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Secondary education

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Original poster

Not a proper career .....

36 replies

Teddingtonmum1 · 19/07/2018 06:59

ds is very creative good at art , and is middle of the road academically mainly b's with the odd a and c . i think he will struggle at Alevels . So been looking at alternatives . His interested in doing animation & game design at a 6th form college ( currently at an indy ) . So he was all excited getting info on the various courses and dad has dropped a bombshell that he thinks its not a 'proper ' career . I was never allowed to do what i wanted , i never went to uni and regreted it years later but had too many comitments by then to be able togo and ended up in a job that although i make good money i hate. I dont want the same for my son , i want him to go for what he wants not just settle we aren't in the 1970's !! am shocked at his dads attitude do you think im being naive???

OP posts:
PotteringAlong · 19/07/2018 07:01

The only person I know who works designing computer games has an engineering degree.

I’ll be honest, if my children said they wanted to do a course in animation and game design then the question “to what end?” Would be on my mind.

BetterEatCheese · 19/07/2018 07:05

Tech is absolutely a proper career and he can progress from this course. Just backside it wasn't one when we were younger,don't under estimate the importance of these jobs now

BetterEatCheese · 19/07/2018 07:05

Backside?! Because

yakari · 19/07/2018 07:07

It is a proper career and a fascinating one - my goddaughter works at Pixar, and a close friend at EA. But... both of them went down 'proper' educational paths all be it focused on that side of art/computing. One did an art degree but gradually focused more and more in animation, the other did computer science major with graphic art as minor. So I guess what I'd say is at 16 stick to the main stream a bit more rather than specialise - and by the way I'd say this about most 'job' oriented courses.

butterfly990 · 19/07/2018 07:10

How many people actually end up working in the field they directly trained in. His passion will drive him through his course whatever he decides to do.

He may end up in marketing, graphic design, IT. He will have a great grounding on tech skills that ARE highly transferable.

BarefootHippieChick · 19/07/2018 07:15

Animation and game design is currently one of the fastest growing industries. If your son gets into it he will be made up for life in his chosen career. Decent games developers make excellent money, much more than teachers, doctors etc if you know your stuff. Good ones are very well sought after and headhunted. He won't necessarily need a degree although it may help, however, experience and lots of it is what most games companies look for.

derekthe1adyhamster · 19/07/2018 07:17

It's a great career. My DS would love to do that. Sadly his art lets him down, but he is good at maths so he will go down a more traditional route of computer science. He still looks longingly at the games design and media production.
Check out degree courses to check the course is accepted as UCAS points of he wants to go down this route

Alwayscommuting · 19/07/2018 07:21

My husband wanted to be a games designer and his parents told him it wasn't a proper job. So rather than carry on studying and getting into a uni course to study what he loves he gave up. Left school and got stuck in a job with rubbish hours and poor pay for years. He still wonders "what if".

BarefootHippieChick · 19/07/2018 07:29

30 years ago games design wasn't really a 'proper' job, but as technology advances and we spend half our lives playing games on computers, phones, playstations, xboxes etc, it's now become one of the biggest careers to be in. That's not going to change. The same for film and tv animation.

Gruach · 19/07/2018 07:41

dad has dropped a bombshell

How so? Specifically. Is it that your son’s father will withdraw financial support unless he’s ‘obeyed’? Or simply that he won’t give his blessing or offer moral support?

Original poster
Teddingtonmum1 · 19/07/2018 07:48

exactly @alwayscommunting two people in my team ( who i am in charge of ) one has a masters and the other a degree and both in a 20k a year job at nearly 30 , im just happy that he has shown passion for something and appears to have the talent for it im in the middle of trying to change my career at the grand old age of 45 to do social media marketing so how can i tell him oh its not a proper career, to be fair i think the jobs market is changing so much these days there are no jobs for life and people have 2/ 3 careers these days. dad says what happens when he fails , so i said so what let him not even try !!! Time for me sharpen my tiger mom claws me thinks ....

OP posts:
Original poster
Teddingtonmum1 · 19/07/2018 07:52

his not going to support it .... very sad indeed, his my son and im going to support him in whatever he wants to do , if he fails at least his tried is my mottto.

OP posts:
campion · 19/07/2018 07:54

It's not for parents to decide their children's careers. Unfortunately some think it is.

