Ok everyone, I know alot of you out there are graphic designers and photograhphers and stuff like that and I wanted your advice on something. Ive been taking a networking course and I dont think its working out for me (ie: i hate binary and coding and all that garbage) I have the option to take a Computer graphics and design course instead, but it would pretty much mean I would be getting a job in that field. So I just wanted to know from all the pro's out on the site, whats it like? is it a good feild to go into? Easy or hard to find a job? I know its a big decision I'm gonna have to make, but i would really appreciate evryones advice.

It sounds to me like your heart's not in it .. That you are still grabbing at straws ..Sit down and think REAL hard about what makes you happy and pursue THAT

Computer Graphics is a very competitive field .. there's always gonna be somebody that has NATURAL talent, who didn't pick it out of a hat .. With the growth of the internet everybody and their mother is a web designer .. just by claiming to be one in print somewhere

You've got a little while .. If you ate, slept and breathed GRAPHICS .. you would know, but you don't seem to be sure

PERSONALLY .. I wish I had taken up programming, when I was in highschool (70's) .. our school had ONE computer it was as big as your average Photocopy Machine .. and it was available as an advanced math course. Kids in that class carried rolled up ribbons of yellow paper with holes punched in it .. (read: GATES .. one of many biographies on bill and you'll see he got involved at this time as well)

trouble was .. with me .. I didn't get it

Tough thing to give advice in... I'm not a graphics designer but my wife is. I can tell you as much that it's not easy money really... It's very hard competition and you always get jobs today that should have been finished yesterday plus many customers don't realize they have to be in time with material for you so you can be in time finishing your work...

At any rate. I'll never be caught alive telling anyone not to follow their muse. If you are the type that would die inside if you had a normal boring job (i.e. coding and maintaining computer networks) I guess I wouldn't recommend that. ;) But if you are ready to pursuit this with graphic design, you must be sure you don't regret it. You can always become a systems developer and be an amateur artist on the side. Some of the most talented people on this site do it like that.

It's too big of an decision to make over night I guess. It's good advice you got above. Think about it real hard first. Sure I guess you could do quite well if you "did well" if you know what I mean... There are some money in parts of the industry but think about how much tougher the competition are for those deals...

Have you always held a pencil and crayon in your hand, drawing stuff all the time, as long as you have been able to? Are you very creative and competitive? Are your way of thinking more or less linear? Are you a person that have extremely good self control so that if you decide on something you will get it done, no matter what? Do you follow through projects that you start? (I'm not sure I came with the exactly right type of questions but you get my basic idea I hope.) If you are such a person, I'd be more certain it might be a good idea to try a more creative line of work like you think about. But it would still not be a picnic...

Maybe you can get some better advice from someone that is actually a pro. I'm just one of those that will most probably settle for being an amateur for ever... ^_^

I hope you like Macs. The field uses them almost exclusively. There's more money (a lot more) in networking than there is in graphic design, and as a programmer who shoots photos on the side I can say that it's nice to be able to afford the gear that I need instead of having to save all year to buy a camera. Having said that I also wish I could make a living at my art instead of my trade.

(^_^ What is not to like about Macs? :P An iMac G5 is my weapon of choice atm... Anyway, that was sort of what I meant. Regmar, you came through much better I think.)

thanks for the advice guys, and yes klas i really dont think i would be able to live with a non-creative job. I guess thats why I asked about this in the first place, after having seen the whole networking end.

Hm... Like I said. Tough call. I'm going after a job that can pay for stuff to play with... That's for sure. ^_^

Just be sure you understand that creativity doesn't pay any bills in itself. ;) You know what I mean. I must admit I would have loved to live on photography but I'm just not good enough as I see it. (And I can't afford the equipment to get "as good" as I can get... cause lets face it, it's important to have the right hard- and software.) I know you are about half my age though, so you still have time to try to walk down that road.

