Worried about education and future, dont know what to do?

LegacyUser

TL;DR: If this is proven to be too long, let me know so that i can edit it and repost it.


Hello, I am having a small crisis about my future career-wise, so would really appreciate advice.

To be honest and this will sound stupid, I have always had the dream of going into acting on film, even as a kid. I have always been a fan of cinema and TV, and I just like the whole thing of just playing different people and working on something different all the time. Then if not acting, at least something in film or TV making.

But because I live in a rural area, not anywhere near Dublin and have no connections, I was terrified to actually ask my mother could I do an acting course. It not something you would say to people, nearly everyone here does farming, teaching or nursing.
She has always got her children to do course to get stable jobs and she would have never payed for an acting course for me. Not only that, people would have thought I was delusional at the time. I was the most awkward, shyest person you would even meet.

Even when I got to join a drama group for a year before it had to close down for lack of numbers, it was hard to express the way I wanted because the group was really for people to have the craic and not take it seriously.

So I had to put it on hold and look towards more stable jobs. But I still wanted to do something I liked, rather than for the job stability, so I was looking towards other creative outlets, like photography, writing and design. Photography was my biggest choice, but proven harder to get into a course. I did a Creative Multimedia course for 1st year, but transferred then to a Visual Communicaton course for 2nd year, because the subjects were fine, but the students were hard to get along with and was homesick.

So at my new course, it was similar to the old one, but gears more towards graphic design, which I just decided to stick it out, because it still had creative outlets that i liked and graphic and web design seem more stable job-wise.

But problem is now that this course has so many incompetent lecturers! They keep giving work with explaining everything fully, some lectures are just a complete waste of time imo, and this year I have found myself losing all motivation for anything. I mean one lecturer had us make a video using animation and she hasn't even teach us any proper animation at all! I had to submit very poor drawings and stick them together in a video maker, because I just didn't have the time to look up how to do animation. Heck I shouldn't even have to, if i am paying already to have these lecturers teach me!

I have moments where I just feel like packing it all in and going on welfare, because I am at my wits end over what I want to do. I am a female 21 going on 22 and i just don't know what to do. The acting still is on my mind, but I realize that I could be putting everything on the line if I pursue it and it turns out its not for me. I think it more of my families opinions more than my own fear. I had a sibling who does not work, but has been doing music for years in a band, but apart from EPs and shows, there hasn't been any real breakthrough and I can just see that my mother would rather they just get a stable job. I feel bad for them, because everyone else in this family like to think they are superior, just because they got jobs, even though another sibling of mine hates their job, they just act like they likes it to keep our mam happy.


Education-wise, I wouldn't mind re-doing my Leaving Cert again (I passed but points were very low), but I don't think i will have the time, unless I take a year out. Also people think there is not point now when you get in college, but I just wouldn;t mind doing it again just in case. Another option would be online courses, but are they any good on the CV? Are they only for relearning again, or could a employer take you on for a job, based on an online course?

Any help possible would be great, because I don't want to go on welfare, but at the same time I don't want to get a job that i know I will hate, unless I really had to.

Roselm

Well don't make a choice based on what you think your mother wants.You are an adult and this is your life now.
I think stick with graphic design seeing as you're in the middle of it and, you're right, it may be more likely to lead you into a job.
I would consider talking to the head of the course and explaining that you dont feel students are being given enough guidance.

Also your post is very long so maybe put a TLDR summary at the bottom

R.D. aka MR.D

So is it acting you want to do?

If so, then work towards it. What steps can you take to move closer to your goal?
Is there a drama group in the college?

Join it! Join any other groups that you can.

I'll tell you one bit of advice. It's all about networking. You have to really like networking and using connections and the whole nine yards. Your post comes across as a bit like you feel superior- to the people in your old drama group, to your lecturers, to your family members. That's something you will have to knock on the head to help you get along, especially in Ireland.

I have tons of friends in theatre and behind the scenes in TV. It's not as glamorous as you might think. You need hard work and connections to succeed. If you weren't lucky enough to be born with connections, then you have to work all that harder.


Make a plan. Have small achievable steps and work on it.

LegacyUser

Roselm wrote: »

Well don't make a choice based on what you think your mother wants.You are an adult and this is your life now.
I think stick with graphic design seeing as you're in the middle of it and, you're right, it may be more likely to lead you into a job.
I would consider talking to the head of the course and explaining that you dont feel students are being given enough guidance.

Also your post is very long so maybe put a TLDR summary at the bottom

I know it was very long, but I felt like I had to get everything out there to explain myself properly without giving out the wrong idea or impression. It would have been hard to summerise it with leaving out something vital bits.

LegacyUser

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

I'll tell you one bit of advice. It's all about networking. You have to really like networking and using connections and the whole nine yards. Your post comes across as a bit like you feel superior- to the people in your old drama group, to your lecturers, to your family members. That's something you will have to knock on the head to help you get along, especially in Ireland.

Apologies if that's how I came across, because believe me when I say that I do not think of myself being superior to anyone at all. If you knew me, I tend to have a low opinion of myself, hence the reason why I could never pluck up the courage to do what I want until recently.

I do appreciate the chances I have, to have actually found a drama group to begin with (they were very scarce at the time), to be college doing a course and to have a family that tries to push you doing something at least (could have easily been born into a family who do f**k all in life). I am very happy with the whole thing.
I just think I still need to work on putting more effort in and try to not complain about what goes wrong, unless I really had to.