Many of today's children will be doing jobs which haven't yet been invented.

bookmum08 · 19/07/2018 07:57

That sounds like a fantastic career to aim for. 'not a proper career' - what an idiot. Has he never heard of Hayao Miyazaki or Nick Park (both amazing Oscar winning animators of very different styles)?

beingsunny · 19/07/2018 07:58

This is one of the fastest growing areas, it's also making significant roads in terms of share in the economy.

As long as the university is running an excellent degree (research required) I'd say he would have a very successful career ahead.

DamsonPie · 19/07/2018 08:06

Tech is a proper career but it depends where you live. Employers congregate in certain places and other places have few/no jobs. As opposed to other careers eg dentist, accountant, solicitor, doctor etc can get a job anywhere.

LIZS · 19/07/2018 08:07

It seems pretty young to specialise. Agree art or design might be a route to follow with options in animation and graphics. Are there any apprenticeships in this area? May be work experience would help him clarify what routes people working in the industry have followed and the skills required, which in turn would be taken more seriously by his father.

Trampire · 19/07/2018 08:08

My husband is 51 is an Animator and has been consistently employed for over 35 years. He's earns approx 38k a year.

I'm also an Illustrator and have been for 24 years. I earn approx 30k - 35k a year.

I know plenty of 'creatives' - to make a proper living it's bloody hard work but it is very 'proper'.

I do know plenty of people who haven't made it, but generally they just play about and don't fully commit (or unfortunately don't quite have the talent).

It's a hard road, but possible.

ProseccoPoppy · 19/07/2018 08:09

It is (of course!) a career. And I think it is lovely you are supporting him. However, with this plan as I understand it I would be slightly concerned about not having the a levels to fall back on. What is this qualification? Is it properly recognised? Would it count as equivalent to a levels? Could it lead to a degree? Would a decent uni accept this as a level equivalent for entry? What does the college do to help facilitate work placements?

I only as as I know two people who are doing very well in the industry. One has a maths degree and the other a computer science degree, and as I understand it neither would have been able to get their “break in” roles without a degree, so I think your son needs - if he hasn’t already, which of course he may have done - to do some careful research about the industry and whether that is still the case for entry level roles.

ProseccoPoppy · 19/07/2018 08:10

(Sorry if unclear - the people I know do computer game design).

LooseAtTheSeams · 19/07/2018 08:32

I think your best bet is to put some evidence in front of dad! Contact the sixth form college and ask for info on leavers' destinations for the course - did they go on to do degrees or apprenticeships in the industry? Check what qualification is offered. If it's a Btec extended diploma it's fine for university entrance in that field.

Xenia · 19/07/2018 08:39

I think he should do A levels and look at how people who do animation who are in their 20s got into it - look at some CVs eg do they do a degree at XYZ institution in order to get the best jobs at certain big companies that employ animators and work back from there.

LooseAtTheSeams · 19/07/2018 08:40

Oh, and he should google games and animation careers before saying it's not a proper career - I think he might find it very informative!

BrownTurkey · 19/07/2018 08:44

I too agree that is a very valid career choice. However, I would ask him to scrutinise things like the entry requirements for the course, so he doesn’t find himself on a course that doesn’t meet his ability level. And what points he would come out with to out towards the next educational stage. And whether different subjects would give better openings in the industry.

I have wondered if some of the colleges are offering these courses to engage some of the young people who would not previously have stayed in education post 16, but are now required to.

I have also noticed that some of the people I know with very well paying professional careers they slogged for, and were perhaps pushed into by parents, and having paid for private education for their children, are not wanting to push or direct their dc, but support them in their choice to do xyz courses which are more ‘fun’ type, but then watch them drift for several years afterwards. I’m not sure they are meeting their earning potential really, certainly they won’t have the material lifestyle their parents do, but also not finding rewarding work (only the most talented and most persistent hard workers will progress in creative fields, others will struggle to earn a living). Encourage your sone to listen to all points of view I would say.

SharpLily · 19/07/2018 08:45

dad says what happens when he fails

Well if he were to fail doing what he loves, how does his father think he'd ever be a success doing something he's not even interested in? Your son's father sounds as if he's living in the dark ages. I did a very traditional degree that has been no help to me in life whatsoever and I wish I'd had an interest which I could have taken a vocational course in. At the risk of being rude, the bloke sounds like an idiot.

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