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- Jaline
in web and/or graphic design.
Can you do anything with it?
I'm just looking at my options of what I want to do once I graduate. Do a Masters...do some web courses....get a job....the usual.
Thanks.
- elee0
In my experience, certificates are kind of worthless. Most places I go don't even really ask about the college degree. It's all about the portfolio. As for the masters, I know a few people who are doing it, and what they usually tell me is that it's not worth going into debt over. If you can get scholarships/someone to pay your way, never leave school.
- sikma0
IMHO unless you plan on teaching i'm not sure why you would get your masters
- thedriver0
In my over 8 years of working in this industry the question of a certificate has never come up. I've never even been asked if I graduated from design school (which I did).
99.9% of the time it comes down to your portfolio, skill set and personality.
- emokid0
to add to what thedriver so correctly stated, in this profession degrees, or certificates or education don't really matter. in fact, so embarrassed i am of my multiple degrees that when asked about my education i say that i never went to school. i just want to fit in, you know.
- Jaline0
sikma, that's what I keep telling people. Masters degrees are mainly good for becoming a teacher. I have 3 friends who are all doing it if they don't get into Teacher's College, and continually tell me I should do it. My parents tell me the same.
They just want me to suffer some more, or want to go back to school because they are :P
Really though...I think I'm good with school for now. I'm still applying to Masters programs (well...I already applied to two), so if I get in I may accept it, but I'm content with getting a job. Now if someone will just hire me....
The thing I like about school is the variety of courses and professors, and just the environment in general. I think I will miss that.
- menos0
wait... aren't about to finish your degree?
- menos0
^ thedriver is truth. think about this, hard. I decided that i didn't want to do any more studying when i finished my degree - start working, get some $$ independence etc etc, - and THEN if i still wanted to do another course (MA) I would think about it more.
- sikma0
I know a couple of people getting their MFA's at Concordia. They both want to teach but they also just like being students. I loved my time in college but realized that going into debt just so I could hang out and aviod reality was a really bad idea.
- Corvo0
One thing I can say - what the world looks like when you're 20 it's not even near what it looks like when you're 30-something and need to change jobs. At 30's it's mostly like an inverted cone. So the larger the base you get now the less narrow the cone will be 10 years from now. I'd say go web. Design will most likely be 90% automated anyway in the next few years.
- Jaline0
I think working first and then going back later is probably best, menos. I have to think about this some more.
I just have no idea what I want to do.
- Jaline0
Well...that's kind of a lie. I obviously liked Media Studies, and that's why I went into it. But I feel like I should be specializing in something.
I WANT TO KNOW MORE, GODDAMMIT!
- There really is no such thing as specializing in this industry, well nothing you can take in school that is.thedriver
- People who do specialize have gotten to that point through years of experience.thedriver
- I'm talking more about media here, not design.Jaline
- What do you mean by "media"?thedriver
- media studies, organizational communication, etc.Jaline
- Ahh, so what would that lead to career wise? Like what area would you work in?thedriver
- haha, no one knows. you can combine it with other things. it's partly journalism, part looking at various mediums.Jaline
- OK, I'm just confused as you're posting here so I thought was design related.thedriver
- hehehe +1menos
- thedriver0
The thing is, if you continue to go to school and whatever it is you're doing won't really have any impact on your end career then you voluntarily put yourself behind in the industry.
The 2-3 years you spent in school could have been put towards working and gaining real world experience, instead of getting a certificate that has no relevance.
- CincodeMayo0
Yeah, MFA's are a waste of time for the post part if you're a designer. If you work for a big corporate company, it could get you a bit of a salary boost possibly, and if you want to teach it's good to have, but if you're just designing and what not, waste of your time and money. A high school teacher once told me that I didn't even need to go to college (which I did) as long as I had a good portfolio. Great advice. I think he was later fired.
- thedriver0
Experience is the best way to learn and grow.
Quote from and interview I did.
"School merely gives you the foundation. From there it is up to you to make the most of it."
- Jaline0
I will always vouch for school. But yeah, you guys make sense. I kind of already know this (as we've had discussions about this here before), but I really needed to hear it again. Now I just have to figure out what I want to do...
- Corvo0
Whatever you do, don't get a pet as soon as you're making money and your own house. Lovely critters ground you for 10 years.
- or you could just make some friends? they are good for watching pets when away.stupidresponse
- I don't like pets too much...Jaline
- Jaline0
Just to let everyone know, here are some jobs you can get with my degree:
http://www.biola.edu/admin/careeā¦From my school:
"Upon graduation, Mass Communication students either undertake graduate studies or find employment in the competitive knowledge industries. Being located in Ottawa means that many graduates find employment with governmental regulatory agencies (CRTC, various cultural directorates) or with the industries regulated by government. They also find employment with a broad range of private sector employers, often media outlets, or with agencies that conduct audience analysis and research, with web providers, in the area of communication and cultural policy research, or in public relations and advertising."- my sister did something similar. she runs a childrens museum that teaches science and math and stuff now.stupidresponse
- Sounds interesting.Jaline