CAREERS

Just about everything in your world—from the chair you’re sitting in to the clothes you’re wearing, from the web videos you watch to the music you download, has been touched by the imagination of a creative person.  Whether dreamed up from scratch or made better, faster, cleaner, more efficient, more attractive, or more powerful, they’re all examples of creativity applied to solve a problem. 

And if you’re the kind of person who’s always coming up with ideas, always looking at things a little differently, they should inspire you to start thinking about a career in the creative world. Because ideas—and the people who come up with them—have value in the marketplace.

First, you’re going to need to get a creative education. To find the school that’s right for you, decide how serious you are about pursuing a career in a highly competitive industry where there’s constant pressure to come up with the next big idea.  Then visit The Art Institutes system of schools that offers a serious education with instructors who actually work in the same specialties they teach. 

A future Designed for someone just like you.

If your passion is design, your education may lead to a career in advertising or graphic design.  You can learn to visually express ideas to create the things that have always caught your eye—like logos, packaging, billboards, web banners, TV commercials…you get the idea. This isn’t art for art’s sake; it’s art for the sake of getting attention and selling brands.  

If you always find yourself mentally re-arranging every room you walk into, maybe you should become an interior designer.   You can use your talent to bring out the best combination of form and function in spaces where people work and live.  You could also become an industrial designer, coming up with new products or improving existing ones.

Why not Media Arts? Um, what is Media Arts?

They go by many names, but the education programs and their corresponding career paths in the dynamic digital world of media arts are where you’ll find people using their imaginations to create animation and special effects, video games, websites, sound design, film, and video.  It’s all about using ideas and technology to deliver all kinds of information and entertainment, and it’s a field that’s been growing immensely and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Follow Fashion to a great future.

“You are what you wear.”  To most people, that’s a tired cliché.  To a very few, it’s a sacred creed.  If you fall into the second group, you might just be destined to fashion a career in clothes.   Whether it’s creating the new styles that go from the runway to the retail shop, or running the shop, there’s an academic program that can get you there.  And you don’t have to be the next big fashion designer—if your sense of style is matched by your head for business, you can get into marketing, merchandising, or management.

Carve out a nice niche for yourself in Culinary.

Creative minds make everyday objects interesting.  And a little channel-surfing will tell you that one of those objects is food.  But creative culinary isn’t just about TV competitions, it’s also a great opportunity if you love food and have a knack for fresh ideas.  Consumers are demanding more—and more exotic—dining options.  Which puts people who know how to create it in greater demand by employers. But if your passion for food goes beyond the kitchen, consider a career in culinary management, where you’ll blend all the ingredients—from cuisine to ambience—to create the entire dining experience.

It all comes down to finding—and following—your passion.  That thing that gives you a shot of emotional adrenalin.  If you haven’t found it yet, you’ll know it when you see it.  And at The Art Institutes schools, you can follow it all the way to a rewarding career.