Should I go to Design School?
Out of context: Reply #7
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- eryx0
Don't know if this helps but here is my story when it comes to my education. I was always told to get a degree, it could be in anything but just a degree.
I went to university to and received my B.A. in film studies but I did not really have any marketable skills. The local collage just started a new program called “interactive media development”. Lots of people were washing out so they were looking for people they would allow to jump into the second year of a 2 year program. Because I had a degree I convinced them that I could handle it even though I had NO experience with any of the programs or programming languages. I got a touter and worked my balls off to catch up.
The course was interesting because it had a wide range of different of digital medias that were touched on. Web development, 3D development, Video editing and special effects and as well as design. We used 3Ds max, Flash, Photoshop, dreamweaver, After FX and Macromedia Director (yea I know). You were not an expert in any of them but you did become familiar with how they worked and what they could do.
This one year of college gave me the motivation to learn what direction I wanted to go and to gain experience with a lot of tools of the industry. I would really look at the program that you want to take, if it is a new course it might not have very experienced professors or a very good course catalog. If the course only focuses on one or two program than I would watch out. Only learning one program can burn you if it becomes obsolete. The year I graduated was the last year that they made Macromedia Director and all of my skills gained from this were for nothing. I also focused almost all my efforts into Flash after that and well we all know how that turned out.
Most of the advise on here is more or less the same, it is going to be a lot of hard work and lots of networking more than you education.
I also would maybe not take my advise as I no longer work in the industry (one that did not make it). So I would say skip it all and become a tradesman.
Cheers and good luck!