What did/are you go(ing) to college for?

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What did/are you go(ing) to college for?

Post by SQ » Sun Jan 07, 2007 2:54 pm

I know we have a 'what you do for a living' thread already, but what are you going to college for, or have you gone to college for?

I always found it interesting how many AMVers are keeping AMVs a hobby, and going to college for something completely unrelated to video.

Also, what college do you go to and where? When did/will you graduate? What classes are you taking this semester/quarter/session?
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Re: What did/are you go(ing) to college for?

Post by Otohiko » Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:04 pm

I'm currently in the second semester of my MA (Master of Arts) degree at SLALS (School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies) in Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. The program is mainly an Applied Linguistics program with two branches, one focusing more on things surrounding ESL/EFL (English as Second/Foreign Language) teaching, and the other on things surrounding literacy, writing and all sorts of things surrounding that - which is the one I'm in. My main interest areas for the degree include Genre Studies, Systemic-Functional Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis. I'm going to be taking courses until this summer, and then the next academic year I'll be writing a thesis somewhere in this area.

Before that I did a bachelor's in Linguistics (both applied and theoretical), graduated in summer 2006. I'm hoping that in 2008 I'll start a PhD somewhere in the language studies area. My hope is to end up being a university instructor/researcher.

The courses I'm taking? Three right now - "Inquiry Strategies in ALS (Applied Language Studies", which is a core course for the MA program; "Academic and Workplace Genres", which is mostly a writing-related course; "Language and Ideology", which is mainly a CDA/SFL (Critical Discourse Analysis/Systemic Functional Linguistics) course.
I'm also a TA (teaching assistant) for two courses - an undergraduate course for "Language and Ideology" and a course in language acquisition.

So, AMVs a hobby? Yea :roll:
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Post by SQ » Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:19 pm

Well it's just that most people take AMVs so seriously, it would seem most would want a profession in something to do with it. -shrugs-

I started going to college in July, IADT Tampa. I was in the BFA program for "Digital Movie Making" (Digital Video Productions ounds so much better, that's why I use it).

The school is private and works in quarters, I'm starting my third Quarter tomorrow and I'm taking four classes.

Introduction to Audio (We learn ProTools here)
Digital Imaging (Photoshop to lead up AfterEffects. I'm trying to test out of this, but haven't gotten a reply yet)
Pre Production Planning (pretty much exactly what it says; it's for a documentary)
English Composition (Yea for Gen Eds, yeah?)

I changed from the BFA to the AS, which is basically all the same classes plus two more audio ones. The AS is "Digital Production". I still say I'm working on my BFA because (1) the classes are the same, (2) I'll continue on to my BFA after I graduate with the AS in 2008 if I don't have some outstanding job opportunity.

I'm a little unsure of what my goal is going to be. At first it was editor, but now I'm thinking something along the lines of Documentarian, Cinematographer, or DVD Authoring.

My education was a choice between Art institute of Atlanta and IADT and I chose the wrong one. This school sucks total ass, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone (unless you're taking interior design).

Unfortunately I've already wasted too much money so I may as well come out with a degree, which is why I switched to my AS. When/if I decide to continue to a Bachelor's degree, it will probably be at some other school.
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Post by Otohiko » Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:30 pm

SQ wrote:Well it's just that most people take AMVs so seriously, it would seem most would want a profession in something to do with it. -shrugs-
Well, I personally wouldn't be averse to it, but uh... I'm really more into AMVs in the artistic rather than professional sense (not that both can't be combined), and whereas I like the creative side, I loathe the technical side (it's not unique to AMVs. I'm allergic to technical education).

In other words I can stand the technicalities of video production or computer-related stuff in general, but only for long enough to have them as hobbies. I'd go berserk if I had to deal with it for a living :P

Then there's the fact that I was on this path for a good two years before I even had the passing idea of trying to make AMVs.

I think around grade 11 the realization dawned on me that I just wouldn't be able to stand any job where people weren't both who I worked with (as colleagues) and who I worked with (as students/subjects/sources). So I stuck with the idea, haven't regretted it since.
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Post by SQ » Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:32 pm

Otohiko wrote: I think around grade 11 the realization dawned on me that I just wouldn't be able to stand any job where people weren't both who I worked with (as colleagues) and who I worked with (as students/subjects/sources). So I stuck with the idea, haven't regretted it since.
That's one of the reasons I ave up editing as a profession opportunity.

