Inventor / Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur starts their own business or organisation. You will develop a business model and will be responsible for its success or failure. All you need is a good idea and the resources plus motivation to make it happen.
What the job looks like
Salary expectation
starts at $0 up to $1,000,000+
The good
- Being your own boss
- Doing something you love
- Seeing your ideas come to life
- Potential to travel
- Managing all parts of your business/trademark
The not so good
- Relying on others
- Not always having successful ideas
- Deals sometimes falling through
- Putting in long hours
People like Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook are entrepreneurs who have earnt billions of dollars from making their ideas happen.
Most entrepreneurs often encounter several setbacks before an idea takes off, so you will have to be resilient and prepared to continue pursuing your big idea.
Maths skills will be really important as you will have to collect and analyse your own data, take care of the budget and manage deadlines. If you are interested in technology or science, advanced mathematic skills will be crucial to properly understand coding and certain models you will be working with.
As you are the face of your idea, you will need excellent communication skills and the ability to write marketing material, manage your own social media feeds and provide accurate information to potential clients or businesses. You will also need an understanding of legal issues like copyright and contracts which can be confusing.
If you enjoy solving problems and being creative, then a career as an entrepreneur could be for you.
You have to build your product and have a lot of support to make a mark, but it's worth the effort.
Pathways to this career
Subject suggestions for the HSC
Choosing your HSC subjects from this list could really help with your career. Think carefully about what you want to study after school as you might need to choose specific HSC subjects for that course and to count towards your ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank). An ATAR is your academic rank in relation to other HSC students and helps with University admission.
HSC subjects
Some subjects will count towards your ATAR, others will not. Check with your career advisor before making subject selections.
- English (Advanced or higher)
- Mathematics (2 unit or higher)
- Business Studies
What can I do after I have finished school?
University degrees
Studying one of these degrees can help with your career.
- Bachelor of Business
Suggestions
Check out Catapult for more information
- Volunteer in your area of interest
- Meet people from the industry as personal contacts might help you down the track to launch or develop an idea
- Do some of your own market research if you know of a gap that your product or idea might fill
- Look out for competitions you can enter that would give you some experience or help with your idea
