be, who are your dream guests? Do you have a bucket list of people you'd love to share their experiences with you?

I would love to be able to talk to people high up in the business field to learn how they climbed up the ladder. I would also love to talk to people who work for the government (Senators, Governors, etc.) to learn about that process and what it entails. I'd also like to talk to some more tradesmen (plumbers, painters, etc.) because I think it's a really interesting industry. As for unconventional jobs, maybe a professional athlete, because I want to learn more about what it takes to get there.

Edit: I thought about it a bit more and would also like to be able to talk to a big podcaster. People like Ethan Klein and Joe Rogan are the biggest interviewers out there, and I would want to tap into their brain and ask how they do it. I remember about three months ago I submitted a request to be on Joe's show, but instead of interviewing me I'd be interviewing him haha. I wanted to get into his mind and learn about his process. Never heard back from them though lol.

Gotta get you on the Rogan sub and hole that Jamie sees it!

I wish! I'm not sure he would notice it tho, I'm just some teenager that has this little podcast and he's one of the huge mammoths of the industry.

I’m a high school teacher thinking about having a 9th grade class do some podcasting. What sort of equipment and software would you suggest?

Get a good microphone. I use Audacity to edit, and just have fun with it. I don't spend much money at all, and I know you don't have to either.

Great work! I seriously wish this was available when I was in high school. I’m not sure if you’d ever be interested in doing alternative science careers? Being a doctor is so heavily pushed in the field of biology, that younger people have no idea what alternative pathways there are available!

That's interesting. What did you have in mind?

Have you had any guest that made you think "damn, that job sucks"?

There was one episode with a chef that I was trying to dig into some positives but the interviewee kept hitting me with negatives over and over again.

I just saw your post on r/SmarterEveryDay! Who would you say has been the most interesting person you have interviewed and why?

This is always a tough question. I know I've said David J. Peterson, but to be honest, everyone is so captivating and interesting. I loved Destin's interview because he is such a passionate and driven guy - he's definitely been one of the most interesting.

I’m a driver for a big shipping company that delivers packages all over the world. So my question is, have you had any delivery people on your show so far? The job is way different than it seems.

If he hasn't - you seem like a prime candidate to be on the cast.

That's what I was thinking ;)

I haven't! I'll be happy to look into it.

What jobs have you considered exploring, that you wouldn’t have considered before (after learning more about the realities of them)?

Business, tech, broadcasting, entertainment industry - I have tons of interests, some new, and others that I've known for a while.

I've worked as a career coach at a large public university for the last 3 years, and I'm curious to know what your biggest takeaway from doing these interviews has been for your own career journey? Have you gained any clarity from this experience that has helped you decide on what you want your career to be or to not be?

I have. It's a good way for me to narrow down what I don't like and what I don't want to do, while also focussing in on different fields that I think I might be interested in.

Have you ever considered interviewing folks in the real estate business? Agents/brokers, mortgage bankers, etc. Specifically people with about 15 years of experience or so. So that you can get an understanding of how their jobs have changed from regulation since the Bubble and the crash.

Yes, for a long time actually! I had one scheduled but they never emailed me back, so I'm trying to find some more. I think it's an awesome job and I'd love to learn more about it.

Have you considered talking about how you piece together your podcast and record, get motivated, day in the life of, etc? I think it would interesting firsthand how people like you change the world one step at a time. Thanks for putting on this AMA! It’s always fascinating to me to see such a diverse community and I will definitely start listening

This is the process:

I contact an interviewee (or they come to me), schedule a time, call them and record it, edit in Audacity, publish. Editing is definitely the hardest part because I have absolutely no experience in it and requires a lot of patience.

What job do you see yourself doing in your future?

Something in business, the entertainment industry, tech, or broadcasting.

Have you considered a path into audiovisual? There are AV careers out there that touch all of those markets.

I haven't! Thanks for telling me!

I see you already have a few podcasters, I'd definitely be interested to hear from people like Myke Hurley (/u/imyke) or co-hosts @ relay.fm, Brady Haran (/u/JeffDujon) (also does a ton of work on YT with Numberphile being one of his more popular channels), and maybe someone like TimTheTatman would be fairly accessible as a "streamer" personality. Scott from Essential Craftsman would be a great grab too, insanely knowledgeable and could definitely help shine light on what it's like to earn a living with a trade, which we need more of nowadays.

What kind of tech are you interested in as part of your career?

