<p>My daughter is still a high school freshman but we have started talking about college. She is very good at science but actually prefers the arts. She has always been creative, loves to sketch and she has always been good at making things look good, whether it is clothing and accessories or choosing color combinations, furniture placement, food decoration etc. She is currently part of the stage crew at her high school. She really loves to create the sets and all the excitement that comes with getting the show on and then keeping it going throughout the performance period. She has told me that she might like to pursue a career that would allow her to do this. She does not want a career that will have her tied to a desk (like mine : ( ). I am thinking theater or set design. I have done a little research but I would really love to hear from those who either have done it or have children that have pursued this field. </p>
<p>I expect that it is really competitive and that the hours are long and salaries low. How is the satisfaction? What schools did you look at. I have seen Carnegie Mellon thrown around a bit. I see that many schools offer programs in stage design but it looks like you might need to get a masters in fine arts. Given the salary expectations, this could be very expensive. Is it really necessary or is experience more important. Where are the jobs and what it the outlook? I expect in NYC, London and California to be key cities. As such, I expect that schools in those cities would be the best choice. </p>
<p>Industrial design seems interesting to me as I think it could provide more options but not sure if this would be more of an office type job depending on the product. Also, for practical purposes, I would want her to look at a liberal arts school vs a strict arts school just in case.. she changes her mind along the way. </p>
<p>I did look at the Major's forum but it looked a little too intimidating at this point given that we are just starting to get a feel for it.</p>