Career Paths

[Zracknel]

I'm (going to go for) a Graphic Design major as how I'm not as academically good as I would like to be and that I've been somewhat interested in art since forever (I'm the type to doodle in class instead of taking notes). Ironic thing was that throughout High School, I had no clue what I wanted to do, but when I started college and was picking classes I picked Graphic Design because all of the other majors looked boring (to me). A few weeks into class, I decided to go with that path since it interested me.

This was largely the case for me as well, except I had my sights set on being a design student in my senior year of high school with really no direction/experience/interest before that.

I got lucky and somehow got into a small, competitive design program, and graduated with departmental honors in 2008 with BA in graphic design

Got a job in a small design studio a few months after graduating. Worked 60-70 hours per week for what amounted to below minimum wage. Stuck with it because I was getting a lot out of it-- I learned more at that job in one year than I did in four years at college

As I was starting to burn out, I was laid off anyway; spent the following year working manual labor by day and doing freelance design work by night. Constantly debated switching career paths. This was a difficult year.

Got lucky and was picked up by a big company in the fashion industry. Currently do graphic design for apparel-- not at all what I studied, but whatever. Job has been a blessing. Work with awesome people, make more money than I deserve, and will have been there for 2 years in another few months.

Also can't stress enough how important it is to display your work if you're in a creative industry (design, art, etc). No portfolio and nobody wants to hire you. You need to show people what you know.

Yeah, this is important-- having a portfolio is the only thing that will get you work in the industry. And a digital portfolio is convenient. But it doesn't make sense to promote yourself if you have nothing to show.

I guess my advice would be to take any opportunity you can get to do non-student design work. Build as much of a portfolio as you can before showing it off.

 

[biggie]

Very nice thread. It's interesting seeing all of the passions that you all have outside of the Smogon world.

As for me, I graduated college in 2009 and have been an Accountant for 3 years. I'm dreading going for my MBA, but I feel it's inevitable so that I can go for my CPA license. I work in the non-profit field at a school for individuals with autism and generally enjoy that aspect of my job.

 

[DM]

I realize all I did was complain, I never mentioned my career path.

I plan on being an estate planning attorney. Drafting wills/powers of attorney/trusts/health care proxies/etc. Also, some minor real estate transactions.

 

[Yoshi King]

I plan to be an English as a Second Language teacher either back home in Canada or here in Japan, where I'm living now. I'm currently on the JET Programme to get my foot in the door/save money/get actual teaching experience before I return home to do either a Master's or a Ph.D... but I'm unsure of which one I should go for.

My eventual goal is to teach at the university level (being a schoolteacher is enjoyable/has comfortable pay, but I have a lot of difficulty dealing with kids/teenagers, especially belligerent students whom I cannot punish because of the fucked up education system here) but more and more universities in Japan are requiring Ph. Ds to get a position, and as such I'm a little torn on what I should do.

I'm really glad I chose this career. Ever since I was 14 I kind of knew that English was my calling, and I figured that since I loved Japanese culture so much (I have been a Japanophile for the majority of my life) and English teachers are desired everywhere in the world... my only problem is that there are so many awful "just got out of university, let's go teach ESL because it's easy as fuck to get into the profession if you're a native English speaker!" which kind of clogs up the system.

 

[bombiron]

hopefully ceramics and glass
if i have to i can blow bongs at just about any headshop, and with legalization (hopefully) around the corner, i may be able to make a living that way

 

[Accent]

I'm currently both in my last year of a MA in game design, and working as a professional game designer. By June I will have to find a 6-month internship to complete my studies, I will probably move to a foreign country and start a new life wherever I end up (right now it's shaping up to be either New York or New Zealand, but nothing's certain so I'm trying to avoid getting my hopes up).

It's been said repeatedly but saying it once more doesn't hurt - I guess most people aren't lucky enough to be able to do just what they want when they want to do it. The important thing, I think, is to keep focused on your ultimate goal, and to never forget about it and to take every single opportunity to get closer to it. It can take some time, but I'd say the one thing that I find the most scaring in life is to forget about what drives you, what compels you to go forward and to succumb to the confort that routine can bring. It's like the Stockholm syndrome also applies for something as abstract as "everyday life" - don't let that happen to you.

 

[Cooky]

Took me a while to figure out the area I wanted to go into but now that I have I'm pretty focused on it. My primary application for next year it to Carleton University in Ottawa to their Bachelor of Commerce program with the intention of majoring in finance and minoring in accounting.

Edit: I had more to say but fickig iPod...

