[Ant602]

Hey all

I'm a 2nd year Student at Oxford doing a degree in Biology, but really want to dive into the field of graphic design as soon as possible straight after, and this seems like a great place to start.

I've just started a blog, too, so check it out for some examples of my work.
www.athinksanddoes.blog.co.uk/

Hope to chat to you all soon,
A

[SparkCreative]

I admire your passion, and your enthusiasm. But I'm going to play devil's advocate...

You say on your blog that you're headed for a well paid career. My advice would be to take it. It's just a job, and you do your job in order to make money to do more interesting things with the rest of your life. Design is fun, some of the time. For the other half of the time, it's just a job. And it ain't that well paid. If you get this wrong, it could kill your passion. Long term, financial security and spare cash is more important than doing a job that's slightly more enjoyable but not so well paid. If I had my time again, I might seriously consider a higher paid career path which left my passion as a personal thing rather than something that I have to do every day and is constantly eroded and ground down by the commercial world. then again, I might not. Like I say, just playing devil's advocate...

[Ant602]

Thanks for the input!

I totally see where you're coming from, and to be honest that's exactly the dilemma I'm facing right now, and that's why I'm not going to rashly drop out of uni and take up a design degree. It seems to me that I need to decide between having a well paid job and financial security, and having a job that I truly want, perhaps enduring less financial comfort (although I am aware they are not mutually exclusive - I could well enjoy a city job).

My reasons for leaning towards the latter option is that I see that a job is going to take up a huge portion of my life, and the thought of spending every day doing something that I'm not passionate about frightens me. I think for now I'll continue as I am, and let any decisive path-following happen when it needs to. Both options remain possibilities (though the well paid job is undoubtedly the easier route)

Do you think you'd be happier as a rich lawyer with nice stuff, but spending all day doing things you're not that in to? It's hard to know - I can definitely see the attraction of both. Will wait and see. Thanks a lot!

[SparkCreative]

Originally Posted by Ant602

Do you think you'd be happier as a rich lawyer with nice stuff, but spending all day doing things you're not that in to? It's hard to know - I can definitely see the attraction of both. Will wait and see. Thanks a lot!

It's a hard question, but I think possibly yes. Provided you are able to treat it as 'just a job'. Most people's main worries stem from money. If you can crack that one you'll spend a lot less time worrying about how to pay the mortgage and more time on the fun things in life. The other thing is that this industry can be fun, but it can also be soul-destroying. The minute you make your passion your job you run the risk of sapping the life out of it and not being passionate about it any more. A lot of people I know got to their mid 30's and completely changed careers - what started as an exciting career in the creative industries turned into days of creating tomorrow's chip paper. My original passion was for drawing - and if I had the money side sorted that's what I'd be doing, then maybe retire early and open a little gallery in Dorset or somewhere. I'm working on it...

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy what I'm doing, but it's not quite what I had in mind when I first started.

You're right to think properly about this though - most people don't And don't get too concerned, like I said, I know loads of people who've completely changed career by 35 - a job ain't for life any more.

[matobo]

Ant - you are in a pretty enviable position as far as I am concerned. Besides the fact that you are young and have time on your hands... how many designers out there know much about Biology? The smoke turning into a molecule picture is the reason that I am posting this - I don't think many bona-fide designers could pull that one off with as much success as you have done...

I think your work is creative and for that reason having an indepth knowledge of a branch of science stands you in good stead and I think finishing your current course is a good plan - whether you chose stay on your current path or eventually branch off on a new one in the search for happiness in the end. I also think that you could ultimately have an added edge in the creative department that could actually make you stand out from the rest. You could probably corner a part of the market that nobody else has with a combination of your knowledge and your talents.

[Ant602]

Wow thanks both for your kind words. Will keep going as I am for now - working pretty hard doing some design work for a student newspaper so I'm keeping busy. Thanks for the advice!

[Boss Hog]

Hi Ant

Welcome to the Graphic Design Forums, good to have you here.

...don't forget to give us a mention on your blog and you can follow us on twitter here

https://twitter.com/DesignForums


Cheers

Damon

[dot design]

Hi Ant, welcome the GDF, see you about! G