do what you love, or push it to the side as a hobby?????

[rex-craft7]

hi guys im new here, currently a sophomore in uni, confused as to what to do -

 

im in a very confusing and frustrating situation right now, and was hoping if anyone could relate - i love art. ive loved art since i could walk - i had my first "for sale" drawing in a downtown art store in elementary school, entered contests, drew a 300 page graphic novel for fun in 5th grade, and since then i have always made it a tradition to start drawing a new comic book every summer break for fun. i draw to relieve stress, for fun, and well... basically i draw a lot. just recently, ive been accepted into the best design school i could ever hope to get into, and i have a couple weeks to reply whether ill be attending or not.

 

lately though, ive been feeling a little hesitant. the more i learn about the art WORK world (i.e. after graduation), the more "disillusioned" i feel. i believe im a pretty realistic person, and because of this, i feel like theres a limit to the saying "follow your passion and you'll be happy". well, im following it so far, but the end result doesnt look too "happy" to me. in fact, ive lately been thinking if i would be happier to just leave art to be a side passion without twisting and forcing it to be a career.

 

lately ive been wondering if i should start studying my second interest - science. luckily im in a science/research oriented uni at the moment (i entered because i thought i would be studying science, not art), so getting into this shouldnt be a problem. im starting to look into the marine bio program at the moment.

 

so my options are to stay at my current uni and study BOTH science/art (im likely never going to let go of art), OR, go to the design school and study solely art.

 

the problem is, i believe im a fairly average science person... my worst subject is math, and after taking all the AP/honors science courses my highschool offered, i ended up with a 3.5 GPA - so im also wondering if an "average" student in science can succeed in it (i.e. can i get a job...? and im mostly interested in field work, which im guessing is the most competitive to get?). is there a place in the field for people who arent med school material (i dont know how else to put it) - sorry for the wall of text, but i feel like i have to explain this fully to get good input - any advice? opinions? has anyone ever been in a similar situation? anything would be greatly appreciated -

[ParanoiA]

Personally, the more I tried to do music for a living, the less I enjoyed it. It's my only release and so if I turned it into my job, then what would I have? I always dreamed of "making it" until I hit my 30's, and then I realized that I don't even want to make it. It would poison the purity of it. It's what makes the radio sound like fast-food music. Commercialized art. Yuck.

 

My advice then, is to consider how art is a release for you and ask yourself if you will still enjoy that release once it is commercialized to feed you. And then more practically, which trade do you feel you have a better chance of succeeding in financially? Sounds like the science route would be more apt to put money in your pocket.

 

None of that might even matter to you, but that's what jumped out at me when I read your post. The "do what you love" thing is cool, but I've never been sold on the notion that should apply to your career. Good luck in your decision.

[big314mp]

I'm a soph in college as well, so I'll just share what some of my (crazy, IMO) friends are doing.

 

One of my friends is a pre-med, with engineering and music as her majors. She wants to go into biomedical engineering, but she really enjoys music. So, basically she is studying it to get better, but she isn't planning on making a job out of it.

 

On of my other pre-med friends is really good at singing. She does just about every singing club on campus, and she takes one music class every quarter. Just as a hobby though.

 

One of my other pre-med friends, really enjoys cooking. She actually was on the verge of dropping out of college to join chef school. What she decided, though, was that a doctor can cook whenever she wants to, but a chef can't doctor ever.

 

There are a bunch of other stories that I could tell, but they all have the same moral. Keep your hobby as your hobby, and keep your job as your job. The one that is harder to get into should be your job, because then you get the opportunity to do both, rather than just one.

 

As to the average student bit:

 

I graduated high school with a 3.51 (unweighted) GPA. My current cumulative college GPA is, oddly enough, 3.51. There are ways around not having the greatest GPA. You've already got one of them: take hard classes. It's not the numerical value (of your GPA) itself that matters, but rather how much effort you put forth in high school/college.

 

The second is that you should network with your professors. A lot. Strong letters of recommendation will weigh in more than your GPA itself (especially of you take hard classes). As to the field work, try and get a position as an undergrad researcher, as that looks excellent on any resume. You may get field work also. Basically, find a faculty member that you like, and get a handle on what exactly he is researching. Then email him/go and meet him, and ask for a research position.

