Formal Training: Yes or No?

I know exactly what you mean. But people usually always side with the companies that aren't out to take as much money as possible, and unless they can ensure they don't mess up even once, I'm willing to bet that another company will come in and show people a better, cheaper way :p
 
I don't think "better and cheaper" should often go in the same sentence, unless the client has originally been conned in the first place!
 
Well the fact is that there's a lot of money in conning people. Better and cheaper is very often something that's possible, but people don't like change, especially if it costs more in the short term so that people spend less in the long term.
 
It's a fine balance. The old 'pay peanuts, get monkeys' is still very much a rule these days still.
However, it's quite easy to find someone perfectly capable of doing a job better than someone else for half the price. They might be better than someone else but charge less purely because they themselves need less to live off.
If you as a customer are happy with the service and price someone offers then it really doesn't matter if you can get it cheaper elsewhere.
There are people more expensive and cheaper than myself. But a lot of my clients stick with me because they like to work with me and like me as a person. There's more to providing a service than just the end result. There's everything in between to take into account as well.
 
left school with no qualifications - worked loads of horrible jobs. took an interest in film. ended up making music video's for local bands and visuals. Then started to VJ - from there started to take it seriously. tried my best to get good but always felt I could do better but didn't know why. took the plunge at 24 to go to Uni. They let me in with no qualifications because I had a naff showreel and I was old.
Uni - best thing I have ever done. My work has got better and it's all down to the guidance of tutors uni at uni and it being a really good course. Hopefully be done in the next 5 weeks. Booh-Ya!
 
Well done for taking the plunge! It will be one of the best things you've ever done! When you're aged 60 your sanity will be thanking you for not subjecting it to a life time of undeserved stress and ill-treatment from those "horrible jobs". I've got a similar story to you but I just decided to learn on my own instead of going to uni. I'm still working at a "horrible job" but only 11 hours a week until work picks up!
You made a great decision coming here too, and we've been looking to find more people interested in video, Matt Harle will finally have someone to talk to :p
 
Aye, Matt's going to be happy to see a new film maker join his ranks! :) Welcome to the forum Basic, I hope you stick around :)
 
Thanks, yeah we worth it. It's been a hard 3 years of studying but I have seen my work go from pretty poor (I always heart was just going in the wrong direction haha) to me being happy with it. Still a long way to go but Its all good.
Cool will be good to chat with matt and make that section of the forum much more active :) Cheers fella's.
 
I've just started my 2nd year on the Open University Design and Innovation degree, and I'm loving it. I'm hoping this will lead to a job on the creative sector at some point. It's an Arts pathway so will focus on visual comms at some point, but at the minute there's quite a bit about design thinking and industrial design. I already have a degree in Business Management which qualifies me to be one of the dicks on the apprentice as far as I can tell. I loath managerial roles in offices so I struggle to find jobs that appeal to me at the minute, but I think attenging uni was still one of the best things I've done. Being immersed in education like that for three years changes the way you look at things and I would recommend anyone lucky enough to be able to afford the ludicrous prices to do it.
 
I went to college for four years for my fine arts degree. They didn't have a graphic design degree (but they had advertising and both depts were separate and the work the advertising students come out with is just absolutely ghastly) but the design track was a concentration. I ended up with that and a painting/drawing/printmaking minor. Worked for two years in agencies and in house before finally deciding I wanted to be my own boss this year and focus on hand lettering and illustration. Here I am 9 months later and just debuted a small collection with Post-It notes yesterday, so I would say I'm doing alright. :)
 
Left school with A*'s in Art and also Graphic Design (Can never remember the others i got)
From there i went to college where i did a 3 years BTEC National Diploma in Graphic Design, after that i was scared and unsure if i wanted to go to Uni so stayed for an extra year at college to do a Foundation course which thankfully reafirmed my passion for Graphic Design as i found i detested fashion and woodwork etc.
Taking the big step to uni i applied for Northumbria and got turned down due to a weak portfolio... (the b**tards) and accept without an interview to Sunderland where after 3 years i left with first class honours in '10
Left Uni with the realisation that no one was taking on people for placements so ended up in a depressing call centre for 4 months until someone took a chance on me.
3 years later i now work for one of the UK's leading games developers, so not all that bad.
And there we have it chaps, the end. :lol:
 
Oh that's a shame. What's your situation then, are you an employee? Ever thought of going freelance?
They've got some nice work up there though :)
 
I went to college and did a BTEC National Diploma in Art and Design. It was supposed to be 2-3 years but after our exhibition I got offered a place at University (I was in a part-time course with "late-starters"). Maybe they thought seeing as we were all a bit older than the average college student, that we go just bypass. Anyway - super excited I headed off to do a foundation degree in Visual Studies seeing as I told them I wanted to be a graphic designer. Turns out that Visual Studies is actually a pick and mix of "creativity" and it was full of lectures, jewellery making, craft and the promise that graphic design was on it's way. It wasn't.
So I wrote to a few places. Told them my position. Some came back to be basically saying I was "an idiot" for even thinking they would employ someone who wanted to quit uni and get hands on experience. Then I ended up getting my foot in the door at an online sports retailer with an in-house design team! They taught me everything! Everything I would never have learnt if I stayed at Uni. Best decision I ever made. And now 7 years later here I am. If it had been a Graphic Design or Illustration degree I wouldn't have had an issue and most likely have stayed put :)
 
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