I don't know how easy it is to start over for you if you realize that you didn't choose the right path. I've personally walked a long and crooked path up until this point in my life. There has been no other way for me to do it. I don't believe in the straight, narrow path. ^_^ I have tried different things and only after trying it I've been able to decide if it was good or bad for me and more on accordingly. That's why we can't know what is the right choice before we actually try. We must leave what is known to learn what is around the proverbial corner...

Does that make any sense?

I might add that I, as such, can't live without creating either. I'm just not fit to make a living out of it. ^_^

I think you shouldn't be asking what you should do, you should find that out yourself, taking someone else's advice will always/usually lead you to somewhere you don't want to be.

lol! Yes, it's good advice not to take advice. ^_^ That's why I try to say things in a balanced way, weighting good and bad against one another and not giving advice "as such".

Pros / Cons ? (1) Write down a list of everything you are good @ naturaly. (2) Then Write down a list of everything you are good at and with a little effort even better @. (3) Then write down everything you find hard and enjoy. (4) Then write down everything you find difficult and need to work @ and it does not come naturally. To many people I come across are studying / working in a field then want aspirationally however are crap @, it's for the title / status / make their folks proud. Follow my recomendations above so you have four lists & adopt this to thinking through your options. Hopefully what you will find are a few things that appear more than once. If these are in the 1 / 2 / 3 lists thats a good thing and see if that provides any more clarity.

lol guys, just chill out. I was just asking about graphic design as a career. Im not about to run off to vegas, get a tattoo, and try to become a movie star or something. Thanks for all the advice though. Ideally I love to write, but I also want to be able to support myself because an author is not exactly a dayjob. I like computers and I like art too, what I dont like boring mudane tasks. But once again, I still need to think about it, so thanks for the advice.

Well, if you write a bestseller than writing books can become a day job! I still do suggest you do what feels right to you, what someone might like and suggest for you to do could be the biggest mistake for you to make so early in your life...

If you try to make what your're passionate about into a job, it looses it's passion. Find what you're good at and enjoy doing then persue that. Let your creative passions flourish on their own as an alternative outlet. Life is more than money and a job. Grab the opportinuities that come your way, learn from them and move on to other things. Our path through life is an evolution not a set course. Take chances and make choices that will get you to where you want to be in the next level of your life. Never be afraid to try new things and what ever choice you make, give it 110% of your effort before you take another path. When your old, you can't go back and take option B. You have to live with the decisions that you make and move on.
Russ

Well graphic design as you might know is aimed more towards advertisement type jobs.

Typically these are in demand but a little more difficult to get employed into -- as a result, it pays quite well. If you really want to get into this, expect finding a job difficult, but if you manage to find one, it would most likely be rather rewarding.

Good luck

Sadly almost every job is rife with boring, mundane stuff. I believe that fighting fires becomes mundane after a while. I became a programmer, because it was exciting and creative, and just the other day at my bosses "I'm quitting this place" party he said, "I started programming because it was creative, but now it's just doing the same stuff over and over again. I don't believe any job can really be satisfying. You have to satisfy yourself. I guess that's why we shoot photos.

Go see if you can shadow a graphic designer for a week. You will learn more about your feelings for the work than you ever will from this thread:-)

If you like creating, it can be rewarding. Its great to see your work on a web site or on a poster or ad. It is a very competitive field. The national wage average for a graphics artist in the USA is $20.62 an hour. But I live in Calif. The Starting wage with a company is about $14.00 an hour and can go as high as $24.00. I work with several web master and working my way up to selling my work on the web as an artist and plan on having shows.

I am contracted freelance. I start at a bottom rate of $25.00 and hour and go as high as $45.00 an hour depending on what I do. I start at $60.00 hour for Flash. Web work is good if you freelance and stay out of site mills. If you do web work, find yourself between five and ten really good web masters who are reputable and honest. Build a good relationship with them. Also realize that there is more to graphics then just design. You need to no some basic programming like HTXML, Java script, how to right scripts for the programs you use and how tables and cells work. You need to have a full understanding of the difference between web and printed graphics, other wise pixels and peca and Dots per inch. .
And most important thing is you need to learn to market your self well.

thanks evryone, i appreciate the info and advice. I started the class last week =)