Writings
Are anyone else's feet cold? » Tue, Oct 21st 2008 10:18 pm
For next week, I’ve two essays, a rough draft of a poster, a book cover, a page from said book, and eight detailed tracings due. Oh, and a mid-term exam. This is my life now, and I’m starting to question my path all over again.
Work scares me. It seems that the only jobs I enjoy doing are the ones for which I know I’m already fully qualified. Learning doesn’t scare me, but needing to learn under pressure of a deadline kind of does. Deadlines don’t scare me either, but multiple deadlines do.
Unfortunately, this is school. School isn’t a day-job. It’s a rigorous, unrelenting gauntlet that will take four years of running to get through. At this point, right now, I find myself questioning why I’d even bother. I’m competent enough to get myself into a moderately-well-paying job right now, and with the same four years’ time spent getting actual work experience, it seems almost feasible that I’d be just as well off. I’d have less debt, less stress, more money, and more freedom. I can’t seem to extinguish this fantasy.
Every day, I come home, make and devour dinner as quickly as possible, and then sit down to do homework. I do homework until I go to bed. Then I wake up and go to school to get more homework. My work doesn’t end at 5:00 PM anymore. It won’t for another four years. It’ll end anywhere from 10:00 PM to 3:00 AM and begin again at 8:30 AM sharp. For four years.
This was a choice, though. And I knew it’d be challenging. In fact, the challenge is what I’m here for. But it seems so far that the challenges are not in the actual work, but are rather in getting the work done, regardless of quality. I realise that time-management skills are going to be prerequisite to my success in this thing, but I’m wondering if I couldn’t learn them just as well by working my way up the ranks in the workplace.
Or maybe I’m jumping the gun in assuming that I could even get a job without this degree. Or rather, I may be overlooking how its absence from my résumé may well limit just how far I can work my way up in said ranks. I really have no idea, but I daydream about finding out. I miss working, and working with people. I miss free time, and inventing ways to fill it. I miss pet projects and the joys of seeing them come to life. I miss having money, or at the least the freedom to spend it. I miss being truly and thoroughly bored sometimes. I miss life before school.
I’m driven, however, by one question’s answer: Which will suck more: not going to school and wondering where I’d be if I had, or the next four years of my life as it’s planned so far? I suspect the former, even if the latter will in fact be every bit the hell I imagine.
Feel free to try to change my mind though. I’m begging you…
1 Tyler on Wed, Oct 22nd 2008 11:15 am
I ended up taking a two year program that was condensed into one full year, so I could get into the workforce faster.
Schooling was a relatively easy choice for me. I was skilled (thanks to you) in the field that I wanted to work in almost directly out of high school. I probably could have easily found a job comparable to the one I have now, without collage papers — But at the same time I knew it would be much easier to find a job if I did. That and I wanted to make sure, like you said; I was fully qualified for the position.
Ah, multiple deadlines; these used to scare me as well. Unfortunately, in my field of work, and chances are, your future field, they’ll only go away after you retire. From the second day of collage to this very day I’ve always had more than one large project on the go. Actually, right now, as of writing this, I have six projects on the go at work (some of which are small, yet still vital), and four of which are due by the end of today. Eventually you’ll hopefully just get desensitized to the deadlines and just work and try to have a good time.
This is one thing I’ve noticed that parallels the workplace, at least in my field. With all of the tight deadlines, you almost always don’t have enough time to drop into projects that you’d like to. The quality suffers. It takes away from the enjoyment of the job, knowing that you can do better if there was more time, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have personal projects that you perfect.
Unfortunately long hours don’t always stop after schools well. If you end up designing for a smaller tech shop, 13 hour work days, while not the norm, can become a reality.
I don’t think you should. You should always be thinking about the future, and ways to better yourself. I can’t say that I’ve taken the easy route, as I have finished a two year program, and put copious amounts of effort into my job, but I don’t regret choosing not to go to school for an extended period of time. In exchange I have actual work experience, something I believe school can never replace.
What do you think looks better on the résumé; 4 years in design school, or 4 years designing in the workplace? In my opinion, the workplace does. It shows you’ve actually been in the environment, that you can handle it.
I think all of this comes down to what you’re more comfortable with. Getting work experience as fast as possible just made more sense to me, in my field.
2 Aaron on Wed, Oct 22nd 2008 4:41 pm
Hehe. I was hoping to hear from you! You’re the only one I know who works in the field, and I figured your comments would be most valuable.
And I’m not surprised that you’ve no regrets. I suspect that if you’re out there working, there will always be deadlines and there’ll always be stress. But I remember from my time at SAB that the deadlines rarely felt like deadlines. Granted, we had fewer projects and the “clients” were just members of other departments, but it was fun. It was rewarding, because my work was actually seen. And still, I had to live with the fact that those deadlines meant that I couldn’t spend as much time on one project as I liked.