Ha, Im studying finance and accounting at uni in the UK. Theres not much to say on this, its a solid, fairly vocational degree. Make sure you do a couple of internships while your at uni though, they're one of the few ways to reliably get yourself a job in finance in this economy, or so i hear.

 

[Firestorm]

I'm currently both in my last year of a MA in game design, and working as a professional game designer. By June I will have to find a 6-month internship to complete my studies, I will probably move to a foreign country and start a new life wherever I end up (right now it's shaping up to be either New York or New Zealand, but nothing's certain so I'm trying to avoid getting my hopes up).

Have you already found prospective jobs there? Curious because those aren't really areas known to be hotbeds of game development in the same way places like San Francisco, Vancouver, and Montreal are.

 

[Accent]

Yeah, I have opportunities there (that's why they're the "most likely" outcomes), but it's still far from being certain. I went to Montréal recently and I have contacts there so it is also something that could happen (and it would also be very cool, it's such a great city). I may also just be staying in France for now!

 

[Smith]

I'm in high school but I definitely want to be a teacher. My only problem with it is that I'm a smart kid that wants to go to a good school (and can definitely get into a good school, maybe even Ivy), but my parents aren't willing to pay that much if I'm just going to be a teacher. :/ I also have no real idea what I want to study, but I'm liking the idea of teaching English somewhere else on the planet, especially Japan since I'm another white person who likes Japan. Steelick's comment that they're paying teachers that much in Australia really caught me off guard though, and if I could find something I could teach there, that would be pretty cool as well. The problem is that I like teaching, but I'm mostly good at every subject and have no idea what I want to teach.

 

[Tayla]

It's very hard to go to a University, much less an Ivy league institution, without having some kind of student loans to pay afterwards. There's actually thousands of scholarships on the internet you can apply for for free. But usually you're going to have to get aid.

It's close to $40,000 a year for me to go to Auburn (out of state), while it's a little over $19,500 to go to Georgia. I'd rather pay the extra and go to the school I really love.. But looking at that pricetag, both for the four years and then the actual grad school, I feel like passing out. ._.

 

[Firestorm]

I think your parents have it right... Don't pay for an Ivy League school if you aren't going to get any benefit from it. They're complete rip-offs. You can get just as good an education somewhere else for a fraction of the cost and find employment just as easily if you're going to be teaching.

 

[danilo]

Since we're talking about universities, I'd just like to mention that Canada's universities are like... free. I think that average tuition is like 8,000 dollars a year. I'm an American sophmore in high school and I've been thinking about applying to a Canadian university in the future.

 

[Firestorm]

Keep in mind that international rates at Canadian universities are 4x more expensive. So although I only pay a between $5000 and $6000 depending on courseload for September to April, an American would be paying around $20,000 + living costs.

 

[Feathers]

firestorm beat me to the punch. my tuition is just about $5000/year but my friend from iceland is paying around $25,000. she couldn't believe how cheap it was for me. my health care is also covered as long as i'm in school so i take off those costs.

i also agree with the ivy thing. just because you can afford it doesn't mean you should...

a good example would probably be the art institute here. some people i know who were in my high school art classes who weren't exactly the best were able to get in no problem, portfolio means nothing if you can pay the $40,000 per year. additionally you can't take your credits with you unless you go to another institute. i go to a cheaper and smaller school, two small buildings with around 150-200 new students per year, and i can get the same thing. i have to put a little more effort in to get where i want but i'd rather work for connections than pay for them.

I'm currently both in my last year of a MA in game design, and working as a professional game designer. By June I will have to find a 6-month internship to complete my studies, I will probably move to a foreign country and start a new life wherever I end up (right now it's shaping up to be either New York or New Zealand, but nothing's certain so I'm trying to avoid getting my hopes up).

wow i'm jelly all over the place. i'd love to live in NY and have my dream job but i think i may wind up staying in vancouver unless i can find a magical lamp to send me off to team ico, which probably won't exist by the time i'm done.

 

[Every1XplodeNOW]

Ever since I was little, I had always wanted to be a Herpetologist since I love reptiles and amphibians. I had pretty good grades, so I actually applied for the University of Sydney to major in Zoology and specialize in Herpetology and I actually was accepted. The problem was, it was really expensive and I just didn't have the money for it. So, I planned to go to a local community for two years so me and my parents could save money for it.

