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Hello everyone, I am a graphic designer whose been working around 8 years for this small company. I feel like I'm at a dead end in my life. I am 35 years old and was thinking about quitting my job to go back to school full-time to get my bachelors. I went to the art institue and got my AS Degree in visual communication. I would've gone for my bachelors but at the time they didn't offer it. I was looking at UH at Manoa because they are the only location in Hawaii that offers a BFA program. I hope that my credits are transferable so that I can get my bachelors sooner. I really hope I don't have to start all over. One of the reasons I was interested in flying all the way out to Hawaii to continue my education was mainly to get away from everything. I just been through a rough relationship of 8 years and am heartbroken and extremely depressed. I've been thinking a lot lately and wanted a change in my life, a chance to go back to school to get my bachelord while being at a place I enjoy, and at the same time meeting new people and making new friends along the way. I know it's goingnto cost more since I'm going to be a non-resident but I feel very strongly that this is something I'd like to do. Sure I can go to a local university here but i choose not to for personal reasons. Another concern I have is, does having a degree from University of Hawaii worth it? Will employers take me seriously when considering me for a future job? I would like to know more from the local people who live in Hawaii and can shed some light. I'm estimating it would cost arou d 30k annually to go to school there which will cover housing, meals, and tuition. Any help or advice is appreciated. Thanks everyone.
I would advise waiting six months and seeing if this is really what you want to do. Giving up a job in the middle of a depression may not be wise. Nor would spending $30K where you maybe able to get a better degree on the mainland. Good luck whatever you decide.
I agree with eureka1 -- wait a while. The break-up of a long-term relationship is traumatic, and while you're still in a depressed state, it isn't wise to make what amounts to three major decisions: quitting your job, moving far away to a place with a very different culture, and going back to school and probably incurring debt.
There are several things to consider. First, how long have you been a designer? The longer you've been doing something professionally, the less important a degree becomes relative to experience. If your primary motivation for getting a BA is personal fulfillment, that's fine, but if you're thinking it will make you more employable or get you a better salary, you should do some research first to see if that would indeed be the case. Otherwise, you could find yourself three years older, heavily in debt, and only marginally more employable in your chosen field than you are now. I work with a team of graphic designers, and it's an extremely competitive industry, and generally not known for paying well. On the other hand, I have a friend who dropped out of college as a journalism major over 30 years ago, and who has made a good living as a freelance graphics designer and web designer since then. Through luck, he got his foot in the door early on, but since then, he's been self-taught and has built up a good client base through perseverance and high-quality work. So first clarify your reasons for wanting to get a BA, and make sure they're valid. (I speak as someone who returned to school at 27 and 45 for a second Bachelor's degree and then a Master's degree, both of which proved to be good moves in my case.)
Next, there's the move to Honolulu. Quitting your job during a recession and moving to an expensive place where jobs are hard to come by and you have no connections could be a big mistake, unless you have enough savings to tide you over for a while. I don't know what the job market for graphic designers is like in Honolulu, but you should look into that -- or have some other in-demand skill that you didn't mention. My wife is Hawaiian, and we hope to move back there in a few years, but when we've realistically looked at our own job skills, financial situation, and minimum standard of living we'd accept, it just isn't feasible yet. There's also your age to consider. If you were 21, it would be easier, in that you'd have more working years ahead of you and presumably fewer ties to where you are. (I speak as someone who, at age 37, moved 3,000 miles across country to a place where I knew nobody, because I was depressed and felt my life was in a rut -- but I had a portable job, and it was during a booming economy, so I had no financial risk.)
I'm not saying you shouldn't make these changes in your life -- just take some time to get over your recent relationship breakup, do some research, and think things through. It might be wise to do this in stages. For instance, if you think getting a BA is the right move, you might reconsider your personal reasons and get the degree locally, where it's cheaper -- maybe doing it part time while you have your day job, so that money won't be such a problem. I was working full time when I got my Master's degree. I had no life outside of work and school, but the two years passed quickly, and I felt a great sense of accomplishment. By the time you graduate, the economy should be better, and then you can consider moving to Hawaii. Or you can make a scouting trip to Hawaii now, see if moving there and finding a job is feasible, work for a year until you establish residency, and then start school, if you still want to.
Having been where you are mentally and emotionally, I know that feeling of "I'm getting older, my life's going nowhere, and I need to make a huge change now, before it's too late!" It is partly true that your options narrow as you get older, but wisdom comes in realizing that whether you have a thousand options, a hundred, or ten, you ultimately have to choose a single path. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck.
eureka+Honuman. Thank you very much for your thoughtful advice. It's been a painful struggle ever since the breakup, almost 2 months already. I graduated with my AAS in Graphic Design in 98, and have been working for about 10-11 years now. After what you said makes me wonder now that if going back to school is even worth it. Some people told me they were able to get financial aid where they didn't have to pay it back and that's what made me look back into it. It's not a loan but I think a grant. Not sure how I would qualify for that since I work. I don't want to take out another loan. I know the job market has been rough for years now and I'm hanging in there. Going to start to and send out applications all around and try again.
I've been to Hawaii before so I sort of have a sense and feel for what it's like. Not long enough to know everything but enough to know that it would be a place I would very much enjoy. I really want to get away and clear my head from all of this because it is seriously tearing me apart inside.
Again thank you for your help, I really appreciate it greatly.
I looked into grants for one of my stepsons a few years ago. They aren't necessarily based on whether you work, but on whether you meet certain specialized criteria. For example, I remember one that was sponsored by the Fire Department in some community, and was for high-school kids who had a certain GPA and a parent who worked for the Fire Department. Another was for students with x% of Hawaiian blood who wanted to pursue a degree in an environmental field. There was a website that listed every grant available. Your college of choice should be able to direct you toward it. Most of the grants I saw were meant as supplemental help and wouldn't have close to paying the full cost of an education (they were in the $500 - $2,000 range, as I recall), and there were none for which my stepson met the criteria. There was one really good one in the environmental science program at a particular college that did pay for everything, which involved working part time at the college, doing summer intern work, and taking a job with one of several government agencies, but it required a high high-school GPA and there were only a few slots each year. When I went back for my second bachelor's degree, I took out a Stafford loan (this was in the late 1980s, when in-state college tuition was still inexpensive). The company I work for paid for my master's degree, which would have been tough to pay for on my own.
Two months after the breakup of an eight-year relationship is very soon, and you'd be abnormal if you weren't still depressed. Trust me: things will get better, slowly but surely.
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