I need a little help with this. Need a lot of opinions too. In my Fashion Design & Merchandising program, I will graduate with a diploma. Is that any good for the work force? I read that diplomas take less time to get than a degree (1-2 years whereas a degree would take 2-4) & so it's easier to get out there in the work force. But if I advanced my studies & get an advanced diploma, it'll equal on the same level as an Associate's Degree. What's your thoughts & opinions on this? I want to be sure I didn't waste my time & money on this. Thanks!
I don't know anything about your prospective line of work. Your best bet is to go to someone who has a job you'd like to have, or go to someone who might hire someone to do a job you'd like to have, and ask them this question. My own opinion is that more education is generally better than less education. Despite this, I think of Fashion Design in much the same way I think of the art world . . . where you went to school means very little, it's your work (designs) that matters most. (Also, it's who you suck up to - although that's generally true in most lines of work) Jack
Usually a degree is always considered better than a diploma. Most diplomas focus on a specific area (i.e. fashion design and merchandising) minus the general education requirements you will find in an associate's degree. Many employers require a college degree simply because it proves to them that you are competent in the general education areas of writing, math, social sciences ect. You might want to look into the online associate/bachelor programs out there. Having a degree will definently give you more flexibility in your career options.
A diploma shows completion of non-collegiate work, while a degree shows completion of collegiate-level work.
That's good advice. Look, all I know about fashion I learned from the Bravo Channel. As a cleric, I dress like a Model T: any colour you like as long as it's black. But I do think that an associates or bachelors degree in some business-related field (marketing? accountancy?)would be a great help to you in your career. Since fashion, like any other highly competitive field, will require of you not only artistic ability but street smarts, getting some practical business skills and the degree to prove it should make you much more "marketable." Get the degree. Sometimes bowing to social convention is a good thing. Pop romanticism about artistry will get you, well, a bottle of pop. Skills and a degree that signalizes those skills will get you a job and a competitive edge, and that will enable you to have a lot more enjoyment of your artistry. Janko the Mad Priest
I agree with Uncle Janko that a marketing degree would bode well for you. In fact, IMHO I think it'd be the better degree to get in your case. There are several options out there & several price ranges as well. You could start at: www.classesusa.com www.worldwidelearn.com Also, use the "Find A School" feature here on Degreeinfo.
I agree with everyone that more education is generally better than less. But I think that Jack Tracey's answer is best: Talk to people who are working in your field and ask them for advice. I don't really know very much about fashion design, but I'm inclined to think that if you are intending to work in management or something, then you probably need to think about earning a degree. But if you want to work in the creative design end, then a strong portfolio and contacts might be the most important consideration. (A degree would be nice too, but it won't substitute for a portfolio of your work.) But really, don't rely on us, talk to some professionals. Get insider's opinions.
I'm going to disagree with some others and add a caveat. If you are studying the art of fashion design then you are working in a very specific and idealistically visionary field. It is very different than the world of academics where (at this level) we study only the work of those before us and not the new work which we create. In some fields such as music, studio art, acting, photography, and fashion design -- the certificate/diploma experience is often far more valuable than the degree/diploma route. It's in these certificate/diploma programs that we define our own artistic style and we create our own portfolio of experiences. As an artist, it's important for you to develop your own style and technique above all else. Anyone can regurgitate the designs of Edith Hood for example, it takes a talented visionary to be the next Vera Wang. From the artists point of view, you either produce art or you do not. An example: I am a musician. When hiring me to perform at your wedding, you could care less whether I understand the relationship of Hamlet to his mother or if I can calculate the height of a tree using the angle from a certain point on the ground. You care whether I can play pretty music. That's all! And the better I play pretty music - the more you will pay me. I learned far more about playing music my artists diploma program than I have ever learned in any BA program. In the world of professional art - it's not important what degree/diploma you have so long as you produce great art. Study wherever you're going to learn to produce the best you can. For musicians, Berklee and Juliard come to mind. In fashion design I believe you hear Chicago Art and Savannah Art and FIT and Parson's etc. A designer faces the same challenge as a musician -- if you produce great work, you get paid. If you simply rehash Halston then you get nothing. It's in that certificate/diploma program that you refine your art to the point that it is presentable. You learn to sketch your ideas in a format that buyers will accept and to render those sketches in a manner that some stitcher somewhere can reproduce in fabric. You might even get to walk in the stitcher's shoes for a while. You develop the skills in one of those certificate programs that can get you noticed at one of the finer design schools. Maybe even Paris or Florence... With that said -- many of us also place a high value on a good general liberal arts education (like you'd get in an AA or BA program) simply for the benefit it gives you throughout all aspects of your life. It might also influence your art and design to be exposed to all that history and social studies have to offer. A bit of business, communication, and math never hurts any artist trying to make a living. Art is a fickle business -- it's always good to be able to make a good living in the real world. It's also very nice to be able to tell a potential buyer of your art that you're not interested in his price offer because you don't need his money in order to have dinner tonight. My real answer to your question -- do the design certificate and see if that's the world you love. Then look at a specialized BA/BS in design (such as Savannah Art...). Along the way, get some hands-on experience in something that is actually being produced (theatre costume gigs help) so you see what your ideas look like on real people. At some point later, you will decide whether you want to head over into the business side (get a business degree) or into the academic side (get an MFA) or stay in the hands on design side (get lots of practice). Until then, sketch alot. Render your best sketches page size/full color. Find someone to produce those renderings in fabric and see them on a real person. Be creative and be different and push the envelope as far as you can...
Thanks for all your input on this. Especially the different opinions & sides of "degrees vs. diplomas". I really appreciate & will seriously consider everyone's opinion. I know what I'm studying is different from many of your choices of study, but at least I have an idea of what I need to know. Again, thanks!
The arts is very different from the business world. I have met many, many extremely talented and successful artists who do not have a degree but do very well because of their talent to paint, draw, design, etc. It is a field of work where people care about your portfolio rather than just your degree. That being said, if you ever wish to work in a more corporate environment, then having a degree helps, only just because of ignorant HR types who do not understand your profession and their only method to qualify your resume is a degree. But if you stay in the arts community, i.e. design agencies, etc., you'd likely find that they'd never really care if you have a degree or not. If you're out there trying to learn, the best thing to do for yourself is to build a very strong portfolio, get as much professional experience (projects, etc.) as possible and if you can, go pursue the degree. Having a degree and a lousy portfolio will get you absolutely NOWHERE if you are in the design world. I've met many design grads who have such sucky portfolios that they can't get work. I also feel that the best avenue to learn design (fashion, visual, etc.) is to attend a fashion or art school. Learning from a typical academic school that offers that as a major will not gain you the edge that specialized design schools/art schools will offer you. Academic schools' forte is NOT in the arts. They teach you a lot of academic stuff about your field of work and true, you can spout the history of design but you have run the risk of having nothing else to show for, which in the end means you can't get work in your field. Remember again and again, the arts is very performance based. No one ever hired an actor just because he/she has a degree. No one will ever hire a fashion designer just because he/she has a degree either. I disagree with the other posters about going to get a degree in marketing, etc. just because of a need to own a degree. There are many good design schools that offer a 4-year degree program, typically a BFA in your field. If you do find that you've changed and evolved later on, you can always go back to school and focus on something else.