That's really interesting, thanks! I actually contacted Tim but never heard back, but I'll try to reach out to the others after some more research!

How did you come up with this idea? I admit I’ve never heard your podcast, though I am going to start. This is an absolutely brilliant idea. You are doing kids and teens a HUGE service.

I just started realizing that nobody at my school really knew what they wanted to do in the future. I wanted to do something to help, and I thought a podcast would be a good way to do so

Oddest career youve talked about so far?

I liked talking to Jeff Kaplan about how he works with Blizzard and Overwatch. It was such a cool job, not odd persay, but unique.

Hey man, congrats on your success! My friend and I are actually about to start are own podcast, do you have any advice about things we should or shouldn't do in the beginning?

You should make podcasts first and listen to them all the way before getting all the technical stuff like finding a podcast host. Just try it out and have fun, and if you like it, then start going on to the next steps

Have you considered interviewing an architect?

I haven't, but I'd be open to doing so

Tap water or bottle water? Best place for tap water in your opinion.?

Tap water isn't that bad imo. Bottled water ruins the environment, so I try not to drink out of it too much. No idea what the best place for tap water would be though

I’ve thought about podcasting — I have the right equipment just need to get started, so I have a few questions:

1. How long is a typical recording session for you? Do you do one take or multiple?

2. Script or no?

3. How do you avoid being awkward and have a good flow to the podcast?

Thanks!

1. About 30 mins to an hour
2. Yes and no. Sometimes I follow one, other times it's more "flowy"
3. Practice. My first episodes were awkward. It gets better the more you do it :)

This is so cool! I wish it was around when I was in school. My question for you is: are there any workers you refuse to interview? People who have a controversial job such as adult film stars, animal testers, etc.

Well I haven't reached out to any yet, and I don't plan on doing so any time soon.... It's targeted towards teenagers and I know I have some kids listening as well, so I would prefer to stay away from those jobs.

Congrats. You are going to be very wealthy one day. You also hit a jackpot of marketing. My question is where do you see you see yourself in 10 years?

Haha thanks for the kind words! I want to be done with college, maybe get an MBA, and have a nice family and a nice house with a stable job. That's it, not too much, not too little. As for my podcast, I hope to keep doing it. Maybe get a studio, or be hosted by NPR or a radio station.

Can you please do one on industrial hygiene and occupational exposure assessment?

It's a great career and no one has heard of it.

Also, what has been the job that generated the more entertaining responses from your audience?

Why do you think schools don't do a better job teaching kids about jobs? What else are they missing?

1. Sure! I'll look into it.
2. Language Creator from David J. Peterson
3. I think they try their best. Honestly, I don't know. As someone in school, there are counselors and career fairs, but we're still kinda lost. It's more of an experience thing - something schools can't really give.

1. What kind of experience in the field do you look for in an interviewee?
2. Have you ever interviewed a pair of people at the same time?

For example, I just graduated last year and am fresh in the software development field. My mentor has been in for 20 years. It's interesting to see the differences, and I think something like that could be valuable.

I did see your Google developer interview and will give that a listen soon! Sounds like you do some great work!

1. Any
2. I haven't, that's an interesting concept

This and you are amazing! I teach a junior high course that is solely focused on careers and education after high school. I would love to share some of your podcasts with my students. My question, which you may have answered, is are your podcasts appropriate for all ages?

So many podcasts I’ve tried seem appropriate for the majority of the time and then 40 minutes into a random episode somebody drops the F bomb and starts telling a sex story. I would love to avoid that if possible!

Thank you for coming up with this and doing it, it is awesome to learn about career options and what other people do for work!

I don't have swears :)

How did you get started with your podcast? I’ve always wanted to start one. How’d you find the people to do it with?

I do it all by myself. It was a new year's resolution and I dived right in

How do you choose and contact people to interview? Have you faced a refusal? How do they generally react when you ask for an interview?

Usually email. I probably face refusal 50% of the time, it's nothing personal. They're busy so I totally understand. They're cool about it, although I get many people that ignore emails as well.

What inspired you to start such a unique podcast?! It’s the first time I’ve heard it, but I’m definitely excited to hear it on Spotify! I’m a college student and you have no idea how helpful this is.

My peers not knowing what they wanted to do after high school, and not knowing their future goals inspired me to make it. I know this is a common problem not only in my community but all over the country, so I wanted to be someone to help