Seeking Advice
Posted on Jan 22nd, 2008
by 
Amethyst
Amethyst
I think I need help deciding how to proceed with the next step in my life: college. Specifically, my major. I'm torn between two of my passions and can't decide which path to pursue for the most successful career later on.
Should I major in Graphic Design or should I major in Mathematics?
Should I double-major and do both?
Should I major in one, minor in the other? What should take priority?
Has anyone got advice on which degree would be more applicable in the business world beyond college? I've had professors tell me that people with math degrees are in high demand and can get jobs easily. I've also had other professors who swear that there is a high demand for skilled web-designers and that web design is a very lucrative business. I'm hoping to get responses from mathemeticians and/or artists who have some experience and can tell me what to do.
The best path will depend on several other factors, of course. I want to know which career could make me the most money, but that doesn't outweigh which career could make me the happiest overall.
And things get REALLY complex when I consider what to speciailize in. Art degrees could be usefull in a whole range of careers -- packaging designer, billboard designer, magazine layout designer, logo designer, web designer, etc.
And math degrees could be used in a whole range of careers -- engineer, architect, math teacher -- how do I decide which of THOSE I want to do?
AHHH it's so much to deal with, hahaha. Can you tell I'm a little overwhelmed? Hehe =)
Should I major in Graphic Design or should I major in Mathematics?
Should I double-major and do both?
Should I major in one, minor in the other? What should take priority?
Has anyone got advice on which degree would be more applicable in the business world beyond college? I've had professors tell me that people with math degrees are in high demand and can get jobs easily. I've also had other professors who swear that there is a high demand for skilled web-designers and that web design is a very lucrative business. I'm hoping to get responses from mathemeticians and/or artists who have some experience and can tell me what to do.
The best path will depend on several other factors, of course. I want to know which career could make me the most money, but that doesn't outweigh which career could make me the happiest overall.
And things get REALLY complex when I consider what to speciailize in. Art degrees could be usefull in a whole range of careers -- packaging designer, billboard designer, magazine layout designer, logo designer, web designer, etc.
And math degrees could be used in a whole range of careers -- engineer, architect, math teacher -- how do I decide which of THOSE I want to do?
AHHH it's so much to deal with, hahaha. Can you tell I'm a little overwhelmed? Hehe =)
Access: Public
career
July 2008 
Hmmm.. well, if you double major, you can paint pictures of equations and stuff. ;)
I hold a degree in Math and a degree in CS. Just some of my thoughts here.
Both Graphic/Web design and Mathematics have lots of demand. Anyone with effort and hard work can learn web design and programming (at least to some extent), but Maths - now thats a different case altogether. As they say “Mathematics is the king of all subjects and queen of all arts”. There will ALWAYS be a demand for mathematics - in banks, in programming, in stock market, in business - basically everywhere. I never planned or thought about markets/jobs etc when I was a student (dumb, I know) but if I can do it all over again, I’d major in Math and minor in design, but if you could major in both, nothing like it.
Amethyst -
Congratulations. You are blessed with a wonderful quandry. :)
I am a graphic designer by profession and absolutely LOVE it. I am not at all attracted to mathmatics, so I cannot really speak for that side (of the brain). It seems Vijay has, however. Thanks Vijay!
The two fields surely have a union that is a fascinating place to explore! Visualization of data and complex information systems is certainly one of the areas you might want to check out!
Whatever the case, it's always a good idea to consider the big picture as you are doing, of course. But I can give you this advice: Follow your heart and everything else will fall into place.
Good luck!
I totally forgot to mention data visualization and information graphics, thank you Jaxxon for bringing it up :-) I suggest you take a look at these sites
http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/
http://www.infosthetics.com/
Graphic design is a wonderful, beautiful field :-) Its just that my background is math, and I love math :-)
Very true Jaxxon, if one follows his/her heart, everything else will fall into place, automagically :-)
But I can give you this advice: Follow your heart and everything else will fall into place.
Yes. Exactly. :)