jamey

i've been thinking about trying to do this.

mikerapp

Wait, VCU is good, go there.

dijos

It's my job, and I don't understand it.

OP:
Go to school. I did at your age, with a child and no, and I mean NO money. wouldn't trade it for anything. ever.

hockeyteeth

Military? I've seriously considered it. Seems like a good way to give yourself time to figure your life out without the instability of moving to different towns all the time and not having a steady job.

deathhare

LMAO.
Military, IMHO, equals the the single worst thing you can do with your life or a part of it.

threeoneseven

i could not have said it better.

hockeyteeth

Eh, you're not guaranteed to be sent to Iraq/Afghanistan. And the per capita murder rate for soldiers in the Middle East is probably less than that of the population of Philly. But yeah, 10 years ago might have been a better time to enlist than right now.

Kol.klink

On the millitary, i was thinking about doing that like a year ago, As i'm i total **** up at school. and now i can't belive i was once considering it. I'd explain the situation to the family bussiness if there is anychance of them being the least bit receptive, School it, and if you can't do that and are looking for a big change, Come to canada and be an electrician, you can make 100K+ if your on your own,

doofo

dont miss out on a chance to own the company later on if you can avoid it

get edumacated if you think youll stick it out but dont do it just because people tell you to

you are ****ing young as hell as it was put above

you can still do nearly anything

EMT

school is good but don't burn bridges. is there a nearby community college?

automatic_sheep

am 35 and going back to school to try for my masters this year. Have held down just about any job you can imagine, started out in several careers (successfully) but still not totally settled. Basically nowadays I think about what I honestly want to do and THEN work out how to achieve that, if I didn't try for those things I would'nt ever be happy All a bit vague, so like it's been said try out different things until you figure out what you want more and more. You have more time to experiment than you may think. There is nothing bad about change except avoiding it

noremedy

what do some of you guys do for a living

EMT

teach

LóFarkas

I just started freelance translating and interpreting.
I'm one of those guys who never had a firm goal about what to do. It was always like "Yeah, I'm good at languages and translation sorta sounds like fun so why not? I have no better idea anyway."
It seems to work out ok even tho I made a totally unexpected switch to doing mainly interpreting which I originally thought I'd never do. You never know how things will work out...

As to your situation, try and think realistically about what you would be happiest doing. Some people want a stable, secure full-time job with pension and insurance and all that, at a big company or gov't... others want the freedom of freelance work or similar. Basically decide whether you want to be an employee or an entrepreneur of sorts.
Think about what you're good at that you won't get bored of.

Going to school while staying in the family business to some extent sounds like a good idea.

eaglevii

There is this place in Albuquerque. I don't know anything about them, other than they advertise on the radio a lot, and one of the ads focueses on having a second career. ABQ is a great city - friendly people, great weather, great food, great riding. Of course, it's also very far from Virginia, which may or may not be a bad thing.

https://www.theartcenter.edu/mainA.html
https://www.theartcenter.edu/galleryGRAPHICDESIGN.html

sixfive

I'm 30, and going back to school for graphic design.. you're not at all too old for a change.

mykrrrr

I'd say go back to skool. I'm thinking sorta the same thing. Who knows...

gcl8a

Geez, man. Go ask if she needs help.

MrCjolsen

I was 25 when I started school. 30 when I graduated. 32 when I got my teaching credential.

Now I'm 45 and none of that matters.

lvleph

Follow the wind!

MrCjolsen

While you're at it, you can fix some roads along the way. We have a list.

MrCjolsen

The thing about the military is this. If you go in when you're 18 or 19, and go from living

disconnec

to dying?

MrCjolsen

Being a impoverished college student in your mid or late twenties with a bicycle as your sole valuable possession is actually a pretty cool life. I lived it and loved it.

The thing about the military is this. If you go in when you're 18 or 19, and go from living with your parents to living in the barracks, it's one thing. But if you enlist when you're in your mid or late twenties, the loss of freedom really bites. I enlisted when I was 19 and the older I got, the more it sucked. And I was a junior NCO by then. I can't imagine being an E1 or E2 and having sergeants my same age telling me what to do. It was bad enough for me having to deal with officers younger than me.

xccx

as a designer for 8+ years who has worked for some of the largest action sports/lifestyle brands in the world, and in the fashion industry in europe, i love my career but i can offer the following advice...

1. don't be a designer unless you are truely in love with design, because it's *extremely* competitive (like anything) and it can be a soul crushing industry.
2. if you want to be a designer but dont have a portfolio, start making stuff on your own. self initiated projects and your own ideas will go a long way with an admissions committee.
3. be prepared to work LONG hours in STRESSFUL environments under TIGHT deadlines.
4. be prepared to work on weekends.
5. be prepared to deal with marketing managers, account execs and creative directors who you may not like.

if you dont want to deal with the stuff above, i would say maybe you are btter off going into finance/stocks/real estate/etc. This is where you will make REAL money. Either way, college is an important factor. I'm not discouraging you here, just trying to offer some advice from someone who's been in the game.

BTW, i'm not strictly a graphic designer. I primarily do product design.