This is when I'd like to note with some warning something I witnessed in an interview with Garry Schyman, the composer for Bioshock... and a few random thoughts.
A bubbly fellow, a huge fan of Schyman's work, came up to note how much it had inspired him to write music and how much he idolized him, and Schyman, instead of saying "thank you" or "I'm so glad to hear that" or whatever you might expect, told him that he was making a terrible mistake.
The point he proceeded to make was that you should never let who (or what) is idolized in your mind or vogue to steer your creative ambitions. You should try to understand yourself; seek the eccentric and reach out to corners of music that lie distant. Just because someone does something a certain way doesn't mean it's the best way or the only way you should do it. The game of scoring is much like voice acting- it is not who can do the best Donald Duck impression, it's who can do their own flavor of Donald Duck while singing the Star Spangled Banner, and then suddenly switch to a completely different character without any transition. It's about being able to combine your self-exploration with your sense of self-preservation, and those that can do that (John Powell, Hans Zimmer, Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, etc.) that generate the biggest praise. What's important to note about all these figures is that they didn't do exactly what everyone else was doing at their time. They all sought to draw from disparate areas of music- combine, vary, and build upon pre-existing ideas.
In other words, they "used their goddamn ears!"
If you want to pursue a job as a composer for media, you first must be able to compose for yourself. Find your voice, however deep you have to go, however much rejection you have to brush off, however much you have to study and listen to in order to get there. Find the things you like in your music and play around with them. Take them as far as you can, and vary them in as many ways as you can. Learn to use this varied palette as your toolbox. Every time you hear a cool piece that you like, don't just say "wow, what a cool piece", try to get your hands on music for it or figure out by ear what is going on, but don't simply take things. Adapt them. Vary them. Always, always, always build off of what you know and what you have. You in many cases won't be building "up", but rather building to the sides, diagonally, building connections in other areas of music and arts. Never give up the exploring spirit that brought you here. I have, at times done so, with the greatest and most painful of regret.
You do not need to be the best at what you are in order to succeed. Concern yourself with having fun with what you do, and loving and embracing all of music for what it is. Reach out for opportunities, but do not act like a robot from a distant universe. The world wants to see someone they can shake hands with and joke around with. Networking is nothing more than making friends with people who have similar or overlapping interests with you. :)
It's a poor idea to focus too much on the actual task of making a career. You'll spend too much time worrying about it and focusing on it than actually doing it. Focus instead on what you can do today, right now, that will help you tomorrow. Perhaps it's finding a composer who can give you serious, earnest feedback on your work. Perhaps it's a job at a store. Perhaps it's finding some flash game you can do music and sound for. Perhaps it's just sitting down at your computer and daring yourself- challenging yourself to not delete one note you put down and to endure that mess until something beautiful comes out. The people you meet (or block out of your life), the projects you complete (or pass by or trainwreck all over), the skills and extra talents you pick up (or ignore) today will have a lasting impact on your tomorrow, but more importantly, they are the actions you will have to face right now, today. Keep a smile on your face and never let music stop amazing you. ;)
