So, I finished my second year of University not too long ago. My course is rather broad which has some positives and negatives. As my final year approaches, I am all to aware that graduations follows. I am a digital media production student. Which means that I work in the following areas; -Film production, editing, photography, web design and development, app development, visual effects (haven't done much of this, but will be doing more of it next year), general graphic design and motion graphics / basic animation. I have a bit of practice with digital 3D models also. During term time I'm fairly busy. Out of my classes, my highest grades are in coding (app and web development) and my lowest grades are in photography. Which is OK because I never saw myself as much of a photographer anyway, it's more of a small hobby for me. I'm a little bit of a jack of all trades when it comes to the digital arts. Admittedly I have a fear of becoming mediocre because of not specialising enough but I see the value of having a variety of skills. Right now I'm thinking about what I want to do, for experience and for what I want to do after university. Personally, I think it'd be cool to make children's games. I know HTML, CSS, a little bit of Javascript and a tiny bit of C#. An interactive storybook with small challenges would be a nice project. However, I'd also like to be an illustrator and design book covers. Or make comics. Maybe work on my motion graphics and go down the advertising / commercial graphic design route. I don't know, a part of me wishes someone would tell me what I should do. Also, I'm a fairly decent writer. I've written a screenplay for a short film before, I directed and starred in it as well along with a small team. However, I wouldn't want to exclusively be a writer. Do you have any advice for me, please? Can you relate?
I know it's not really what you're asking, but I have to say it anyway. My university didn't really push/offer internships and I worked at McDonalds over the summers lol. Honestly, I would try EXTREMELY hard to find a summer job or internship through your school in something related to your degree. Maybe throughout the school year, even if your grades drop a little bit. Since graduating, I've worked or volunteered in a couple things semi-related to my degree. Actual work/intern/volunteer experience looks so much better than someone with just a degree. And if you do decent, it gives you references in your field, and potentially a way to make connections. Also, I found university much more theoretical than hands on. For me, once I actually got hands on experience I found certain things I HATED and other things I loved when it wasn't nearly as obvious based on class material. I hope somebody else with a better media background is able to give you advice more catered to what you are looking for!
If you have any projects that you were involved in, maybe you could use that experience for your resume, personal statement, and portfolio. Especially if it's done really well. You could start thinking about how you want to present yourself in a profolio, and finish around the time you start applying? Those sound like pretty fun stuff. I can't even decide whether to stay or leave my major
A few thoughts: 1. I encourage you to keep your options open. A lot of people find that their "dream job" isn't at all what they expected, or can't break into their field of choice, or stumble on a position that turns out to be perfect for them. It might seem overwhelming to have so many choices, but it's a great thing. On this same vein, because your options are so art focused, always keep building your portfolio. It's very likely this is going to be more important than your resume and you'll probably want to be able to tailor it to the needs of the client. 2. Reach out to people that are in fields you're interested in! If they're local, ask if they can grab coffee when that's a thing that's safe to do again. Otherwise, ask if they'd be available for a short email or phone or Zoom conversation. This is called an informational interview and it's the best way to get a real life view of what it's actually like to be working in those fields. 3. Pretend you're job hunting. Read postings for positions of different levels in different fields. What attracts your attention the most? What do you wish you could apply for right now? Some of the fields you're looking at are more likely to be freelance so YMMV depending on the area of interest, but it's still worth a try.
I am... not experienced to give career advice but I'm gonna do it anyway. You sound like you'd be pretty good at making shorts? Like the little short animated films (duh, why did I clarify this)? Games are also a pretty good idea, they combine digital art, coding, and storytelling.
