Is going to college (either for a degree or a certificate in design) a waste of money when things like skillshare and udemy exist?I've been fucking with photoshop for well over a decade but only got seriously in to design recently, and I'm enrolled for a certificate but I can't shake the feeling that I'm spending several grand on an education I could match for several hundred dollars so long as I put the effort in.
>>451914it's a billion dollar industry that wants to keep making moneyyou don't have to look far to see people complaining about the debt acrued for little real life experience, or knowledge that is outdated by the time they graduatecollege is great for the social side of things only, except for extremely niche and specific courses that you can't get an education/experience on outside of college. and that's if you even like the social side of it, and even with the great social side of it, it's not worth it if you're in america and are willingly putting the rest of your life under the shade of "massive, crippling debt"if you're just after a job, forget college and start a portfolio.
>>451915>college is great for the social side of things onlyand the thing is I'm enrolled online for other reasons so I wouldn't even get this benefit>forget college and start a portfoliothat's basically what I've been doingI'm interested in the college route because I have no actual fundamental or formal education but by the same token I feel like I can get that just from reading design books, skillshare courses, and practice of courseI'm supposed to start in a little over a week but it's hitting me that my time might be better spent just actively practicing and honing skills vs educating myself on said skills and worrying about tests, etc
>>451916take the most practical, rational way of thinkingthere is nothing, including real-life experience, skills, art fundamentals, that this course can give you that is not already publicly available. most things related to art are based on things we've known and studied for centuries. even if they're "selling point" is that they're on par with current trends, there are 10+ decent quality videos released on youtube weekly that cover exactly that.I should also say that, besides the social aspect, having some kind of mentor is also invaluable, but you're online and you'll be receiving subpar quality feedback anyway, just another dude who is only marginally better than you giving you very vague notes on what to improve. you can get that through some forum or discord server. I've had some genuinely great people I contacted through artstation/e-mail/linkedin take some time to recommend books and give me great feedback, the kind that I can apply and think about to this day. I can tell you now that the quality of the stuff you've posted (if it's yours) already tells me you're geared up for at least amateur-mid level gigs. I would start applying if you've already got stuff like this, you have literally nothing to lose besides some minutes copy and pasting a cover letter, attaching a portfolio file/link and saying something nice about their company and their product>it's hitting me that my time might be better spent just actively practicing and honing skills vs educating myself on said skills and worrying about tests, etcthis is of course up to you but to me this is sounding like a no-brainer. unless there is some unique chance you can't get back, going back to study will always be an option anyway. and courses are getting more affordable and effective such that they can be started and finished with 6-12 monthsI say just start applying and keep making shit, that's all you'd be doing 2-3 years in the future after this course anyway, minus the debt and the stress
>>451917>the quality of the stuff you've posted (if it's yours) already tells me you're geared up for at least amateur-mid level gigsthe OP image is from i-D magazine but the other is mine, thank youa lot of my work is kind of bland even to me, lot of what I call "instagram design" tier "posters" but that's something I'm already setting out to fixbeen in kind of a creative rut but the motivation is coming back>this is of course up to you but to me this is sounding like a no-brainerI think so too, I think I was just looking for some kind of confirmation that this isn't a stupid decision to makeI'm close enough to starting that they already gave me the list of books I need so I think that alone will me start me off on a good foot before I jump into paid online courses
>>451914If you want be artist, yes 100% waste of moneyBut being graphic designer? No
>>451914Most companies ask for it today and it's not enough only with the portafolio, and the AI is going to kill most freelancer jobs and you will be involved in big projects yes or yes, so... Up to you; Also it exist the degree on "Design" that teaches you UX, interiorism, product design... Basically a bit of every area, and designing dildos is a job even if you don't believe me a degree in graphic design is useful, but it's like having a degree in coding instead of computer sciences, or X medical area instead of medicine.