The challenge, which exists in school and at work, is to be able to do great work no matter what the deadline (within reason). Coming up with good ideas quickly is what seems to be the key. I need to work on that… Heh.
I think that I’ll definitely stay in the program for at least two years. Maybe even three. But no matter what I do, I’ll most likely take classes on the side afterwards, while simultaneously reading as many design books as I can make time for. I don’t think self-education is really that bad an idea when you’ve got a decent background already. I’ve worked in the field (sort of) and I’ve had a good deal of experience with the technical aspects. I went to school to fill in the gaps, and I’m going to stay here until I’m confident that most of my gaps are filled. If, in two years, I feel like I could’ve filled ‘em on my own in the same time, then that might be a sign in itself that I’m wasting my money.
I’ve been told that anything other than graduating would be a waste of my money, but I’m not sure that’s true. I’ve already learned a great deal in my first month, and I’ll stay as long as that momentum is there.
3 Steph on Thu, Oct 23rd 2008 1:00 am
Well, I know that Tyler’s is your most important opinion, but I’ll say mine anyway. I know every time you freak out about school and talk to me, I give you the same old answer of, stay in school. BUT, I have a new theory. Why not take less courses? Cut courses you don’t need, lessen your work load, live like you are now, with less classes and more free time to work on your projects. I know know if you’ll take my advice, but it seems like your not even going to graduate. If you not, why bother shoving 5 courses in one year??! Spread your time out more and give your self time to breath. I think I’m going to do that. I took 4.5 courses and I’m considering dropping out of the ones I haven’t paid for yet. Just to have like 3 courses instead. I think of it as, there is no rush to life. Why run into the work place right now, you’ll do it for the rest of your life. I think you can handle not having enough money, but deadlines and no time on your hands makes it impossible.
There’s no rush to get a job start a family of your own or even get married. I know if I were to hypothetically marry you, I don’t really care if we got married until we were 30. There is no point in getting courses done right away and running back to work in order to have money. I garuntee I won’t have a good amount of money until I’m 25 , maybe. I don’t care if I’m still in school by the time I’m 26 or 27. The point is, take your time, spread your school life out. Get projects done in reasonable time, get your hobbies back and get Aaron back. I miss his happy stress free life. As long as your with me, there is no rush to grow up. I don’t think being in school for three years, stop. and go to work is really going to solve anything.
There’s no rush to life sweetheart. You’re young and you have so much more ahead of you and you’ll have moments that actually requires worrying. But right now isn’t one of those moments.
Well, I gave my two cents. I may not be the best advise, but hopefully it opens up a new door. I love you. Smile.
Love Steph.
4 Steph on Thu, Oct 23rd 2008 1:02 am
Oh and By the way. Because you posted on the SAME day I posted, you must pay the price of advertising.
VISIT MY SITE….allthatisee.com
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Steph Wace
5 Ethan on Thu, Oct 23rd 2008 3:13 pm
No you don’t Steph. You SAY you do, but you don’t.
Anyways, Aaron. I can’t really give you and usable advice, as I’m not in your position, I don’t know anyone in your position… I can hardly imagine your position. Studying and homework for me are things that other kids do because they suck, and I rock. But that’s just the way I do things. I don’t recommend it for those who have dreams and aspirations of greatness in a field like photography.
However, having said that, I CAN tell you my opinion and viewpoint on the matter. The way I see it, they already have your time… your money…. what would be the point of backing out now? Or before it’s completed. Sure, you may be able to make it into the workplace, and make enough money to get by and then some… but there will still be that wasted amount of money and time in your life that received no reward or recognition. Basically, backing out would just be a waste of your time.
Sure, shit hits the fan every once in a while, and work loads increase and deadlines become closer and closer… but that’s life. You can complain and wish things were different, but chances are… it won’t be that way. Even if you drop out, continuing on in your dreams will produce new problems of the same type, and you will be back where you started.
Most importantly, if you drop out… you’ll be a quitter. Who likes a quitter? I don’t like quitters… I know Steph doesn’t like quitters… Do you like quitters? Can you live with yourself knowing something BESTED you? I know I couldn’t….
But, that’s just me. I could be wrong… If all else fails, you can move to Japan and aspire to become a Pokemon Master like the rest of the people with failed dreams.
6 Aaron on Thu, Oct 23rd 2008 3:54 pm
Heh. Firstly, I’m a design student. Secondly, I wouldn’t back-out in mid-term. Tuition is paid on a yearly basis, so I’d “quit” after year two or three, if ever at all. No money or time wasted.
