College questions - Starting at ASU this fall, kind of stuck

[upsguy27]

So, I've been discussing this with friends and family, but as the opinions vary so greatly, ultimately I have to decide on my own.

Basically, I'm torn between doing a film major, and doing a computer/programming major. I love both fields equally, and do reasonably well in both, but I've been advised by many that it would be much more helpful out of college to have a computer degree over a film degree, due to it being considerably easier to get a computer job out of college vs. a film job. So what I was hoping to do was major in some sort of computer degree and minor in film, so I get the experience of both areas, and I would be able to do film as a hobby with computers as a supporting job, until I am able to make a profit out of my film career.

However, I've also been told that doing a computer major is a lot of work, and the film minor doesn't really allow you to get your hands on actual creation of films. The film instructor recommended I look into the "Digital Cultures" major, which she told me was a combination of both film and computer, allowing me to do a little bit of both with a much more open-ended major. So, I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but what do you guys recommend I do? Should I go for a major in Digital Cultures, or should I just major in something computer related, and join the student film group to make films "unofficially" on the side? I'm a little concerned about the Digital Cultures major, as I'm under the impression that it's new and something that employers would look at and not really be impressed. It seems to be one of those modern open-ended "do whatever the hell you want" majors.

 

[dukebound85]

computer programming

I view college as a utility to market yourself for a career

You can do film as a hobby imo

Nothing saying you can't pursue both but major in the more practical field imo

Anything worth having is going to be hard.

Keep in mind, I did engineering and am biased towards using university (where you pay thousands a year to go) as a way to benefit yourself career wise as opposed to strictly following interests (that is what electives are for as well as hobbies as far as I am concerned).

However, some view college as a way to enrich ones self irregardless of the finances. All I know is it sucks to pay loans back and that my friends who say did engineering/high demand majors have great jobs. Of the few I know who pursued theatre/photography are either not using their major and say working at Best Buy or working multiple jobs in their field to try and maintain a decent wage. Though just my observations so far and keep in mind, may not be true for everycase (obviously)

 

[Queen of Spades]

As a former film major - get the computer engineering degree, and then intern in the film industry during your summers.

Majoring in film does absolutely nothing for your resume when you're applying to entry level industry jobs, but internship experience does.

So to be practical and also pursue both dreams, get the degree experience for engineering (where I'm thinking it matters more and will be a good way to make $$$ fresh out of school), and get the hands on experience for the film industry via internships. If you want to be a true film major, watch good films - foreign and domestic, golden era of Hollywood and current. Read great scripts. And like you mentioned, make films or write films on your own with other students.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Go for the film. It's a great degree. Just ask all those graduates who have previously studied. You can find them all at the job centre!
For every 1 out there that makes it in the film industry there are 100+ flipping burgers and cleaning toilets.

 

[mobilehaathi]

You know you don't have to declare immediately, right?

Explore. Learn. Discover what you love.

 

[Queen of Spades]

Go for the film. It's a great degree. Just ask all those graduates who have previously studied. You can find them all at the job centre!
For every 1 out there that makes it in the film industry there are 100+ flipping burgers and cleaning toilets.

What's the point of studying hard, doing the right thing, going to school, and having dreams if you don't plan to pursue them because they aren't practical? That's a pretty depressing outlook you have. Have a solid plan, yes, but quitting something before you even start is totally lame.

 

[184550]

Do what you love and life will follow.

 

[dukebound85]

You know you don't have to declare immediately, right?

Explore. Learn. Discover what you love.

Bad advice imo. When paying for school, at least be working towards something. Not aimlessly taking random classes and paying heavily for them

If you don't know what to work towards, I would not enroll. It's an expensive endevor

 

[Apple fanboy]

What's the point of studying hard, doing the right thing, going to school, and having dreams if you don't plan to pursue them because they aren't practical? That's a pretty depressing outlook you have. Have a solid plan, yes, but quitting something before you even start is totally lame.

In my opinion if you are not going to be able to get a job at the end of it what's the point? Here in the UK loads of people drift into university with no idea of what they are going to do with their studies. Then they end up with loads of debt and no job (and very little prospect for one). If I had the opportunity to study I would have made sure there was a carer path at the end of it. As it is I left school at 15 and have worked hard all my life. Its never held me back and I've never been unemployed for more than 2 weeks despite the recessions.
Its a privilege we have in the west to study and we shouldn't encourage people to just follow their dream if their dream is not going to pay the rent.

 

[boomhower]

Get the computer degree. Spending tens of thousands of dollars get a film degree is something you will regret for the rest of your life. Yes, you will enjoy school but will suffer when you graduate and can't find a job. If you want to get into film there are other ways to go about it. I would be willing to be if you go to go a set and see how many directors have a degree in film it's going to be minute.

 

[Queen of Spades]

In my opinion if you are not going to be able to get a job at the end of it what's the point? Here in the UK loads of people drift into university with no idea of what they are going to do with their studies. Then they end up with loads of debt and no job (and very little prospect for one). If I had the opportunity to study I would have made sure there was a carer path at the end of it. As it is I left school at 15 and have worked hard all my life. Its never held me back and I've never been unemployed for more than 2 weeks despite the recessions.
Its a privilege we have in the west to study and we shouldn't encourage people to just follow their dream if their dream is not going to pay the rent.

I'm not saying he shouldn't have realistic expectations (and I actually advised him to get the engineering degree), but there's more to your working life than just paying the rent, unless you want to end up like Al Bundy. Whatever career path you end up on is going to be yours for the next 40+ years, you might as well do something that makes you happy.