I'll do side gigs now and then for home videos, but having to actually edit stuff all the time for a living would suck ass.
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Post by Arigatomina » Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:44 pm

I did 4.5 yrs at a cheap little college in Evansville called USI - University of Southern Indiana. I went entirely on scholarships into the Mechanical Engineering Tech program. Did three years in that until I got a D in my Statics (?) class and was told I needed to take it again because the next class would be even harder. My D was the only passing grade anyone in that class got that semester, (reputation had it no one had ever passed on the first take) and my scholarships didn't cover repeats. Not to mention that I didn't think I could get above a D even if I took the class again - it was my first "below B" grade ever in college and nearly ruined my gpa. If my average dropped below a B, I lost my scholarships. All of them.

So I immediately switched majors to English, General Writing, hoping to get enough credits to graduate with *something* before my scholarships ran out. A year and a half of double classes, skipping for quick credits (an A in the high level Spanish class and you can skip the other three and still get all your language credits), and I graduated from an entirely different department than the one I started out in. The funny thing is that if I'd gone straight into English I'd never have had enough scholarships to pay for my core classes - I used my MET scholarships to get most of those finished and was all set for a sudden major change. It's almost like I planned it. But I didn't. Really.

I graduated in 2003, a few months after I joined the org. I did my first huge collection of crappy videos while I was working on finals. I definitely couldn't have done that if I'd still been in the engineering program. ;p

To be honest, since that "what's your career" thread I find it disturbing how few poor people there are on this site. One person at McDonalds and me. Or maybe it's just that the poor people don't donate enough to post here, or they're lying about their profession. All I know is, I went to a college where it was common for half the student body to be on scholarship or grants - if the gpa dropped, they were out on their ears. This forum reminds me of the guys in the engineering department. Every one of them was from an entirely different income bracket and if they'd ever found out I was on a free ride (for being the token girl that year, 4.0 plus female equals full scholarships in tech fields), they'd never have spoken a word to me.

It really puts a different spin on that old "geeky teenagers in their parents' basement" myth. I guess those guys won't be posting much here. Makes me wonder how most of the best editors claim to be rich, at least compared to people who grew up on foodstamps and aren't ashamed to admit it. Maybe that's a clue as to why some look at the hobby like a career and others like a passtime. Priorities depend on your situation. If you scrub floors to put food in your mouth, you're less likely to care who went to AWA last year. ;p

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Post by SQ » Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:04 pm

I myself am poor and as soon as my donation runs out this year I will probably end up being dumped from this forum and not coming back simply because I can't afford it any more.

My parents aren't rich, but they're above the normal working class. I have an education fund, and a savings account that I made whiel I was in high school with my two jobs - Kroger cashier and Best Friends employee(Best friends is a pet hotel/spa).

I was working much harder when I was in Highschool than I am now. I graduated high school a semester early. I wanted to just take my GED and not go to high school at all, but at the time I wasn't planning on going to college so my parents wouldn't allow it.

I wanted to be a freelance writer at the time. I knew it was possible without a degree, so I was writing my first few books and researching the profession like a madman. My parents ruined that, but in a way it was better.

Even though I found out about the .org through Meri's Temple o' Trunks DBZ site, I never would have thought of AMVing over the whole "Drop it in WMM and spend 10 minutes on it" unless I had gone to High School. My HS offered a lot of digital programs.

I took 4 credits worth of Video Production/Mass Media(it changed names half way through), Graphic Art, and one credit of Web Design.

I would not be in college at all if it weren't for those expierences, and I wouldn't be nearly as expierenced with anything I do (from screen Printing, photoshop, to editing even).

It's sort of coincidental that I learned of the .org only a few months before my first year of High School.

The only reason I'm going to college now is because I really did want to make AMVs something more, and I knew I couldn't learn what I needed to do on my own. The industry didn't use Premiere 6. XD

My parents are paying for my college, and they would not be paying for the college I wanted to go to, so I had to pick this piece of shit.

