Advice: School or work?
Guber (30 pencils) | Tue, 2008-08-05 23:06A question: I've been working hard for a couple years as a self-taught designer. I love it. I just recently secured a junior design position at a marketing company that specializes in variable-data print, and took the job with hopes of working under a team of senior creatives that could help me grow and learn while still making a decent wage. I intend to own my own business eventually, and saw this as a great opportunity. It turns out, however, that I'm working in parallel with only one other "junior", and have only a project manager with little creative experience to report to. Most of my projects are dry and very simple, and I feel stifled. I fear I don't have much patience for this!
I've also just recently been accepted into the IDEA program at Capilano College in Vancouver (http://www.capcollege.bc.ca/programs/idea/Home.html) which is supposed to be a wonderfully tailored 3-year design diploma program with a focus on Illustration.
Both are full-time, mutually exclusive commitments, and I'm debating the relative merits of school vs. real-world paid experience (albeit not with much of a team).
Any Advice from the pros out there? How did you get to where you are and what worked best for you?
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i started from the work side and did school down the road. but i was in a slightly better situation than you work-wise. my first year was similar in that i didn't have a lot of other designers influencing me, but i also knew i had a path to work in the design dept of the company and i got transferred into that dept in about 15 months, working with 12 other designers.
i don't think it's a fair comparison between the job you described and a decent degree program. you will almost assuredly learn more in school than in a work situation where you don't have creative influences, stimuli, and opportunity. if you don't have an opportunity to move into a better situation where you are, i would say that school would be a better career move.
now financially, that's a whole different issue that only you could answer.
In our field, it didn't used to be the case, as our portfolios spoke for themselves. However, nowadays with the influx of undergraduate degrees, it seems that the majority of positions in our field require a minimum of a bachelors degree in order to get through the door. Now, I'm not sure where you're at, but here in Colorado, that is HUGE. I have been looking for a job since December, and even though I do have my degree as well as 5+ years experience, it seems I just can't get an interview.
Obviously, since our field is extremely subjective, you just never know the real reason. I think having a degree definitely gives you a certain edge, and if you can somehow work this job, or at least have an internship while you're in school, that is also an advantage. I had two internships, and they taught me a lot.
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"I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy as long as I can paint." ~ Frida Kahlo
www.onegirlcreative.com
Real world experience, hands down. A degree does not guarantee a job. And next time when you apply for a job, ask questions. Don't assume.
even bad real world experience??
There is no bad real world experience.
Ha ha. You've never had a job designing nothing but powerpoint slides with clip art. :)
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Powerpoint is not a design application
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Dirt and Rust
Not QUITE that bad, but close.
It took over 1 1/2 years for me to find a job after graduating. The one I got was due to networking, not because of my degree (and certainly not due to my work experience which was practically nonexistant).
One thing to consider is that school will allow you creative freedom without the restrictions of real world projects. It'll give you the opportunity to learn a lot and build a quality portfolio.
www.alessandraandy.com
It's the restrictions of real world projects that generates a truly good portfolio. I don't have ANY of my school work designs in my book, though to be honest it's been 13 years since I was in design school. :)
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Powerpoint is not a design application
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Dirt and Rust
I think it's great to have real world projects in your portfolio. But only if it's quality work. What I am saying is that in school you can really test creative boundaries. While there still are restrictions, you're not limited to what a client wants.
Of course there are ways outside of school and a job to create a portfolio. Though school can be helpful in that there are teachers and your peers to help you refine your work.
I'm not saying one path is better than the other. It was just something to consider.
www.alessandraandy.com
I've never had an employer ask to see my school work. They always want to see real work; whatever I've just completed. They want to know I was under cash and deadline pressure.
No amount of academically creative work will win over work done in the real world, in my experience. Sure, it's valuable, but it won't get you that job in the end. Real world work does that.
