Hard work is found in both
Have you really wanted to go down a path in a career, but realized that making income was easier in other ways?
After having done 2.5 years of studying to get my Associate’s in Graphic Design, I’ve found that I have a lot of interests — yet only 1 will be the right one.
At first I thought that, like Leonardo Davinci, being a polyglot in skills was good. But then after reading “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” by Cal Newport, I realized that every second I spend on a task is another second I could be working on the right or wrong thing.
Having managed my schedule in studying 2–4 hours a day and now having the time to myself, it’s hard to manage a “polyglot” of skills when knowing that real skill takes deep focus and time to learn.
So, where does this leave me?
Curiosity is key
I read up on a few Blender interviews (the 3D modeling software) and came across one guy who shared who moved him, curiosity.
To model anything he could imagine and make an income — since 3D is a lucrative skill, was basically a dream come true. But with that, years of experience.
Having read this, I realized that, “I have an eye for modeling things too, which is something not a lot of people develop. So maybe this is what I should do.”
Then on the other side, I realize that web design is lucrative too and maybe easier. That is, until I realized that some courses on UI Design say how important it is to focus and develop the skill.
Of course I knew that web design was a high-level skill, but I thought that 3D was an even higher-level skill. So with that in mind, what I thought I could do was build my portfolio in web design and then study 3D on the side while I earn income with web design, but I’m having an issue.
Don’t follow passion, follow your calling
After reading up on Cal Newport’s books, I learned that following passion is bad because it makes people jump from one career to another, so that’s why building skill is important and then passion follows.
Yet, he didn’t quite discuss how to know a career is right for you. That’s why I say, “Follow your calling.”
To explain, while web design is interesting and I know HTML coding, I don’t feel as inspired to design in Figma or Framer as I do in Blender.
Have I strengthened my skills in Figma/Framer so that passion follows? Nope, but I’ve worked in Blender off and on for the last 4 years to know that I love it for both its high-level skill and creativity, something that I find easier to stick with.
Is income the goal?
While I don’t want to be homeless, I want to be careful what I try out.
With so many job scams in my industry (Graphic Design covers web design and 3D design), it’s hard to apply to a job and expect the best from it.
The problem too, is that my college didn’t give me a great heads-start to make income as soon as I graduated. Which would be fine, if I felt like I had better direction.
From the Blender interviews I read up on, they said that “creativity comes first and money follows.” I just hope that it’ll be the same with me! Especially with how high-level a skill using Blender is, it would sure seem like it.
I feel like my stress is due to worrying about putting too much effort in the wrong direction, especially since I’m out of college (which when I was in college it was fine to test the waters on things) things need to be in the works rather than in indecisiveness.
This story was just a small rambling of my thoughts. As for my conclusion, I’ve decided to stay with 3D because I feel that it’s both my calling and also a lucrative skill for the long-term. Any web design projects I’ll just wrap up to add to my portfolio.
I suppose the main problem is realizing, now that I’m out of college, how little support there is. Mentors these days only see their personal gain out of mentoring, other designers just want engagement on their own posts, and everyone wants more and more money.
I want to figure out a way to not worry about it, to have a steady stream of clients come to me rather than having to scroll job postings through the night, desperate for one job after the other. A 9–5 may be an option, yet I don’t see how I’d feel free to express my creativity, unless it was a company like 37Signals.