Help on deciding Diploma games design vs Graphic design
Okay let me tl;dr the situation first
-I'm 19 soon and feel like I'm wasting my time and life jumping courses. I did only 1 semester of Paramedic science than left in June because I couldn't keep up and hate hospitals.
-June - Sept (2014) I didn't go to school, which gave me time on what I want to do in the mean time.
-Sept - Oct (2014) I finished a certificate III in Pathology (Lab assistance) Not bad, I'm only making that my last line of defense when I have no more options to go to.
-Jan-Feb (2015) I tried and hated web design, the main problem was doing web page coding. My brother found it extremely easy, but I greatly struggled because I was always too awkward to ask for help. I'm still enrolled to now and plan to in-roll into a new course by the start of June.
I sort of hate everything, but I can tolerate I.T the most. Everything else I'd probably suck at, mainly involving business and math. So now two options I want to decide between are:
Diploma Of Graphic Design: Graphic Designer, Web design, Digital artist, web page deisgner, graphic designer.- 15k
Diploma Of Games Design: Gaming worker (w.e the f that means) - 12k
Both of these can lead me into university upon successful completion. HOWEVER I know games design has hard things to learn like Java and c++ etc, there is a unit called scripting language, but you also learn to model 3D things and design which though sounds fun also sounds extremely hard.
Graphics design... just graphics really that's all there is. I need help on which job will benefit me the most in the future, something I can find a job in even if it could take years. I'm attending a career expo on Sat to try help me decide.
But I appreciate any feedback you can give me positive or not.
6 Comments • Newest first
@enoch129 Thank you for the information highly appreciate it
@Traitor Thanks for the advice
@Omegathorion Sorry to hear about your experience, thanks for giving me a heads up
@SpicyOctopus I see, thanks for the insight
@Icephoenix21 ah, thanks for the information, I'm not gona go anywhere near web design still.
Hi there.
You should choose a career that you will be happy with, or at least a major you enjoy.
I'm graduating with a BFA in Graphic Design a week from today. Do know that it's not the best paying job, there's lot of competition, and your ideal city may not be the most ideal workplace. It's hard to freelance just starting out, as well unless you are a networking god.
You said you hate web coding, but most Graphic Design programs will still have you taking some web design courses, so be aware of that. After graduation, though, you can choose if you want to do web design work or not. I personally do not do any form of web design and stick strictly to graphic design.
[quote=enoch129]The game design industry is pretty shaky so... graphics design. Also, graphics design is more versatile in terms of employment/tasks.[/quote]
This. The best thing you can do is diversify your skill set as much as possible. With a degree in Graphic Design, along with a robust portfolio showcasing your abilities, you're in a much better position than specializing in one unstable career subset, unless you have the resources to start your own studio.
If you do also have knowledge of Java and C++, you could also consider app development or web design, as both fields tie together well with someone who has experience in Graphic Design and Computer Science. Regardless of what you decide, you'll still be working hard to set yourself apart from other job-seeking candidates in your field.
Do NOT do game design. If you want to learn game design, learn it on your own time as a hobby while you major in something else that's actually useful. I majored in game art and production and it was one of the worst decisions in my life. You can PM me and ask if you want pointers on where to start learning art, design, programming, production, anything else relevant to game development. But just for the love of god, do NOT do game design.
I was on the same route and I just went for the Cinematography degree.
Gaming is a pain, Graphic Design also requires time invest but it's not bad. You just want to look where you want to end up, see what job positions are opened to you after obtaining those degrees and work the struggle to get there. School is going to be a pain regardless, make the best of it.
The game design industry is pretty shaky so... graphics design. Also, graphics design is more versatile in terms of employment/tasks.