I think I chose the wrong career


taylor17387's avatar
As of recently, I've been thinking about this a lot. And the more I think, the more I get convinced that I didn't choose right about my study career. I should have chosen something related to graphic design/illustration, or animation. Those are the things that I like most, but back then, when I had to choose what to study, I was too near-sighted to realise it.
Granted, it's difficult to find jobs related to this, but at least, I would have had the opportunity to find something someday that I was happy with. Also, what I studied in the end, a mixture of cultural studies, it's even worse to find employment, so I get the impression I haven't made a single good decission in these past years. :slamhead:

Now I feel I'm too old to start all over again (I'm 25 already), and I lack the skills and techniques I could have achieved already if I had chosen more wisely.
I don't know what to do, so I'd like to hear from some people here who have faced the same problem. Did you end up studying what you liked despite your age? How did it went, in terms of learning, finding a job, creating work teams, and so on?
Just how late is "too late"?
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mallettepagan0's avatar
It's never too late to start on something. I went to college for graphic design, but I should have gone for digital illustration because I like that more. Instead of going back to school, I just worked on my illustration skills myself. I purchased imagine fx magazines,and looked at my anatomy books, plus study photographs and draw from them. Recently, I joined my local art community and have taken life drawing classes at a gallery. Those are less expensive than college classes. So maybe try and learn yourself if you can't afford to go back? Never give up what you like to do :D
MirroredSky's avatar
Did some college but no degree out of high school, worked full time for 5 years before I finally found something I wanted to do. So, at the age of 26 I entered a 2 year program. I'm now 27 and am still not the oldest in my class :3 While most college campuses give the impression that ONLY the fresh-out-of-high-school kids are currently working on getting degrees/higher education, that is far from the truth. If you take any night courses or other less-mainstream types of education paths, you'll see the diversity of age and background. If you really want to make a change, GO for it. But do your research first so you won't regret it later (and be paying for it).

Best of luck!
ILoveBigCats's avatar
25 isn't too old, there's a 25 and a 27 year old in my flat at uni starting new degrees
To be honest graphic design is a extreamly hard field to make any money in, or even get a job. I would suggest switching majors.
Tuttie's avatar
I made the same mistake, I chose graphic design and I despise it. I was very young when I started the program, at 16. I'm 20 now, and still have another three semesters to go. The one thing I learned and it's the probably the best news for people who didn't study graphic design but want to - it's very easy to learn. you DON'T need to go to college for that, in fact I think it would me more useless than the degree you have now (no offense). It's not about knowledge or education. It's about practicing your ass off and building a strong portfolio. It's that easy. The knowledge will come as you go along. I haven't learnt anything from what my instructors did, I learned through reading a lot and practicing A LOT. Don't worry, you can do this.

You can go for a masters in business administration so you can get hired in management positions in creative agencies or something related to your studies if you are having real trouble getting hired.
taylor17387's avatar
It's true that college degrees are, in most cases, unnecessary. In fact, everything I learned through my university years I could have learned at home reading history books. However, employers tend to look at degrees a lot. I mean, if you don't have the studies they demand, no matter how good you are, your CV is going to end in the trash bin (at least in my country, they're usually quite inflexible with this).
But in any case, if I ever have an opportunity to formally study what I want, I'd prefer that option over learning by myself at home. Starting from scratch without some guidance of a teacher, or a program, or planned projects, must be very hard and time-consuming (although still better than nothing, of course).
Tuttie's avatar
All I am saying is that you should not waste four years on a degree in something like graphic design, that was my personal experience. There are plenty of centres that will award you certificates for one year programs and so on. There are a ton of resources and communities out there are extremely helpful in the art and design fields.
some of the best graphic designers in my country aren't graduates of arts, but learned out of passion and really immersed themselves in that culture and educated themselves as much as possible, and it shows in their portfolio. The information is out there and readily available, it's up to you to make something out of it and show it off in your portfolio. 50% is your graphic design portfolio, the other 50 is how well you can sell yourself to potential employers.
hamstertoybox's avatar
I made the same mistake. I studied biology at university but should have done something creative. About a year after graduating, I signed up for a part time art foundation and worked at the same time. After that I enrolled on a part time HND in multimedia design, which I'm now in the final year of. I've just started looking for a job for when I finish.

iI'd recommend seeing what part time courses are going on in your area. The good thing about design and illustration is that you will be judged on your portfolio not where you studied. But go for it! It is less impossible than it first appears to be. In the UK you can get career enhancement loans to help with course fees - There may be something similar i Spain.
Officialpoypoy's avatar
ey man dont beat yourself up.
im not old enuff yet to understand but i do know that its best to do the things you want to do rather than not doing it at all.

trust yourself and believe in yourself so hard then do the things you want to do and no matter what you can at least say you tried and you lived and trusted urself than sucking up all that negative energy and regret.
Blue-like-the-Sky's avatar
Pretty much in the same boat here, except I haven't finished my bachelor. Neither am I planing too. I'll be trying to get into design with a focus on illustration next year. I am lucky insofar as university doesn't cost very much where I am from. Still my father is probably going to kill me when I tell him, but at least I'll die happy :P
Zedasiria-DeRazz's avatar
never too late to study, it's better at working at something late and loving it than working early only to end up hating it.
TheNecco's avatar
:shrug: My bf's uncle didn't finish school until he was 35, and he still hasn't finished one of his degrees. It's never too late to study.
RavynneNevyrmore's avatar
I had to wait until 24 to even go to college because of financial aid, and then I had to do an extra year for community college. So considering that puts us at the same prospective graduation date, are you telling me my education is a complete waste and I should just never even have bothered at all because I'm too old? I mean, I guess I should just roll over and die now, right?

