University! Is It Right For Me?

[Jax]

University! Is It Right For Me?​

What a lot of you do not know about me is that I currently study Web Design at University. In fact, I am in my final year of study. I am also part of the Ambassadors to my Uni which means I give guided tours to prospective students and give information about the uni.

One of the biggest questions I am always asked is; Is university worth the time? and this is a common theme for anyone looking to join. In some cases, University is not the best and the skills learned can be learned through an apprenticeship, especially if you are wanting to study Digital Design (Graphic Design, Web Design, Motion Graphics or Illustration). You can't teach people to be creative, it is something they will pick up on their own. It is really down to the individuals wants. here is a good list to go through, this is my opinion so your mindset may be different.

What Do You Want To Do?
Join an agency or Freelance?

{ Simply put, if you go to Uni you will be able to network with other creatives that will go into different fields like Web design, motion Graphics etc... an apprenticeship will be training you up for a full-time role at an agency. Yes you can still freelance but you don't have the network as all the people you would have met would have been through the training agency }

Experience

If you do a similar degree like I have then you will get a lot of XP with regards to designing to a brief if you go to Uni. However, if you go the apprentice route then you will be getting real world XP with is what companies look for. Uni, teaches you the design skills in a friendly low-pressure environment, which to many is easy to fall for. In the real world, the design process moves far faster than in an educational setting. I have worked in an agency and so know the pressure these agencies are under, Uni just doesn't teach that.

Lifestyle

University is really great for that first big step away from your parents, it gives you some independence with some of the luxuries of living at home. You are protected and well looked after. If you were on your own it would be a lot harder to move out as you will have more to deal with. Plus Uni life is great for social life.

And that is it! Just remember if you are wanting to go to University make sure you ask lots of questions on tours, things like; so when we do a graphics project can we print for free... (My Uni is not free for us £80 for 2x A1 prints) Ask the people touring will know the answers you are looking for.

I must say that my post if very inclined towards designing at Uni as that is what I am studying, this all varies dependent on course, business needs a degree for higher positions.

Please add to this post if you feel I missed something!

 

[Jason76]

I think a college education is always worth the time, but it may not be needed. Also, a person could learn a lot in college, which is a good thing, yet come out with no job. However, I don't think that would happen with computer-related majors.

 

[Shannon Apple]

In my country, you simply cannot get a job in Graphic Design without a formal education. Design principles are something that people don't learn properly on their own. I can spot the self-taught designers easily because they make the same mistakes. Making fancy graphics is one thing, being able to use typography and use it well is a learned skill. Some employers, especially branded companies, require you to have a minimum Bachelor of Arts with a 2.1 (higher second class honours). It's a very competitive industry, thus why I have a Master's in graphic design. It gave me that edge to get ahead of the game.

I actually wouldn't advise a young student now to go into a Graphic Design course unless it includes some form of digital training as well from the get go. When I did my Visual Communications BA, it was 4 years of print design and typography. At the time, they just didn't believe in teaching digital concepts. I did do an hons BA in Multimedia design afterwards. It was a one year course, but it was all Flash and Film lol. It wasn't all that beneficial in my opinion because it should have been taught alongside design concepts. I got work in print design with a very reputable company because that is where my strengths were, however digital designers are so much more in demand. I have my reasons for wanting to change things up. ^^

I've gone back to uni to take a postgrad course in Software Engineering because I absolutely NEED to be able to program in order to climb the ladder in the design industry. I will also be a certified Java programmer in a couple of months, so that will help haha. A designer with some programming skills, or a programmer with some design skills are very employable, so it's good to bear that in mind and if necessary, take some online courses during your summer to gain the extra skills. There are some good free ones out there, so doesn't need to be expensive. . 😉

 

[Jax]

I think a college education is always worth the time, but it may not be needed. Also, a person could learn a lot in college, which is a good thing, yet come out with no job. However, I don't think that would happen with computer-related majors.

I agree that you can spend all that time working and come out with no job at the end that's something that is becoming very real to me and my peers. But, you can't learn everything on your own, that's just it.

In my country, you simply cannot get a job in Graphic Design without a formal education. Design principles are something that people don't learn properly on their own. I can spot the self-taught designers easily because they make the same mistakes. Making fancy graphics is one thing, being able to use typography and use it well is a learned skill. Some employers, especially branded companies, require you to have a minimum Bachelor of Arts with a 2.1 (higher second class honours). It's a very competitive industry, thus why I have a Master's in graphic design. It gave me that edge to get ahead of the game.

I actually wouldn't advise a young student now to go into a Graphic Design course unless it includes some form of digital training as well from the get go. When I did my Visual Communications BA, it was 4 years of print design and typography. At the time, they just didn't believe in teaching digital concepts. I did do an hons BA in Multimedia design afterwards. It was a one year course, but it was all Flash and Film lol. It wasn't all that beneficial in my opinion because it should have been taught alongside design concepts. I got work in print design with a very reputable company because that is where my strengths were, however digital designers are so much more in demand. I have my reasons for wanting to change things up. ^^

I've gone back to uni to take a postgrad course in Software Engineering because I absolutely NEED to be able to program in order to climb the ladder in the design industry. I will also be a certified Java programmer in a couple of months, so that will help haha. A designer with some programming skills, or a programmer with some design skills are very employable, so it's good to bear that in mind and if necessary, take some online courses during your summer to gain the extra skills. There are some good free ones out there, so doesn't need to be expensive. . 😉

I full on agree with this, it is why I too am looking to do my masters and then my PHD. It is getting crowded especially in the creative fields as more people are learning to code. That's why I make websites like Mars 360 to keep in front. Being a Graphic designer now will not cut it. You need the web skills as clients would expect you to do all of the design.

 

[Shannon Apple]

I definitely don't advise cutting it on your own out there straight off the bat when leaving university. If you work for a company, clients won't expect you to know everything, because you will be handing it over. Well, designer hands over to web devs. As a designer, a company expects that you should be able to understand the fundamentals of coding so that you can translate your design in a way that the web devs can implement. As a web dev, you should understand the fundamentals of graphic design, so that you interpret the design properly and that if you need to improvise, it doesn't look bad. XD. If you're an expert in one and know the fundamentals of the other, you will do great. I didn't know how to code, I only knew Flash AS (lol), so it set me back. While I was on contract with one agency, I got a call from one of our clients asking if I'd like to come for an interview for an in-house design job. They checked me out on linkedIn and saw that I wasn't a permanent employee. If I knew the fundamentals of webdesign then, I was on the horses back. 🙂 The feedback I got was that I lacked some tech skills, but that my design skills were a good fit. Someone else was a better match.

Get into a company, build a reputation, a portfolio and a network. 🙂 I have done design work for some large international clients as well as for well known national companies while working with a design agency. You won't get those kind of clients on your own and you kinda need that when starting out, so that you can build up your portfolio. People take you more seriously when they see that.

I don't intend to do freelance or print design agency work anymore though because it's unreliable. I want an in-house job.

 

[John]

It depends on what you're looking to do in life. For example: If you're looking to be a chief for your whole life, there's little reason to go to school for that. However, if you're looking to be an engineer in life, you'll need to go to college, and perhaps graduate school as well. Graphic designing is a tough one, because as you said, you cannot teach someone to be creative. I've met tons of graphic designers IRL that have college degrees (normally in something like computer science, as opposed to graphic designing), and I've met about the same amount that don't. They tend to make about the same if they have the same abilities/creativity, but sometimes the higher level supervisor spots are only given to those with degrees.