And the recession has hit everywhere, meaning no industry is a shoe-in anymore and all the "safe bets" are getting way more competitive.

I agree, it is a privilege in the west to study, so I think it's imperative you pursue something you love just as much as something that will pay the light bill. In his case, he has the option to do both.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Bad advice imo. When paying for school, at least be working towards something. Not aimlessly taking random classes and paying heavily for them

If you don't know what to work towards, I would not enroll. It's an expensive endevor

We disagree I guess. How is someone supposed to know what they want to work towards without taking a broad selection of courses?

I also happen to believe that one goes to university to learn not merely for training. I realize there are vastly differing opinions on this though.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I think it's imperative you pursue something you love just as much as something that will pay the light bill. In his case, he has the option to do both.

I love my wife, I love my daughter. My job has good days and bad days. I've had crap jobs and great jobs. But the truth is if your going to be doing something for 40 years plus its going to get tedious. In my 20's I used to do magic and escapology and dabbled with the idea of doing it full time. Many professionals I knew (guys in the Magic circle and have been on TV) confessed that where they used to love doing magic when it was a hobby, once it became there job it lost its appeal. Its hard to maintain a love for any job. Make sure you don't hate your job and look for love elsewhere IMHO.

 

[nissan.gtp]

computer programming

I view college as a utility to market yourself for a career

You can do film as a hobby imo

Nothing saying you can't pursue both but major in the more practical field imo

....

that's good advice. and if you can, take 5 years and do film as a minor or even double-major.

and of course, intern at Pixar if you can

good luck, and have fun. college is a fantastic experience, you'll never have anything like it.

 

[sviato]

Do a double major? They're quite common, not sure why you haven't considered it [assuming it's an option]

 

[upsguy27]

Do a double major? They're quite common, not sure why you haven't considered it [assuming it's an option]

I've definitely considered it, I've just been told that both the computer and film majors are very involved in their own rights, and doing both at the same time would get overwhelming.

 

[ECUpirate44]

Bad advice imo. When paying for school, at least be working towards something. Not aimlessly taking random classes and paying heavily for them

If you don't know what to work towards, I would not enroll. It's an expensive endevor

His first two years are probably going to be core classes anyway and every degree requires some elective credit. I'd use those credits to find what you like.

OP, have you considered community college since you're not sure yet? Save a boatload of money and still graduate from ASU with a degree you are more sure about.

 

[OutThere]

Towards the end of high school I was pretty strongly considering going to film school, but I was lucky enough to be able to talk with some industry people beforehand whose advice boiled down to: if you really want a career making films, there's no better way to start than to just make a film(s) and aggressively self promote. Work on sets. Make your own. Meet people.

One (quite successful in film) guy I spoke to in particular was adamant that film school (or a film major) was largely a waste of time and money. His main feeling was that, like many forms of art, you either have it what it takes or you don't. He made a good point: these days with digital filmmaking, if you took the cost of four years of Tisch @ $200,000, and put it all into making a film, you could make a pretty slick little indie feature and learn a ton along the way. Ultimately I decided against pursuing a film career in general, but that's unrelated.

There are certainly many intersections between film and technology these days, and I imagine a good knowledge of film on top of a programming skill set could go a long way towards finding you a niche in the industry.

 

[itcheroni]

You don't need schooling for film. Mitch Hurwitz (judging by your avatar, you're a fan) recommends getting a job, any job, paying nothing even, in the film industry and working up. You will learn more that way than paying for a bachelors degree. I suggest you do this and if you decide it's not for you, you can always go to university for a computer science degree. It's totally unnecessary to feel you have to go directly to college out of high school. You will probably get more out of college if you have some real world experience as well.

 

[Carlanga]

I did a Double Major on Biology & Anthropology, was taking 21 credits and full summer classes + Uni Judo Team and I loved it. The cool thing about doing double majors is that you get to meet a lot of people w/ different things that you can relate to. I never regretted my decision even though both degrees are stored away w/ no real life use since I'm doing medicine.

You can always do a Major on Compu & a Minor on Film and if you decide you can handle the load you go from Minor to Major (I think is possible?)

University is the time to learn anything and it's where you will meet the best friends of your life (probably) since you have many things in common. Is better if you start strong than decide later because course requirements could fudge you on time scheduling for classes and won't finish on time.

 

[ender land]

computer programming

I view college as a utility to market yourself for a career

You can do film as a hobby imo

Nothing saying you can't pursue both but major in the more practical field imo

Anything worth having is going to be hard.

Keep in mind, I did engineering and am biased towards using university (where you pay thousands a year to go) as a way to benefit yourself career wise as opposed to strictly following interests (that is what electives are for as well as hobbies as far as I am concerned).

However, some view college as a way to enrich ones self irregardless of the finances. All I know is it sucks to pay loans back and that my friends who say did engineering/high demand majors have great jobs. Of the few I know who pursued theatre/photography are either not using their major and say working at Best Buy or working multiple jobs in their field to try and maintain a decent wage. Though just my observations so far and keep in mind, may not be true for everycase (obviously)

This is absolutely true for me too.

I chose between music/engineering for my college and reluctantly chose engineering. However, now, I'm involved in the local music scene as a hobby and LOVE it. I'm able to support myself financially with my day job and be involved (for free and not needing the money, too) with something I love doing.