Yo - from the bay area!

[kpiret]

Hi,

I'm new around here. I've graduated from college and my life has taken an unexpected turn. One year ago, I graduated from an ivy league tier university thinking I was going to be some great surgeon. Little did I know that would all change my senior year in college. To me, it was too late to change my major. I graduated, moved on, convinved my parents that I'm not applying to med school, got a job in marketing, found somewhere to live. What do I do now?

Through time, interests and past experiences, I've decided that I want to start my career as a graphic designer and maybe someday I can work my way up to being a creative director somewhere out there.

My extracurriculars in college involved being a Publicity Chair for my sorority. I designed flyers, emails, posters, event guides, yearbooks, gifts, etc. In another club I was the event organizer, designing flyers and posting events on websites. I also did freelance photography for the school paper. Besides majoring in Biology, I minored in Art Studio, and took various photography, painting and soung art courses. I have always been into the arts but never thought I could turn it into a career. Blame it on parents who always told me I'd be a doctor.

I want to go back to school to get another Bachelor's but this time probably in graphic design.

I feel totally lost and have no clue when to enter school or even where to go. At the same time, I feel bad for spending my parents money on an ivy league school and majoring in the wrong field... Anyone out there with a similar life story???

Thanks for listening.

[Two-Toe Tom]

welcome to the forum kpiret! i've got a similar story, cept i didn't have to pay tuition for my first degree cuz my dad worked at the university :p

But yeah, I'm now doing a bachelor of design program, my thinking was if you can afford to do a good program you probably should, cause it'll be much harder to go and do it later.

[Red Kittie Kat]

Welcome Aboard :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/RedKittieKat/smilies/121.gif



When you get settled please read through the threads locatedhere (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=42). They will give you all the info you need on how the forum runs, the rules and regs, and give you some background info on our long running, inside jokes ;)

[Ben Kessler]

Kpiret, welcome to the Forum! Best of luck in all your design endeavors.

[Bladez]

Welcome aboard Kpiret. Sorry I can't offer any advice on your situation, but I wish you all the luck with getting things sorted out, and getting into design as your career of choice.

[Virgo Nightingale]

Welcome aboard kpiret!! :)

I was in a similar situation, I graduated from Syracuse with a Bachelor's degree in music industry. Not long after, my grandmother fell ill and getting a day job in the field was put on hold. After a few years of soulsearching and grandmother care, I realized that to make good money in the music industry, I'd have to be a backstabber who wasn't actually in it for the music. Not for me. I fell back to my original love of visual art and went back to school and got an associate's in graphic design. Biology to graphics? That's a switch! :D

[kpiret]

Thanks everyone for the warm wishes. I'm interested in finding a good Bachelor's program in California. Once I move and get settled, I'm going to make a list of schools to contact and see if I can transfer any credits. I already have my general ed. requirements plus lots of studio art and art history courses under my belt. We'll see what comes of it.

[NTLemon]

Everytime I see Bay Area I think of Tampa Bay lol. Anyways I started out similarly only as an Architecture major. I switched majors to graphic design before getting my degree though so I wasn't put as far behind as I could be but it still put me on the 6 year plan.

California has some excellent design schools so your in a good location for it. Good luck with your degree and welcome to GDF Kpiret.

[morea]

Welcome to GDF, kpiret.

I'd recommend a look over our "frequently discussed topics" thread (which you can find by clicking on Red Kittie Kat's link above) - be sure to check out the section called "education vs experience". I think that you will find that many people here have been in the same boat and have shared their experiences on the forum. I hope that you will find the information reassuring and helpful.

Best wishes in your new career path. :)

[tuliptree]

Good luck to you! And welcome to GDF, you've found a great place to be!