I tried getting scholarships, but I never won any. I don't know why. Maybe I applied to the wrong ones or something.

I am trying to get money through some online jobs and random favors I give people(home video editing, computer repair). I just got accepted to ChaCha.com and I hope to become a guide soon, but even then, that pays less than a real job.

I don't have a car, so it is very hard for me to get an actual job around here. I cannot get a job at the school because in order to do that, you have to be on financial aid, and I was disqualified for that because my parents make too much money.

While my parents are paying for my college, they aren't paying for my food, and my savings account is only so big.

I'm living on no income, and while I do donate to the .org, and it was technically with my own money, I got a lot more money flow and no expenses back then than I do now.

Fortunately, I've got enough money that if I plan it right, I will not go into debt. And that is my goal right now - not taking out loans.

When I talked to some people at AWA, some of them had gotten job offers from anime companies, others had started their own business, and a few had inherited money or had earned enough money to live off savings.

It is really odd you mention how "rich" AMVers are - I never thought about that. I think it is true, to an extent.

But not for me [anymore]. ;_;

After this lease with the college is up(3 months) I will have to pay for my own housing, too, and not just food. Hopefully I'll have a decent income by then.

It's sad that I already lose a lot of my money to being addicted to the internet. I can give up TV but I can't give up the internet. And it isn't cheap in this area. There is only one company and it costs $32.97 a month.

I suppose I could move to dial-up, but I do far too much downloading for that. D:
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Post by dokool » Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:11 pm

Graduated in May with a B.A. in Electronic Media and the Arts (note: my school is tiny so all of the stuff like video, graphic design, music production, etc goes here) with a focus in video production/editing, and Asian Studies (generally with a focus on Japan). I've been fortunate enough to be able to use AMVs in one or two assignments where I would have otherwise suffered creativity block.

And of course, now studying Japanese in Japan.

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Post by Otohiko » Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:13 pm

Arigatomina wrote:To be honest, since that "what's your career" thread I find it disturbing how few poor people there are on this site.
Oh I beg to differ!

At least please don't pile me in with the 'rich' :P

I think my 'career student' thing so far is giving people the impression that I'm rich, whereas in fact I'm far from (you might've gathered as much from my Russian relatives' accommodations as described in my huge thread...) I'm willing to claim that I grew up more in more empoverished conditions than anyone on this forum, see if someone can counter that :)

I don't get by because of some secret financial resource. I've been on my own completely since age 18 as far as finances (and I was mostly on my own well before that). How do I get by? 1) Huge student debt, 2) Fortunately I'm not just any student (my college record is basically a straight A), so scholarships/awards help me get by.

I actually don't mind being poor. As long as I can make ends meet, I'll never complain. I don't think I'm fooling anyone with my education - I ain't going there to make a lot of money. I'd long have gone into something more technical or business-related if I wanted that, since I think I have all the required abilities, but I just can't be motivated with money in the end.
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Post by Arigatomina » Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:46 pm

Otohiko wrote:I actually don't mind being poor. As long as I can make ends meet, I'll never complain.
That's me. I haven't been poor (as in, requiring charity to live) since I started working on my own because I'm very good at sticking to budgets. It doesn't matter what work I'm doing, I'll save enough to pay the bills and still have a nice wad for expenses. No insurance, no savings, but I get by on a weekly basis and I have a few credit cards with high limits and no debt on them. I actually considered myself rich in college because it was the first time in years that I didn't have to work. I tutored a few days a week for spending money, but there was no obligation to actually *work*. If I'd been just a little smarter I'd probably fall in with a lot of those technical careers being described here.

We had 11 valedictorians my senior year, 9 of whom had parents on the schoolboard, one whose father was the principal, and one who was a nobody taking honors classes and still holding a perfect gpa. I never had a chance at the best scholarships that year because I got a B in driver's ed. Ruined my average. ^^;; The only reason I got to go to college at all is because I applied for engineering and I'm a girl. Even then I didn't get the grades to stay with the program.

So maybe it isn't so much that people are richer here, but that they're smarter. :P

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