Well, during my first semester, I took some classes that would go to my major and I ultimately decided that it just wasn't for me. I can't really explain it, It just didn't feel right. So I ended up staying at that community college for 3 years, trying to decide what to do with my life. The list of majors I went through is too many for to list, but it was mostly in science and computer science fields and I couldn't decide on one. I than randomly decided to take an American Sign Language course since my mom is partially deaf and I instantly fell in love with it. So I'm now a certified ASL interpreter(working on becoming licensed)..... working at a grocery store. In the area I live in, it's hard to find anyone who needs an interpreter. :\

(I'm not finished) So during my last year at that community college, I figured out what I wanted to which is: Video Game Design. I mostly want to do programming and storyboard, which I find are my strong points in the field and I start classes in the summer.

tl;dr: I went from Herpetology to having no clue to ASL/Video Game Design. Yes it has been an adventure. :P

 

[whistle]

Third year math/econ + biology major. No real thought process behind that. I just took classes I liked then looked at my transcript earlier this year and figured out what I could pick to put on my diploma. my parents are paying for my tuition but the understanding is that I have to pay them back once I get a job, so I guess it's somewhat like a student loan but a lot more flexible.

I was talking to a friend this weekend about this topic and I realized that I'd really like to be a chemistry professor. My organic chemistry professor described it pretty well: you do whatever you want, teaching is awesome, it's not super stressful, and you can get extra money from consulting. Not really a fan of the concept of grad school or the entire process up to being a tenured professor though so it probably won't happen. I'll probably end up in either med school or a finance related job after I graduate, and who knows from there.

 

[Eraddd]

Since we're talking about universities, I'd just like to mention that Canada's universities are like... free. I think that average tuition is like 8,000 dollars a year. I'm an American sophmore in high school and I've been thinking about applying to a Canadian university in the future.

You would only pay 8000+ for specialized programs such as Pharmacy, Architecture etc. Most programs range from 4000-6000, which is awesome, because you Americans pay like 50k+ for unsubsidized education which is completely absurd. So far up to my 2nd year, I've only paid about 2000 dollars in tuition, due to the university throwing money at me.

And, what Firestorm said. Americans will pay more but it's still worthwhile compared to how some families don't qualify for financial aid in the states, and can't afford a 50k price tag.

 

[OptimusCrime]

I'm not sure why, but I've had my goal dead-set on Engineering, primarily Aerospace. I'll have to make due with that my local University offers, because there's not much hope for me getting out-of-state tuition. It's not as if I'll die if I don't get employed by NASA, but literally becoming a "Rocket Scientist" has always been a big dream of mine. Doing something in the electrical field also sounds pretty interesting.

 

[ck49]

I am a Junior in high school and I have no idea where I'm going. I want to get into a place which allows me to have some freedom in my major, since I don't really know what to do. I want to go to a place like Claremont McKenna, MIT, or Bowdoin, and have the SAT scores and grades (so far) to get in. Right now I think I'll end up doing some sort of a combination of math, economics, and physics. Economics is interesting, but I can't figure out what I'd do with the degree. Most of physics is boring for me, but I'm good at it, and astrophysics actually interests me, so that is a possibility. math is what relates both, so I guess I'll figure it all out as I go along and actually start to learn about these thins more in depth.

 

[Luxpluff91]

Got my Math Degree last year, going for Masters now. My goal is to keep going for PhD and so on, and eventually teach at uni. Oh, and research too, naturally.

 

[sax king]

I really like music, and I know I should follow my passion, but as a general rule musicians are poor. I figured I'd follow my other passion which is Biology and become something like a medical researcher, but apparently in a lot of medical schools, there really isn't time to do both music and med school. As a back up, my dad is an investor in China and he does pretty well. I've been learning Chinese all my life and I can speak it pretty well for a white kid, but I just find the economy sooooo boring. But you don't always have to enjoy what you do, and at least I could do music too with that.

 

[danilo]

Keep in mind that international rates at Canadian universities are 4x more expensive. So although I only pay a between $5000 and $6000 depending on courseload for September to April, an American would be paying around $20,000 + living costs.

I thought if I moved to Canada, i pay about the same rates? There goes that dream. 20,000 is still cheap though, which is sad.

 

[Silverlands]

hoping to finish my A-levels next year so that I can go to university and study Natural Sciences at university with a view into chemistry or biochem

 

[Eraddd]

I thought if I moved to Canada, i pay about the same rates? There goes that dream. 20,000 is still cheap though, which is sad.

No. You have to be a resident (not a student), which means you need to hold down a job, or have lived here for x amount of years (usually 2-4). As a student, you'll be coming in with a student visa as an international student, meaning you pay 20k+