Yes. As someone graduating, in California where everyone and their mother is a designer, yes. Keep doing graphic design, if you want a degree so you can stop doing freelance and do agency work so you can have like health insurance and a 401k, major in business, marketing, or advertising. Still maintain your portfolio, and start pursuing an art director job at an ad agency so ultimately you can work as a creative director. Learn the difference between graphic designer and art director. You will not make a lot of money regardless but youll have a cushy 9-5 office job.
>>451914fucking with software fr ten fucking years?ok youre weird software hobbieistyour arent an artistcertificates are like racism - helps dumb peopl count you in or outskillshare and udemy wont give you the thing you need as a designerthats just facts
>>451914major in cs, or marketingundergrad in graphic design
>>451914im an artist at heart, but me and another designer led the design side for a textile business for roughly 7 years. thanks to said business reputation ive done work for a lot of visionary painters, universal studios, disney, and a bunch of other weird clients.ive never set foot in a college or made a portfolio. thats an extremely unlikely scenario for most people but i think the secret really is just networking. just from my side of things, if the right people know who you are and what you're capable of, that has the ability to trump pretty much everything else. it is about time i make a portfolio though lol
>>453034somewhat survivorship bias.but I get where you are coming from.
>>453034This is the reality of production related commercial art and design work as opposed to the conceptual side..academic credentials are often seen as adding little of value to a prospective employee's skill set and possibly even a hindrance to getting them working within the real world of turning out quality finished textiles, signage, packaging, sporting goods, toys and other graphic intensive products.It's extremely common for people working in those fields to be responsible for fixing things that very highly credentialed designers send them without any idea of how they will be made to work. In many cases those conceptual designers see not having to know or care about production as evidence of their superiority, but what happens is that the guy who has to fix their shit gets to develop a more comprehensive skill set, and probably has decent ideas too. The idea part isn't nearly as hard as the people who can *only* offer that need people to believe it is...and when you look at the truly great commercial designers and artists, they either had a background in production they worked up from or made a point of studying the production processes in the field to inform their work.
>>451914Graphic design, like any other career in the field of art, require you to be completely honest with yourself and your abilities. Do you have an eye for design? A genuine passion for art and creation? Are you at least better than the average person at drawing? If you answered no to any of those questions, do something else. And I mean that in the nicest way.
OP here, thought I'd update just on the off chance that someone else was in a similar debate.I've been enrolled in my certificate program for 2 months now and I've actually already gained a lot from it.I went from being able to slightly utilize illustrator just for individual elements to actually being really comfortable with it and using it more than photoshop for my own stuff.Also started learning how to use indesign (which I never touched in my life prior) which has been helpful.One of my professors has been pretty praiseful, he told me I have "good instincts for color typography and overall balance" so I do think I came into it with some level of competence, but it has already been worthwhile for me.Now I just have to decide if I wanna transfer for a full degree after.
>>451914>>AI existsyou'll be replaced, why give money to grifters?
>>453466That picture looks awful. AI would've done a much better job.
>>453034if this anon is known for getting txetile jobs done well per client expectations and not for being an artist, the network wont translate over, most likely.but something made that network, some connction - people, the city, the nearby industries, and something got these people in position (ie the textile business they worked for)you have to get these pieces to fall into place. sometimes school is the bet place for it.i feel into a similar production team, met an older colleague who took me aboard and we did some shit together for awhile. but one thing we had in common? we went to the samereally arty school, at diferent times, and we had a whole background in common that we could trust in.so its not an either or, its a both and fr some of us. clients im working for now? went to school with them.
>>453563i think it looks kewl. op should check Mondo 2000 magazine. similar vibe.
>>453698good shout, I've been looking for stuff like thisit's hard to find scans of the 80s-90s i-d mags but all of these are on archive
>>451915Learn2punctuate
>>453037This is really motivating. I work at a wholesale printing company and I've gotten to know a lot of the ins and outs of effective design for production. I would like to go freelance full-time at a later point, and I feel I'll have an advantage because of the production knowledge I've acquired. It's staggering how often designers don't think about how their design fits into the end product, most of my job revolves around fixing their shit.
