OT What Did You Go To College For?!

[CGAcheer]

I majored in Art and Psychology with a minor in Communications. But the way I look at it is I spent just as much or more time Cheering (games, practice, tumbling) as I did in Class.

I would suggest the clear career path as well.
In the 3 years between the time I graduated and opened up CGA, I was a pizza delivery driver, insurance sales person, did Henna Tattoos, coached tumbling, coached cheer, joined the Navy, got hurt and discharged during OCS, back to coaching at at gymnastics gym and then Opened up CGA.

 

[AcaseA]

Started my college career in Materials Engineering after two years decided that I don't want to be an engineer. Left my 4 year school to finish all my GE's at the local community college and now I just reapplied as Industrial Technology.

If anyone is an IT major let me know what kind of jobs you have had! I would love to talk to someone in the field before I %100 commit

 

[SharkDad]

Started my college career in Materials Engineering after two years decided that I don't want to be an engineer. Left my 4 year school to finish all my GE's at the local community college and now I just reapplied as Industrial Technology.

If anyone is an IT major let me know what kind of jobs you have had! I would love to talk to someone in the field before I %100 commit

That's a wide open subject area, are any areas you are most interested in? I'll bet I can find people to put you in touch with.

 

[AcaseA]

That's a wide open subject area, are any areas you are most interested in? I'll bet I can find people to put you in touch with.

Yes it is! My college has a great program/concentration in Plastics and Packaging which greatly interests me. The reason I dropped Materials is because our program is metals based but I was mostly interested in polymers and plastics.

I am open to many possibilities though.

 

[BuegeSmalls]

That's awesome, I found out I loved web design after I graduated and taught myself alot of what i know from online tutorials (i already have the programming background to figure out the other programming stuff).

Good luck

Thanks! Did you do programming stuff in college?

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

I'm going to be a freshman in college this fall. I'm planning on majoring in computer science and minoring in graphic design. I want to get a career as a web designer

This is mine but switched; Computer Art/ Graphic Design Major and Computer Science Minor. For all of you that are considering the Graphic Design field, I recommend taking a few computer programming classes. It will make you a lot more appealing to employers.

I now have a question: I'm halfway done with my CS minor and only have 2 or 3 classes left in my major. I'll be a junior this fall and I don't have enough credits to graduate yet. So instead of taking 30+ credits of electives that really wont mean anything when I graduate, does anyone have any advice on what I should do? I want to pick up another minor, I was thinking either Communications or Mass Communications, but I'm not sure if that's what I really want. I can't officially pick up an advertising minor, because it's only offered to Comm Majors, but I can still take the classes in it which I might end up doing. I'm just so lost on what I should do and I need to make a decision ASAP. My academic adviser hasn't been the greatest of help in this area, but she'll support anything I decide to do. Does anyone in the graphics field (web design, product design, logo design, etc) have any advice? Would a psychology minor be helpful? I want to be super prepared once I get out into the working world. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[BuegeSmalls]

This is mine but switched; Computer Art/ Graphic Design Major and Computer Science Minor. For all of you that are considering the Graphic Design field, I recommend taking a few computer programming classes. It will make you a lot more appealing to employers.

I now have a question: I'm halfway done with my CS minor and only have 2 or 3 classes left in my major. I'll be a junior this fall and I don't have enough credits to graduate yet. So instead of taking 30+ credits of electives that really wont mean anything when I graduate, does anyone have any advice on what I should do? I want to pick up another minor, I was thinking either Communications or Mass Communications, but I'm not sure if that's what I really want. I can't officially pick up an advertising minor, because it's only offered to Comm Majors, but I can still take the classes in it which I might end up doing. I'm just so lost on what I should do and I need to make a decision ASAP. My academic adviser hasn't been the greatest of help in this area, but she'll support anything I decide to do. Does anyone in the graphics field (web design, product design, logo design, etc) have any advice? Would a psychology minor be helpful? I want to be super prepared once I get out into the working world. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I've taken a few programming courses and web design and other classes in high school which I'm hoping will help me with any classes that I take for college. I kind of want to do graphic design (or design arts as my school calls it) as major and comp sci as minor like you because I think that the computer science majors have to take a lot of math classes, which is not my strongest. Did you have to take a lot of art classes, like drawing classes for a graphic design major? I think they make you take those at my school, and I can not draw to save my life! And what kind of computer would you recommend for graphic design? A Mac, right?

 

[SharkDad]

Two suggestions are to take that extra time and find an internship, that way you can 1. find practical experience in the field you are interested in and 2. possibly make networking connections for when you are searching for your first job.

the second suggestion is to the extra time for business related classes that you are interested in. Investing, entrepreneurship, starting and running business are all subjects that could help in the future whether you want to start your own business or be an asset to someone else who does.

 

[cscheerio]

Thanks! Did you do programming stuff in college?

Yes I have a 2 year diploma, heavy on in programming, some network administration.

 

[cscheerio]

Started my college career in Materials Engineering after two years decided that I don't want to be an engineer. Left my 4 year school to finish all my GE's at the local community college and now I just reapplied as Industrial Technology.

If anyone is an IT major let me know what kind of jobs you have had! I would love to talk to someone in the field before I %100 commit

I have been:
a programmer analyst - simply didnt like where i was working
Network Admin for a small company - i got laid off during the recession in the states
Software Distribution for a larger company - I really enjoyed this however it was a temp job while someone was on mat leave
Network Admin - mostly helpdesk type work helping users

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

I've taken a few programming courses and web design and other classes in high school which I'm hoping will help me with any classes that I take for college. I kind of want to do graphic design (or design arts as my school calls it) as major and comp sci as minor like you because I think that the computer science majors have to take a lot of math classes, which is not my strongest. Did you have to take a lot of art classes, like drawing classes for a graphic design major? I think they make you take those at my school, and I can not draw to save my life! And what kind of computer would you recommend for graphic design? A Mac, right?

