Most people think that when you map out your educational journey, you should have a clear idea of what it is that you’d like to do, and be direct about where it is that you’re going.
However true this may be in a perfect world, the truth of the matter is that, for a large percentage of the present population, we trip and stumble our way through life, including the educational experience.
I’ve come to know and accept that it’s often the bits and pieces we gather along our trail to success that mold our path and make it better and brighter with each passing day.
Coming into this degree my mind was set strictly on writing and journalism. I loved fashion, appreciated all areas of the arts and human expression, and thought it would be cool to take on the challenge of a career path that would stretch my communication skills in a different direction.
It was one fateful day in 2012, after a filling meal from Pollo Tropical, when a friend looked at an ad display in the restaurant window and asked, ‘Isn’t that the kind of stuff that interests you?’ Our conversation would culminate in my final decision to walk blind folded into my future education and career as a Creative.
Though discoveries can be fun, I’ve experienced frustrations, wasted time and money, encountered the most colorful people this side of a Leprechaun’s rainbow and still decided to keep my blindfold on and walk this thing out to graduation.
The GSC Master’s program with FIU and Miami Ad School is definitely a course of imagination, creative development and strategic stimulation. While here I have stretched my mindset and gone beyond what I thought I was capable of. I’ve learned that insight is highly subjective and depending who I’m trying to reach, my great idea is certainly not the only insight that matters in this world.
To be a Creative there are a few things you need:
First and foremost you need a good mind. When I say this I’m more so implying that your mind should be open, aware and unconventional. There are many people who operate in this industry yet their minds are not ‘good’, as a matter of fact the cogs within their thought storehouses have long collected dust and gathered spider webs of monotony.
A mind that is outdated and gone stale is a frightening thing but when you can bring a fresh perspective, insight and vision to the table it makes you that much more valuable to potential agencies of hire because you house the brain power and know how that will engage their market base and win them awards.
The frequent travesties we run into in regular life called mediocre to boring ads are the problems we have enrolled onto this course to solve. Therefore, a good mind should be accompanied by the equipping of correct motor skills. Just like your legs and feet had to learn how to bear weight and take strides, your hands will now need familiarity with the proper skill set – i.e. if you haven’t already QUICKLY become friends and then lovers with Adobe Creative suite or the Creative Cloud!!!
Next up, capabilities in networking. Yes ladies and gents in this degree you can’t be shy! Self-promotion and being multifaceted are great skill sets to posses while taking this degree. Solo projects are few and far between but working in groups is a sure bet. I’ve learned the value of being balanced in sharing and leading. Know how to lead when your group is having mental blockage and know how to share when it’s time to divvy up the workload.
Selfless people can be few and far between but grasp the importance of picking up skills that are outside your concentration to compensate. Not only does it give you extra credentials to place on your resume there’s also the matter of payback. Some call it karma, while others have another name for it, but the end point is that life has a way of biting you back when you least expect it. So always make a point to share work, split it fairly and share it often.
Other quick and quirky points to bake your noodle:
Be wise with money, Be wise with time and always study people, even the people you work and study with.
Mastering the art of these three mountains will gradually cause them to become molehills and grant you greater peace throughout the course.
I also have come to realize and be comfortable with the fact that the industry of advertising is huge beyond comprehension and one person’s opinion on where I’ll end up is not the final word on my future. There are several markets and arenas to explore and navigate through and one of them will be the culture that I fit with best and can cater to the strongest.
Now that I’m almost at the end of this degree I would say that I am equipped with a skill set that many companies are hungry to snatch because good talent is hard to find but great talent that comes with an ultimate skill set and saves their resource department ultimate dollars is like searching for a needle in a haystack.
As I stated before, the dusty cogs filled with spider webs need a good clean at several agencies. The expertise gathered from taking this course is just the ticket for the spruced up vibe their company needs to handle not only large clients but the everyday independently owned businesses that are vying for customer loyalty and need help in telling their stories and selling their messages to the consumer.
My ideal working situation is yet being formatted as I come to the closing semesters of this course. However, I do know that the company I will ultimately work for will be a place where ingenuity and innovation take place everyday.
Whether this place already exists or it’s a place of creative harmony that I must build myself is yet to be decided, but the first seeds of expectation have been planted and I anticipate continuing to water and nurture my creative edge to stand out and achieve in the world of advertising and communications.
