Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Going back to school for graphic design (Any advice appreciated)

Table 5 · 05-23-2013, 08:13 PM

I'm a Graphic Designer/Illustrator (going on 10 years now), as well as a part-time design instructor at ACAD. I have a Bachelors and a Masters in the field.

Probably not much of a surprise, but I'm going to go against what jaydorn says, and say that if you want to take your job seriously and want to have access to better money, you need to go to school. And not some 6 month course. Im talking 4 year Bachelors Degree from one of the 4 art schools in Canada. Considering you already have a BA, you may be able to make that 3 as you probably don't need to do a foundation year.

Sure, you can work on the side and dabble. But that usually leads to mediocre gigs and not much growth professionally. If you want to design flyers or be a production designer....you may not need the degree. If you're extremely talented and driven...you may need the degree. if you're well connected and have built up relationships in the industry to the point that you're already ensconced...you may not need a degree.

For almost everyone else.....school will be worth it in the long run. You'll be able to work on a totally different level than your basic production designer, setting you apart from 75% of the pack off the bat. You'll be much beter integrated into the local design industry, and can use it as a platform to go to larger media centers in North America if you wish (most of the better students eventually end up in places like NY, Toronto, LA). The honest through is that the best media jobs are outside of Calgary....thats a fact with every midsized city.

It's true that a good chunk of graduates don't find jobs or are out of the industry in a few years. In my opinion we probably send out twice as many designers a year as we should... but some of these people shouldn't have gone to designer school in the first place. There are always jobs for talented people.

There is money in this field (better than architecture at least!). It's not Doctor/Lawyer money, but you can make a very comfortable living if you're in the top 25% of your class. If you want access to great money, you should go into the advertising stream (but be prepared to sell a bit of your soul). And it's true that a lot of people who make good money start their own design firms...but who says that can't be you? Being able to work for yourself is honestly one of the best parts of this job.

If you have any specific questions, let me know and I'll do my best to answer.

05-23-2013, 08:13 PM	#3
Table 5 Franchise Player Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: NYYC Exp:	I'm a Graphic Designer/Illustrator (going on 10 years now), as well as a part-time design instructor at ACAD. I have a Bachelors and a Masters in the field. Probably not much of a surprise, but I'm going to go against what jaydorn says, and say that if you want to take your job seriously and want to have access to better money, you need to go to school. And not some 6 month course. Im talking 4 year Bachelors Degree from one of the 4 art schools in Canada. Considering you already have a BA, you may be able to make that 3 as you probably don't need to do a foundation year. Sure, you can work on the side and dabble. But that usually leads to mediocre gigs and not much growth professionally. If you want to design flyers or be a production designer....you may not need the degree. If you're extremely talented and driven...you may need the degree. if you're well connected and have built up relationships in the industry to the point that you're already ensconced...you may not need a degree. For almost everyone else.....school will be worth it in the long run. You'll be able to work on a totally different level than your basic production designer, setting you apart from 75% of the pack off the bat. You'll be much beter integrated into the local design industry, and can use it as a platform to go to larger media centers in North America if you wish (most of the better students eventually end up in places like NY, Toronto, LA). The honest through is that the best media jobs are outside of Calgary....thats a fact with every midsized city. It's true that a good chunk of graduates don't find jobs or are out of the industry in a few years. In my opinion we probably send out twice as many designers a year as we should... but some of these people shouldn't have gone to designer school in the first place. There are always jobs for talented people. There is money in this field (better than architecture at least!). It's not Doctor/Lawyer money, but you can make a very comfortable living if you're in the top 25% of your class. If you want access to great money, you should go into the advertising stream (but be prepared to sell a bit of your soul). And it's true that a lot of people who make good money start their own design firms...but who says that can't be you? Being able to work for yourself is honestly one of the best parts of this job. If you have any specific questions, let me know and I'll do my best to answer.