Secondly, I wouldn’t consider it quitting. I wouldn’t be giving up on my dream, as my dream has never been to acquire a degree. My dream is to succeed in the fields of web design and development. My design knowledge needs tuning and I need to form good habits, so I enrolled in the program. I’m learning a lot. The late nights are lame, but it’s teaching me to manage my time. But in fourth year, when half of my semester is a work term anyway, the work will be little more than building a portfolio and preparing for the job fair, basically. But that doesn’t really interest me. And it’s a f*-tonne of work.
If I can save $20,000/yr (tuition + living expenses) and still come out with a strong work ethic and enthusiasm for design, then I don’t think I could call it a failed endeavour. If I can work and learn from people around me (which is where I’m learning most of what I know now) then why not? Leaving the program doesn’t mean giving up on my education. I can continue that until the day I die. And I will. Even as a part-time student. It’s just a matter of weighing the pros and cons and deciding at which point I am in fact adequately prepared for the workplace. When I’m confident that I can make it, should I seek a job?
The big question is how important is the degree to reaching success? Ready or not, do employers just flat-out reject applicants without one?
I’ll definitely be asking around.
And to Steph, cutting back on my courses might be an option, but I don’t want to go down to part-time status (and I can’t with my scholarship anyway). Maybe in my third year or something, or if I do decide to get a job, I’d be a part-time student for some time to come. If I can finish my last year or two as a part-time student over however-many months or years, then I’d probably do that.
7 Steph on Thu, Oct 23rd 2008 4:39 pm
Well, when I was signing up for Trent courses, they told me I could pick a minimum of three in order to be considered as a full-time student. So, as far as the scholarship is concerned, you can take three courses and still be a full-time student. I’m not sure what York’s policies are, but I’m sure you don’t have to take all five courses. That’s why I present on cutting your course. I can drop 2 courses right now and still be full-time. It would open up loads of time. I think you should look into that. See what York’s minimum is.
Love Steph
8 Vladimir on Fri, Oct 24th 2008 2:45 pm
So, you’ve hit that first year wall, eh? I could tell you stories about my first year conundrum (and I probably did, ten times already ;-) ), but I’d rather keep it to the point and not regale you with my epic university stories.
All I can tell you is that despite how tedious and pointless a degree might seem now, it is a stepping stone to greater professional development. Your work right now, school or no school, is exceptional, and you know you’re my favourite webmonkey around ;-)
However, you gotta see yourself ten years down the road. I know that the idyll of working on satisfying projects all your life seems so enchanting and promising, but the truth is, as the time goes on, you won’t be able to spend all your time doing that hands-on stuff you love so much (right now). You’ll have to expand in areas that might seem tedious and pointless right now, but which will allow you to grow professionally, and put you in the position to establish yourself not merely as a designer (no matter how successful), but as a design strategist and visionary, which becomes satisfying on a whole new level.
Take it from me - as you know, I’ve been doing this shite for ten years professionally, in various capacities, but I’ve gone back to school because I feel the need to go beyond just doing design, and become someone who is able to use design as a business tool on a much larger scale. People like you (and me, if I may be so bold ;-) ) are rare in the sense that we can comfortably wear many hats, and that is what will get you ahead - actual hands-on design is a small part of the greater whole, and you’ll see that dictating a broader design vision is just as satisfying (and better paid) as pushing pixels and monkeying around with code.
So, to finally get to the point - school is not going to teach you what you already know, but it will allow you to learn how to function in a much broader social and professional context. I know it’s a cliche, and it seemed like total bullshit when I went to university, but school will broaden your mind. In the most basic sense, it will teach you how to deal with people on a higher, theoretical level, but practically, it will give you an entry point into the world of design where decisions are made. You’ll be able to get professionally certified as RGD of Ontario, it will give you professional connections and make it easier to grow in the business, so one day you don’t find yourself as a thirty five year old designer, sitting in a cubicle somewhere, still doing the same thing you did when you were 22, and thinking whether you could have done more. You want to be the 27 year old boss of that old fart, and tell him what to do, while you get paid a shitload, and spend your free time travelling around the world taking photos, and just doing whatever you feel like.
Don’t sell yourself short - university is hard, no doubt about it, but it’s better to bite the bullet now. It gets better, I promise. The first two years are the toughest, and when you get to third and fourth, you’ll like it much better. And at the end of it all, you’ll have an education that will validate your skills, and let you stand apart from the myriad other designers who won’t have what you have.
Anyway, as you know, I could go on forever, but that’s just a few thoughts for now.
Your former bosslet and Stoney’s procurer,
Vladimir
9 Chris on Wed, Oct 29th 2008 8:54 pm
Well, I’ve already talked to you about this… but I’ll reiterate some of it. Oh, and Steph, Trent requires 3.5 credits to be full-time… not 3. Weird, I know. Basically means 4 credits one semester and 3 the next, or vice-versa.
