A New Main Quest

When I was in high school, I would often stay over at my best friend’s house and see her mum studying at the kitchen table late into the night. My friend told me that, after many years working as a nurse, her mum had decided to go back to university and pursue a career as a lawyer. Despite the messaging I was receiving at school at the time, seeing my friend’s mum go back to study as an adult showed me that you don’t actually have to choose one job and stick to it your entire life. It’s never too late to learn something new and there’s no shame in having a career in one thing and then deciding to do something else. I’m so grateful for that lesson as it gave me the confidence I needed to do what I’m doing now.

For the past 7 years I’ve had a career in Japan as a freelance marketer for a variety of startups and small businesses. I relocated to Melbourne in Australia at the start of 2020, imagining I was going to continue doing much of the same, but my only contract at the time (remote work in the travel industry) was cancelled due to covid-19. I found myself unemployed for the first time in a while so decided to take the opportunity to have a break. I was feeling pretty burned out after 7 years in Japan and wanted my life to be a bit more chill and a lot less “hustle”.

After a month of doing very little except carving my Animal Crossing island into the shape of a pomeranian, I started thinking about work again. To be honest, although marketing had allowed me to work in a bunch of interesting companies, I wasn’t in love with my job and wanted to do something else. Unfortunately, I had absolutely no idea what that something else was supposed to be. I struggled with it for a while (along with the inevitable depression that comes from being isolated in a house for months on end in a new city away from friends and family) so I sought help.

Talking with a therapist, I narrowed down the things I’d enjoyed most in my jobs so far. I loved working with YouTube creators because it was the perfect merging of creativity and tech. I could experience the tangibility of going on location and setting up equipment, as well as the challenge of solving problems with software and interpreting in Japanese. My real estate job was similarly varied, I could be doing graphic design on one day, coding the next, and showing apartments on another.

To sum it up, I always found myself drawn to the tech side of whatever company I worked with but also needed the real life grounding you get from interacting with hardware and other people. Also, whatever I did next, I needed the company I worked for to be passionate about doing good in the world (which is not something I can say of some companies I worked with in the past).

Perhaps a job has come to your mind after reading all this but it didn’t for me! I had no idea what would suit me so resigned myself to doing light admin work until I figured it out. Quarantine restrictions had been lifted at the time so I began searching through Seek¹ for general admin positions and/or offices with dogs (priorities 😉).

And then, I found it.

“SilVR Adventures is a Melbourne based start-up reducing loneliness and isolation in aged care facilities and significantly driving social engagement by bringing seniors together through shared experiences in virtual reality.”²

Making VR for seniors!!

Hardware… check
Software… check
People… check
Doing good in the world… check!

I needed to find out more about this industry.

*Cue montage of me researching for days into all the amazing ways VR and AR are being used in social enterprise around the world.*

• Chronic pain management
• Anxiety and depression
• Overcoming fears
• Reducing loneliness and isolation
• Physical rehabilitation
• Meditation and relaxation
• Immersive storytelling

This is it! This is what I want to do next.

I’m not starting totally from scratch—I’m quite the nerd and I do have experience in project management—but there is a LOT for me to learn.

And that’s why I’ve started this blog! Here I’ll be documenting my journey as I venture forth into this new industry and find my place in it. Please feel free to follow along and chat with me on Twitter via my handle @aivencha.

Virtually,

Amanda