 

Basically what I'm saying is that your interest in your program, and the effort you put into achieving your degree, are far more important than some equation that generates a number between 0 and 4. Put in the effort and show the interest. You will have no problems finding the career that you want.

 

I should also put in that you are at a science forum, so the answers will necessarily be biased

[Gilded]

Chemistry was pretty much always my strongest subject in school, but eventually I decided that it wasn't going to be a career for me, at least not on an academic level. I like music as well, but the actual studies would probably be too mechanical for me. Starting a career in something can take a lot of fun and freedom out of it, so you should really think it over carefully. I don't want to sound too materialistic but one thing to consider is whether you can make a living out of it. But I agree it's OK to study something just for the sake of getting better at it or learning more about it in general, before deciding whether to go for a related career.

[foodchain]

hi guys im new here, currently a sophomore in uni, confused as to what to do -

 

im in a very confusing and frustrating situation right now, and was hoping if anyone could relate - i love art. ive loved art since i could walk - i had my first "for sale" drawing in a downtown art store in elementary school, entered contests, drew a 300 page graphic novel for fun in 5th grade, and since then i have always made it a tradition to start drawing a new comic book every summer break for fun. i draw to relieve stress, for fun, and well... basically i draw a lot. just recently, ive been accepted into the best design school i could ever hope to get into, and i have a couple weeks to reply whether ill be attending or not.

 

lately though, ive been feeling a little hesitant. the more i learn about the art WORK world (i.e. after graduation), the more "disillusioned" i feel. i believe im a pretty realistic person, and because of this, i feel like theres a limit to the saying "follow your passion and you'll be happy". well, im following it so far, but the end result doesnt look too "happy" to me. in fact, ive lately been thinking if i would be happier to just leave art to be a side passion without twisting and forcing it to be a career.

 

lately ive been wondering if i should start studying my second interest - science. luckily im in a science/research oriented uni at the moment (i entered because i thought i would be studying science, not art), so getting into this shouldnt be a problem. im starting to look into the marine bio program at the moment.

 

so my options are to stay at my current uni and study BOTH science/art (im likely never going to let go of art), OR, go to the design school and study solely art.

 

the problem is, i believe im a fairly average science person... my worst subject is math, and after taking all the AP/honors science courses my highschool offered, i ended up with a 3.5 GPA - so im also wondering if an "average" student in science can succeed in it (i.e. can i get a job...? and im mostly interested in field work, which im guessing is the most competitive to get?). is there a place in the field for people who arent med school material (i dont know how else to put it) - sorry for the wall of text, but i feel like i have to explain this fully to get good input - any advice? opinions? has anyone ever been in a similar situation? anything would be greatly appreciated -

 

Have you tried anything applied? Such as some science course that is a general science course with a lab? Or maybe some kind of an internship in something. I would just try to work with some general amount of areas you think you might like.

 

I myself am so washy when it comes down to trying to stay in just one thing, I am glad hybrid fields exist. I think really if you cant concentrate on some specific field of science or even just natural sciences, environmental science typically allows a lot of stuff to be learned about or work with.

 

I think at times its what I will ultimately end up as I want to know more and more constantly. I think trying to fit myself into just being a chemist or a biologist would really ruin my enjoyment of living such.

[Ladeira]

Look, I feel almost exactly like you so, I'll tell you my opinion.

 

I think that you're sure you have a talent for arts, but are you sure that science is what you want to develop through your whole profesional life?

 

I mean, I am thinking to do something about Chemistry, but actually I'm not so sure that it's what I want to do, I'm not so sure if I like it or if I have any "talent" to that. I have been thinking about music (though I've just started learning keyboard) or cooking (cause I love it) as careers (it may sound anti-scientific). I think analysing all the cards you have in your hands is the best option. Look for what profesionals of these areas think about what they do.

 

You have to see that if you're good at drawing, it's one step closer to a good drawing career. Having a job that you love to work with must be a great experience.

 

Hope I could help cause I loved this discussion.