Going back to school for graphic design (Any advice appreciated)

[cDnStealth]

I seem to have found myself at a bit of a crossroads and I am hoping CP can help me out. Sorry for the length.

I graduated from University 5 years ago with the ever so useful BA. At the time I was interested in becoming an architect but I never got accepted. For some reason I thought learning Auto-cad would help boost my next architecture application so I took a 7 month drafting/design certificate at SAIT. It didn't and I've come to realization that I don't really want to be an architect.

Since then I've been working as a drafter/designer in the oil and gas industry. I work for a pretty great company and I am getting some of the best opportunities imaginable but I simply don't enjoy my job. I have no passion for the work I do nor the industry I've found myself in.

I've always been artistically inclined and I really enjoy working with Photoshop and Illustrator. I've taken some courses in my spare time at ACAD and I am thinking about heading back to school to pursue a career in graphic/multimedia design. I've already put in six years of post secondary and while I am not exactly thrilled about going back for upwards of four more years, I am prepared to do so if that's what it takes.

Anyone on here work in the field and can offer advice or share their own experiences? Any school/program recommendations? Thanks in advance.

[Regular_John]

Ok, take all this with a grain of salt, but after 9 years working in advertising as a designer I hope I can speak to this topic at least a little bit.

First off, don't quit your job to go back to school... at least not yet.

Secondly, go read Mike Monteiro's Design is a job. The eBook is $9 and it will give a real world look at what it's like working in the "creative" field. Spoiler, it's a ton of work, most of it not being very "creative" at all.

Aside from the advice in Mike's book it's important to know two things:

1. Making a living in Graphic Design is hard.
2. It is a very, very competative field.

Currently schools like ACAD are pumping out more grads than the industry can support, that's just a fact. I work in an agency and we get more resumes/applicants than we can read. So unless you plan on running your own business don't count on going to school and then immediately into the work force.

A more realistic path is to get the training you can while working your current job and working freelance projects on the side, with the eventual goal of quitting your current job to focus on your freelance work.

But the "leave the workforce to go to art school and then enter the design industry" is absolutely not a path I would recommend. Perhaps some other CP users in the industry can provide there own insight here, but truth be told most of the other designers I know are also business owners.

[Table 5]

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.

[Regular_John]

Some great advice from Table 5 as well, to be clear I wasn't trying to give the impression that it's better to make a go of things without a degree than with.

I'm just not convinced that a design degree is worth giving up an existing career for, which is part of the reason I've never done so.

So part of my view is simply backing up my own career decision & path at this point.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

I'm just not convinced that a design degree is worth giving up an existing career for, which is part of the reason I've never done so.

Yeah, it's definitely not a slamdunk easy decision by any means....especially when he's already spent so many years in school.

I think it all depends on where he is in life and how serious he is about it as a career, and not just a job. If he knows for sure architecture is not for him, and graphic design is, then I recommend doing it right because eventually he'll be out of architecture anyway. If he still thinks his current path is a viable option, then it may make sense to do the freelance route to see how he likes it first.

Maybe your agency should give him a PT internship!

[t0rrent98]

Originally Posted by cDnStealth

I seem to have found myself at a bit of a crossroads and I am hoping CP can help me out. Sorry for the length.

I graduated from University 5 years ago with the ever so useful BA. At the time I was interested in becoming an architect but I never got accepted. For some reason I thought learning Auto-cad would help boost my next architecture application so I took a 7 month drafting/design certificate at SAIT. It didn't and I've come to realization that I don't really want to be an architect.

Since then I've been working as a drafter/designer in the oil and gas industry. I work for a pretty great company and I am getting some of the best opportunities imaginable but I simply don't enjoy my job. I have no passion for the work I do nor the industry I've found myself in.

I've always been artistically inclined and I really enjoy working with Photoshop and Illustrator. I've taken some courses in my spare time at ACAD and I am thinking about heading back to school to pursue a career in graphic/multimedia design. I've already put in six years of post secondary and while I am not exactly thrilled about going back for upwards of four more years, I am prepared to do so if that's what it takes.

Anyone on here work in the field and can offer advice or share their own experiences? Any school/program recommendations? Thanks in advance.

TBH, I think you'll make a lot more money doing what your doing. There isn't much demand in the graphic design area IMO (well, at least it was when i took it in 2004)

If you have the time and money to get away from the real world for 2 years, by all means and pursue it otherwise I would go abouts and learn it on your own, there are tons of information on the internet.

As for me through, I still love to do a bit of designing here and as of right now, I'm teaching myself on how to airbrush better so that I can paint goalie masks as a hobby.

[cDnStealth]

Thanks for the responses guys. I have more questions but I'll post them later when I am off work and have some time to compile my thoughts.

[cDnStealth]

Alright, I've been crazy busy here so it's taken me a lot longer to follow up than I had planned. First off, thanks for the book recommendation jaydorn. I've had a chance to read through it and there were definitely some aspects of design that Monteiro describes which I find appealing.

I'd really like to be my own boss one day and have some control over the type of work that I'd be doing. It was interesting to see how big of a role business plays in the field. Are there any courses you recommend?

Table 5, which four art schools are you referring? I hadn't thought about being able to skip the foundation year thanks to my BA. I'll have to look further into that. I am not opposed to moving cities for the right job.

If you don't mind my asking, what kinds of projects have you worked on? What's a typical day like for you? Do you ever have trouble finding work? Where do you see the field heading? (These are for anyone who feel like answering)

Honestly, I am not interested in getting a "job." I want something more. Something that I'll love doing. I am not entirely sure that graphic design is for me and that's one of the reasons why I am asking for advice. Before I make the jump to school I want to be 100% sure that it's for me.

I know I can make big money doing what I currently am but that's just not enough. I'd rather make less money and enjoy what I do for a living than go in every day to a job I don't like. At any rate I am too late to apply for this upcoming school year so I am going to continue digging deeper into this and hopefully building on my portfolio.

Thanks, you guys are awesome!