Haha let me break this up, so many questions at once! (But that's a good thing!) And I'm answering all these from a perspective from my school, so yours might be different, but will most likely be the same for the majority of the curriculum.

I kind of want to do graphic design (or design arts as my school calls it) as major and comp sci as minor like you because I think that the computer science majors have to take a lot of math classes, which is not my strongest.

I actually started as a double major in both Computer Art/ Graphic Design AND Computer Science. But last semester, I changed the Computer Science major to a minor for a few reasons. The first was I'd have to pack my schedule full of classes to graduate on time with both majors (19 credits a semester, which is considered credit overload at my school. I did 19 credits last semester... not fun at all.) The second reason was because the major concentrated on networking, computer communications, even robotics that I wasn't planning on using in the work world. The minor concentrates on just the programming (mostly C++ and Java if you choose) and operating systems as well as troubleshooting and common computer problems. (The minor curriculum is really something everyone going into a computer based field should know.) The last reason was because of yep, the math classes. Our school requires Calc I, II and III, Discrete Math Structures, Modern Algebra, Matrix Theory and some 300-level Stats class for the CS major. That was a major turn off. In high school, I did above average in my math classes, but thats because my teachers explained everything to me. It's much different in college. You're expected to teach yourself a good portion of it. Therefore, I didn't do so well in Calc I. The minor didn't need the math classes, so I switched...

Did you have to take a lot of art classes, like drawing classes for a graphic design major?

My school required me to take a Drawing I class and a Two-Dimensional Design class. Then we have to take one upper level studio art class, two other studio art classes and an art history class. Then came the graphics classes. The studio art classes can be anything from drawing, painting, sculpture (ceramic, wood, stone, assorted media) and other special topics (serigraphy and printmaking). If you're scared of taking the art classes, don't be. I didn't take any drawing classes and very few art classes before college and I'm doing fine. My drawing abilities have come a long, long way over two years. As long as you're putting in a lot of effort, you'll be fine.

And what kind of computer would you recommend for graphic design? A Mac, right?

Well, Macs are pretty much the standard in the graphics field, and you will most likely be using them in your classes. (My school has 4 Mac labs, 3 of which are specifically for the graphics majors). But the software you'll be using is the same on a Windows computer as it is on a Mac. Also think about this: if you are going to but doing something in the Computer Science field, whether its a major or a minor, you will MOST likely be using a Windows OS. I have a Windows computer with all the design software and it operates perfectly, just like it would on a Mac. (Just make sure that whatever computer you get, it has the memory and processing abilities to handle those programs. Some of them, like Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, and Premier Pro use A LOT of RAM. If you don't have enough on your computer, it will crash and those programs don't have autosave...) You don't HAVE to get a Mac if you don't want to. I think once/if you get more serious about the graphics, you should get one, but you don't need one for college if you can't afford it.

If you really want to do web design, your school will most likely have Web Design courses where you'll learn how to use Dreamweaver and other web programs. You won't necessarily need to know HTML for those programs, but you really should know the legit codes. Those programs just make it easier for you to assemble those codes. I'd recommend talking with an academic adviser when you get to school about which you should major and minor in since every school and its curriculum is different.

Hope this helps a little!

 

[ssccxnce]

And what kind of computer would you recommend for graphic design? A Mac, right?

Well, Macs are pretty much the standard in the graphics field, and you will most likely be using them in your classes. (My school has 4 Mac labs, 3 of which are specifically for the graphics majors). But the software you'll be using is the same on a Windows computer as it is on a Mac. Also think about this: if you are going to but doing something in the Computer Science field, whether its a major or a minor, you will MOST likely be using a Windows OS. I have a Windows computer with all the design software and it operates perfectly, just like it would on a Mac. (Just make sure that whatever computer you get, it has the memory and processing abilities to handle those programs. Some of them, like Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, and Premier Pro use A LOT of RAM. If you don't have enough on your computer, it will crash and those programs don't have autosave...) You don't HAVE to get a Mac if you don't want to. I think once/if you get more serious about the graphics, you should get one, but you don't need one for college if you can't afford it.

i second this macs honestly is one of the better ways to go, yes they are expensive but honestly they last a LONG time, and you can partition the hard-drive and have windows and mac on your mac

 

[BuegeSmalls]

Eyes On The Prize Thank you so much!! This is a huge help!!! I already know Dreamweaver & HTML so now I feel pretty good about that Personally, I hate Dreamweaver, I'd rather just mess around with the codes!

 

[Deleted member 1556]

I was lucky enough to get to intern with a PT (Inpatient) and I fell in love with it.I'm an incoming freshman this fall, and will be studying Exercise Physiology, and then going onto PT. I just hope I make it out of PT schooling, because I'm not quite sure how many jobs are in the EP industry -__-

 

[PullandPray23]

Well right out of high school I decided that I was going to double in Marketing and Finance...I absolutely hated it...I went for 1 year and never went back...I took a semester off and I decided that what I really wanted to do was audio engineering so I packed up and moved to Nashville Tn, and I now go to Institute (the school of audio engineering) and I absolutely love it! Moral of the story do what you love, and if you don't love it, don't do it! : )