<p>First semester... gone. Regrets, no but it was an expensive lesson to learn. I originally majored in graphic design but as the fall went on and the weather grew colder, I must admit I became quite bitter about graphic designer's. I went into this major wanting to become free of the constructs of monotony and the dreadful fate of cubicle terminal flatness. To my disappointment, a graphic designer is just a fancy for 'adobe technician'. </p>
<p>What I want in a major is creativity, to be able to design without limitations my own conceptions. I don't limit myself to the label of artist, because what people fail to understand is that such a title is too thick and limited. And although i am strong with paints/charcoal/graphite I'd prefer a major that connects these skills but doesn't have too direct of a correlation.</p>
<p>Currently I'm now enrolled as general engineer. I fear though that the shackles that tore me from graphics, photoshop and illustrator, will just be the same ball and chain that demolish my interest to become an engineer, solidworks and CAD. I don't want to be 'that' technician. Technician, as in skilled operator of software.</p>
<p>So what kind of major is out there that i can openly illustrate myself. freely express creativity. I'm a creationist, not an artist. . .</p>
<p>There aren’t a whole lot of jobs out there and let you freely express yourself and still get paid. As an engineer you will make designs based on very tight specifications.</p>
<p>If you go into design engineering you’ll use your creativity. Software engineering can be very challenging - creating software, finding bugs, meshing software with hardware and isolating problems - all require non-linear thinking.</p>
<p>I doubt that a career like that really exists. There’s no place for creative minds in an ordered world like ours. But you can definitely make your place in it. Why don’t you continue with whatever type of art you are passionate for and explore some freelance options?</p>
<p>I work over summers as a web-designer… and while I hate doing specifically outlined projects (ie: business websites), every now and then I get to work on projects that allow more creativity (ie: making a portfolio website for an artist).</p>
<p>electrifice, you hit the hammer on the nail. That structure of guided outlines is what makes me cringe!!! </p>
<p>earlier today i saw a show on discovery where the Ohio university engineering department made a hydrogen streamline car that hit the Bonneville strip and topped around 300mph. This is the type of engineering I would like to get into. To be able to create unique cars and gadgets that revolutionize the market. I’ve always enjoyed dismantling the old dashboard’s off loaders and trucks in the nearby junk yard, so maybe i could explore a field related to automotive engineering… is there such a thing? I think I’ve heard of mechanical engineering, is that the same field?</p>
<p>Well, a job like that is more ideal than practical. What I mean is that you can’t expect to get a job like that… they exist but by their very nature, they are very hard to find. Just think about it… who wouldn’t want a job like that? If it existed then everybody would go for it, but the reality is that in the real world real problems need to be solved and they aren’t usually pretty. And these problems abound, and they have a far greater urgency than the project you have described. Therefore, colleges can only really prepare you for what is immediately and actually required. Jobs can only really hire you (and pay you) to solve real problems from which they can profit. I think one thing you should know about engineering is that there is no such thing as a free lunch… we HAVE to deal with the ugliness that is reality, because we solve real problems. </p>
<p>I’m not trying to deter you from engineering. There is a lot of creativity that goes on but there isn’t any easy way to describe it because it runs the whole spectrum. There are jobs where you will be doing a lot of mundane work (internships and entry level jobs), then there will be jobs that will require creativity but not to solve problems that you would call “cool” but rather to solve real life problems (ie: a transformer’s blown, figure out what caused the blow out and fix it), and then there are jobs that will be cool (think Mythbusters), and then there will be high stress jobs where you work on serious problems (maybe defense related work), and then there will be more sciency type of problems which will involve research and thats a whole other world of variety.</p>
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This is key. Maybe this can help you decide. Automotive work definitely falls under Mechanical Engineering. The best you can do is use what you know about yourself and pursue a path. If you are really passionate about what you like and are not afraid to take the risk in paving your own path then maybe some day you will be able to find the type of work you really like.</p>
<p>electrifice, …I’m at a loss of words that won’t make sense in any context anyway, but thats pretty much the smack I’ve been waiting for/deserving. I mean it from the bottom of my heart man, thanks for the post. I’m still more worried than unsure of the direction of my life, but I just feel more equipped, better prepared for the course lain ahead of me.</p>