So, the dilemma… I really do think you should test the waters, and just fire out some applications when you have some spare time. Pepper Workopolis and Monster with your resume, and let potential employers value your skills/portfolio. You might not get a single bite, but you might get interviews… who knows, maybe one of them looks like it’d lead you down a very rewarding path, with lots of potential for growth.
I know if it was me running a company and looking for designers, I wouldn’t give a damn about a degree, if I liked the persons portfolio, and they had good references. You’ve got both.
I’ll address the “quitter” comment, as well. I would never call it quitting, if you were to drop out of school for the right reasons. Back in hypothetical land, say you accept that job with lots of opportunity and whatnot… I don’t think that’d be “quitting” per-se. You’ll just have valued one opportunity more than another. Nothing wrong with that! Life is about choices, and we have a lot of freedom in our lives—thank God for that. So yeah, if something that you feel better comes along — go for it. Either way you might have regrets, but hey, everybody has ‘em.
10 Aaron on Wed, Oct 29th 2008 9:20 pm
Ack. I wasn’t notified of your comment, Vlad! Sorry it’s just sitting there, unacknowledged. Your perspective is definitely relevant… Staying in school, or at least keeping the learning momentum, is exactly what I want to do. But, I may talk to some York folk to see if it’s possible to get the degree over a longer period of time because I really just don’t like the way it eats my entire life. Finding balance has been very hard. The other students are mostly enjoying themselves, but they’re also very social and like partying and all that. I don’t have the ability to partake, so this whole thing feels like a full-time job that doesn’t pay anything. In fact, it costs me about $16,000/yr. Money is also an issue…
I really want to learn everything this program offers (except maybe the shit we cover in FACS — WTF is that?) but the pace feels like it’s going to eat me alive and my work will suffer so much that my marks will slip significantly. Apparently life at the Bauhaus is far more relaxed… When school’s done for the day, it’s actually done for the day, for the most part. Students actually sleep. It’s crazy… Hearing this from the mouth’s of German students and York exchange students in Germany just makes me even more bitter towards this program.
I’ve got a lot goin’ on in my head, I guess!
11 Vladimir on Wed, Oct 29th 2008 9:35 pm
Hahahahhahhahahah, FACS (wipes tears)….
Oh man, welcome to the WTF world of York Fine Arts prerequisites. Don’t worry, as soon as you’re done with FACS, it will blissfully fade from memory…… in the meantime, just try to spout as much bullshit as you can in your classes and try to confuse people - it’s a worthy game on its own
12 Chris on Wed, Oct 29th 2008 11:29 pm
FACS?
13 Vladimir on Wed, Oct 29th 2008 11:33 pm
Fine Arts Cultural Studies (FACS) - aka a stupid class that all fine arts students have to take, and which is supposed to teach you interdisciplinary something or the other.
14 Aaron on Thu, Oct 30th 2008 12:21 am
My professor somehow became a doctor by studying folk dancing? Not really sure. But I’m pretty sure “professor” is the only job she could ever hope to have, short of writing reviews or something. There’s nothing wrong with being a professor, of course. But a professor of FACS basically requires you to have the skills necessary to talk as much about nothing as you possibly can until you (supposedly) have something. IE: the significance of a non-rectangular canvas and whether or not it should be considered hybrid art for being “sculpture-like” sparked a 30-minute debate. It was as though the entire class had turned into a parody of itself. The question I wanted so badly to ask: “Why does it matter if it’s hybrid or not? This discussion is basically group masturbation for the people enthusiastic enough to participate, and it’s bordering on physically painful for the rest of us. We aren’t accomplishing anything!” But she kind of ended it saying exactly that, simultaneously conceding that the entire course is us talking about stuff that doesn’t matter outside of the “intellectual world”. I guess it’s like weight-lifting for our brains. But the weights are imaginary? Ugh.
FACS = lame.
PS: I wonder if this post will surface among the York staff and get me in trouble? :S My professor’s a nice lady! I’m just bitter towards the material! THE MATERIAL! And I’m sure she’d be able to work lots of jobs, as she’s clearly very intelligent. It’s just frustrating to see someone use their intelligence for this kind of thing, I guess.
Ok, I think I’m covered
15 Chris on Thu, Oct 30th 2008 9:17 pm
Haha, don’t forget to edit your facebook to hide all those pics of you and your crack pipe. Took me ages to clean mine up for med school!
16 Paul D on Sun, Nov 2nd 2008 9:26 am
You can never go wrong with staying in school. Particularly given the current state of the economy. University grads make considerably more money over the course of their lives than non-university grads. Of course, that’s all based on averages and your situation might be different. If you’re going to drop out after 3 years, you’d be better to drop out now. Again, I don’t know your program, but pretty much every program I’ve ever heard of gets more interesting as you get to the upper years. So will it get better? I don’t know, you’ll probably still have a busy work load, but it will get more interesting.