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Natobasso
"Powerpoint is not a design application"
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Dirt and Rust
If it's between high quality schoolwork or low quality real work, I'll put high quality schoolwork in my portfolio. But that's just me.
www.alessandraandy.com
depends on who you're talking to. i've spoken with art directors who've said they really liked some school pieces that people had in their portfolio years after they graduated.
what people want to see in your book is that you get it. you know how to concept, you respect your craft. if it's a real world project, all the better, because it means you did it in real world conditions. but the most important thing is being able to show you "get it."
I attended a post secondary institution where I studied both the fine arts and graphic design. And I don't regret it at all. My education not only formed a base from which I launched my career, it also instilled within me a greater appreciation for art and all of its creative disciplines.
The "real world", however, formed my style and methodology when tackling a project, and the marketers and other designers that I've worked with over the years have greatly assisted in my skills development.
As mentioned above, I'm not sure of your financial situation, but you may want look into what is being offered in the way of student grants, both provincially and federally. I, unfortunately, came out of school saddled with a student loan, but maybe times and restrictions have changed since then.
Good luck with your decision.
3Dog.
"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."
— Frank Zappa
"Art -- the one achievement of Man which has made the long trip up from all fours seem well advised." - James Thurber
Neither option is better than the other, but they have different goals/end results.
If you go to school for the purposes of finding a job, that's misguided. But to skill up it's certainly appropriate. Downside is you end up going into some school loan debt that you need to pay back down the road. Sometimes years. However, you get directed, accelerated learning that you might not get at a job.
You say you want to own your own business, I think you mean go freelance right? In that case, start networking while you have the security (and boredom) of the current job and skill yourself up! Find designers in your area and network with them. You'd be amazed what your peers can teach you, and teach you for free.
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Powerpoint is not a design application
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Dirt and Rust
Cheers everyone. I guess you've all kind of said just what I was thinking: there is no "better" option. Nato summed it up well. I guess it just boils down to what's right for me... And only I can make that call.
*Flips Coin*
...School it is!
Guber, anyone who uses "albeit" in casual conversation is (a) my kinda guy; and, (b) probably someone who can present himself well enough in interviews to overcome a so-so educational background -- IF the portfolio backs up your talk.
I know you've already flipped your coin, but are you sure you aren't choosing school over work because you feel that your mind and talents are underused in your present gig and feel more comfortable in academia? Are you sure that going to this school in Vancouver will boost you into a better position down the line, or will it just yank you out of a market that a lot of people would kill to get into, even at your entry level?
Is there any possibility at all of working your way up the creative ladder at the place where you are now? Can you re-do ho-hum projects at home on your own time to show how you might have handled them if you'd been given the chance to participate in that process? (I know -- doing this risks pissing off the art director, but jeez. Somebody has to ;-)
Whatever you choose to do, the best of luck!
Mara
Mara, Anyone who notices albeit is my kinda gal... And I'll take the compliment about my interview skills! I've worked as a bartender and server in a high-end restaurant for a number of years, and I tell you, the experience has been invaluable in almost every aspect of my life. Not the least of which are my interview skills and social network. (it's how I got this job)
So here's the thing: There is no creative ladder to work up here... I AM the design team. I don't have an art director, creative director, senior designer, copywriter, proofer, or anything... i'm literally doing it all myself. I report to a project manager, and I have one other designer who I work with but I end up answering more questions than I ask. Sounds great, right? Problem is I want to learn, and tutorials on the net aren't cutting it anymore. I want to be great at what I do.
The other thing which helped me decide about this is that the course is strongly focused on foundation illustration and design skills. The first year is almost entirely devoted to "real" art: painting, sketching, color theory, etc. The idea of getting a chance to really hone that side of my skillset is a huge draw, because it's where I lack the most, and seems the hardest to find an excuse to practice! Year two is intro adobe (which I'll have to find something to sub in for) and lots of photography and typography, and year three is business and entrepreneurship, lots of design polish, and a trip to NYC... I'll be a weapon when I'm done!
Thanks again, all of you. This is a great little community going on here...