Name, Age, and State: Mikale Erhart, 15, MT

Job-title: Indie game developer

Web/blog site URL: http://mikalesblog.com

Give us your job description in 25 words or less. I make games and draw comics.

Describe a typical workday. I usually begin work once I am finished with school (yes I am still in high school and I have been blessed with the opportunity to be home schooled all these years). Most of the time I will have some sort of long-term project going on, such as a game or a website. So I plan out my day by seeing what needs to be done with the project. I then work for about 4 hours of the afternoon. Drawing, programming, designing, whatever needs to be done. After I feel I accomplished something, I always make sure to set aside an hour or so of “inspiration” time, which usually consists of me playing a game, reading comics, or something similar to that. I consider that to be part of my work, because if I never check out the awesome stuff the pros are making, I will never get inspired to try new things or just keep doing what I do. After that it's dinner time. Then, in the later part of the evening, I will either keep working on my project or keep feeding myself inspiration, whichever I feel would be the most productive way to spend an evening.

What led you to realize that you wanted to do this type of work? I have always admired entrepreneurship. Whether it's someone who likes to draw and make comics, or someone who likes to spend countless hours tapping away in front of a computer screen, you do it because it's what you like to do.

Did you have any heroes or mentors in your industry that you admired? The people whom I look up to most are those who have started young, taught themselves, and are still going strong at what they do today. A couple inspiring comic artists to me have been Bill Watterson and Dav Pilkey. I grew up reading their works and basically learned to draw by copying illustrations out of Dav Pilkey's books and studying his artwork. Bill Watterson is an amazing artist and writer as well.

What type of education or training was required to land your job? I see a job like mine to have two requirements: time and self-discipline.

What do you love most about your job? You mean besides EVERYTHING? Well, I really like the flexibility of my schedule. Because I am my own boss I have to make certain sacrifices in my schedule if I want to, say, go to the skatepark for an evening (did I mention I love skateboarding?) . But yeah, working whenever you want however long you want is definitely cool.

What one part of your job do you wish you could hire someone else to do? Programming. I mean, I am perfectly capable of doing it, but it is certainly not my area of expertise. So often I will spend more time on programming than art, simply because I have a lot to learn and programming has a higher learning curve than simple game art.

What advice would you give to teenagers wanting to get into your field of work? Get into it! Start young. Start right now in fact. Don't be afraid to try new things or accept a job you may not have experience with first. The worst thing you can do is not try. Now get out there and start something.

How does your job allow you to use your God-given gifts? We need to be a living example of Christ. I am simply giving God the glory in everything I do.

Do you have any hobbies or off-hours pursuits that teenagers would find of interest? I enjoy skateboarding and I play the drums at occasional church events. I have also spent much time researching into a suit that can make me invisible. It is nearing completion :-o (okay, that last part might not be true.)