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I could've just graduated high school left it there and just stuck with dead end 9-5 jobs here such as working as a line cook or a warehouse worker and continue to work my way up to some sort of management in those fields. I also got myself into relationships, souped up my car, and partied my ass off that distracted me from planning out my future. I did that for three years and saw felt that it wasn't the right direction in my life. There was something more for me and I had to act accordingly.
I had a passion for cars, art and design, and met some individuals who would guided me to choose the right career path. I worked my ass off in those bullshit jobs and made saved some money and took the plunge to go get a post-secondary education. I got accepted to Emily Carr University and studied graphics and eventually got finished a degree in communication design. At first I wanted to transfer to Art Center (ranked #1 design school in North America) here in California for Transportation Design but the tuition costs was definitely out of reach.
I worked professionally as a designer for two very promising companies in Vancouver and could have settled permanently. I also had a few side gigs here and there and started doing some real car design jobs (rims, kits, video game design, coachbuilds etc). My initial degree got me these jobs and made way more money minus the intensive labor. For three years again, I was very comfortable. Could've bought a house and gotten married or started a family but getting into Art Center Transportation Design was still calling me. I finally saved some more money, applied through the school and they gave me a scholarship and also transferred me in halfway through the program because of my initial degree and transfer credits. I took the plunge again and moved here in California and attended Art Center in January.
I just finished two terms here at Art Center. It's hard work. Harder than any bullshit manual intensive labor job that I've done in the past. It's very emotional with all the work and creativity I've invested in my projects and getting raped through the critique process. But I can tell you this much, I'm happy and I'm enjoying it. Because at the end of the day, I'm doing what I'm supposed to doing and I'd be lying to myself I hadn't made that choice. I just finished a few courses taught by rockstar designers such as Rick Chen - 2013 lead designer of the 2013 NSX, BMW i3-i8 designer Richard Kim, Hyundai design manager - Jon Krteski . The next few courses I'm enrolled in will be taught by more direct lead design managers from Lexus, Hyundai, and Audi. I still have my scholarship and expecting some more and also inducted into the Art Center provost honor roll list. I'm expecting to finish in a couple of years including the two studio internships we're recommended to complete for our graduation requirements. Where will I be after all this? I plan on still designing for studios or maybe teach design eventually.
I'm not here to brag but just to provide some insight about my interesting journey. I had a choice and I made one. Here I am now in beautiful Pasadena California 7 years later. The key point is you'll be working for 30-40 years. Plan accordingly or take some risks because 30-40 years is a long time to be reflecting on the right and wrong choices you'll be making. That single degree opened up a lot of doors for me. What more if I have two?
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