What should I do, where should I go next?

Hi all,

I have always written and asked about your opinions whenever I was at a career crossroad.

I have a BS in Liberal Studies and I am doing a certificate in HR at Baruch college. I have noticed that I am not interested in HR, its very dry and I dont know if I will be completing the certificate as I have taken just one class out of 7 so far.

Also, my interests seem to have now switched to 3 things. I know please bear with me like you always and have
1) I feel I should take the GMAT/GRE in order to enroll in either an MBA or a Ms IN Journalism. Which of the two, again I cannot decide.

2) I love to write but I can write mostly about fashion and style and I want to know if YOU think I can make it as an editor, journalist etc. I am giving you the link to my blogspot so that you can HONESTLY tell me what you think about my writing skills. I know its a frivolous subject like fashion but friends are being too nice and telling me I have it in me...lol. I want real honest answers from you.
www.stylecurry.com

Thats my blog.

3) I am interested in fashion design too but everyone says what was the point getting a bachelors if it was fashion design that you wanted to do.
They say its very very tough in NY. I live near NYC.

Now my mind keeps swaying between these 3 things and I dont know where to go. Living so close to NYC has made me even more restless because there are so many opportunities here that I feel I am wasting my time doing nothing.
Please tell me where to start and what to do. Whatever you say I will agree because I respect you and your opinions so very much.

Thanks,
Saby

 

Have you checked out the masters degrees offered by Excelsior - GRE is not required:
https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/About/EXCELSIOR_COLLEGE_PROGRAMS/GRADUATE_PROGRAMS

An MBA would be an assett in any career area including fashion.

An MALS would allow you to include fashion and/or Journalism areas of study.

 

Is MALS = Masters in Liberal Studies?
I really do want to go to a brick and mortar school this time as I dont work because of a dependent visa status and staying home all day doing nothing makes me depressed.

 

Yes - MALS is MA is liberal Studies.

One of the good things about Excelsior is that one can take classes at a B&M school then transfer those courses to Excelsior. Check Excelsiors web site for credit transfer limitations.

Have you looked into volunteer opportunities in your area that meet your interests - often a good way to make contacts - and maybe earn academic credit - just guessing but for example you might find museums in NYC area that have fashion sections.

 

I'm quite shure that one of the Universities in Manhatten is running a fashion management oriented program. All I could come up so far is a course related to it at NYU:
http://www.scps.nyu.edu/course-detail/X58.9001/20091/fashion-business-management
If I were you, I would really go with offline Universities. Fashion is (like most of the arts/entertainment) an industry highly depending on personal networking and connections. Especially since your are living near New York I would try to get in something local there. ALso, if I were you I would use the blog as a reason to contact people in the industry and do short interviews with them on how to break in the NYC fashion scene. You might get some great contacts and good hints by doing this.

 

Woho, your advice about staying with offline programs for fashion makes sense. It really seems all about knowing the right people.

I love the NYU course that you sent the link of. I will call them.

Any more suggestions would be great.

 

I've heard that in the field of journalism one very important factor is the internship component. Internships are teaching/learning opportunities but, perhaps more importantly, they are one of the ways in which you begin to meet those people who might give you that first big break. As you're looking at various programs I suggest that you pay particular attention to the internship components as these are said to be critical.

 

Hi Saby:
I have a few questions about your experience with transfer of credits from India. Can I contact you?

Thanks

 

Good suggestion Ian. I agree with Woho's contention about B&M being a good avenue for contacts. If you cannot afford a top B&M school (some can be very expensive), you can do the reverse approach (related to Ian's post). By this I mean try working in the industry while going to school. I had a friend do this, and a top designer had her start doing her own designs/patterns on cutting edge punk rock type stuff. So the Excelsior thing might play out well in this scenario.

Just a few more questions. How old are you? What field are you in now? Can you afford starting at the bottom in some kind of fashion related industry?

Abner