Next stop, retirement home!
taylor17387's avatar
No. That's not the same prospective. You're going to start now with your studies. I've just finished mine, and I can't start a new career right now. First I have to save a lot of money and get some stable job that guarantees me that I'll can pay the university, that I'll have enough free time to study and that I won't have to move from one city to another. So when I start, I'll be most probably in my thirties.

What's wrong with you people!? Just because I say that it's a bit too late to start all over again, you assume that I mean it's the end of the world!? I never said that. But starting college when you're 20 is far better and easier than starting when you're 30, no matter how you look at it.
EbolaSparkleBear's avatar
"Now I feel I'm too old to start all over again (I'm 25 already)"

Shut the fuck up.

You have plenty of time.

Do what you need to do to pay the bills and live in some form of comfort. Work on what you love on the side if it's not a sure fire way to maintain a reliable income.

I do not know you. I do not know your life's story. But based on the fact you think 25 is too old to do anything proactive makes me think you're an asshole.
taylor17387's avatar
And based in the way you talk, I'm pretty sure you're an un-educated asshole teenager.
Just so you know, idiot, I can't start studying again right now, because I've just finished my previous studies, so before I can start again, I'll have to save money through many years. Most probably, when I can start, I'll be 30 already, so YES, that's rather late. Certainly not the best age. There's people who are older and study at the university, of course. But it's not the best option. Period.
CandyDeChocolate's avatar
.... I should use your experience as an example... I'm still trying to choose my career (I'm a high schooler) but I have some conflicts about whether I should choose something from art major or something else... I somehow don't want to choose art even though it is what I love to do the most....
taylor17387's avatar
The problem with choosing a career is that when you've just finished high school, you still lack a lot of experience and many times you don't know what to do. There's some lucky people who know what's their dream job early in life, but I, for example, had no clue back then. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to go to the university. It's only now that I see things clearer.
I'd advise you that you think carefully about what you really want to do in the future, the job you want, rather than in the content of the career. My career was very interesting for me, in terms of content, but I don't like the jobs that it leads to.
If you don't like the art-related jobs that the market offers, don't choose an art-career, even if you like the theme subject. And also think about your qualities, and what you enjoy doing and what you don't. If you hate numbers, for example, make sure that you won't end up doing calculations in Excel the whole day.
CandyDeChocolate's avatar
thank you very much for your advice. I'm going to try really hard to look for something I'll enjoy doing for the rest of my life :P i hope you can also find your path :) good luck! :D
saintartaud's avatar
I've known plenty of people who switched careers or went back to school and were older than you. If it helps any, my sister is about to graduate nursing school and she's 33. She's already got a job lined up, which is pretty cool. Oddly enough, my mother was around the same age when she got her nursing degree. I don't think there's such thing as "too late," necessarily, though there are circumstances where going back to school, leveraging skills into new field, etc. can be tougher. But as young as you are age is definitely not an issue.
lightning-13's avatar
It's definitely not too late. My brother was like you, made bad decisions and at the time he was 25, his profession was electrician. I don't know how it is there you live, but here in Sweden, just because you can study freely, people don't care about age, they study a subject as a hobby, or full programs just to change the direction of their careers. I have friend from the University, she is a teacher, or was, she worked for about 13 years and now she is web content manager and designer just like me, and guess what, she is 36! If you have the passion, the will, the determination, age doesn't really matter, at least not at such young age.
lzzec's avatar
I am caught in a similar situation. In fact even at this point I am still uncertain. I have a job that I don't really enjoy doing. Somehow I manage to survive through and am coming through to the third year.

At this point I am still struggling to make things right. Day after day as I live through my current job, it presses me to want pursue a dream career even more. To me I dont think I care about whether I am late or not. I just feel the need to do whatever I can do get into something I truly like.
taylor17387's avatar
If you've got a job already, I'd advise you to save as much money as you can. That way, you'll can study later whatever you want, once you have decided what's your dream career.
I think that's what I'll do in the next years: saving money so I can study later what I want.
It's not always neccessary to have an academic career, but it helps a lot. You've got the advantage of having a job right now, so use it to get what you want.
lzzec's avatar
That's what I have been doing now. Though at times, I did stray. I thought you were asking for advice in the first place. How did it end up with me receiving the advice? Thanks nonetheless=)