Original publication: December 7, 2013

Re: University of Phoenix Online

Associate of Arts in Business

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology for Visual Communications

Article #1

Is your pay fair?

Fair, But Not Very Fair

There are dozens of great lines in “The Princess Bride” like “Never go up against a Sicilian when Death is on the line” or “Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” The one that holds the most truth, however, is, “Life isn’t fair, Princess. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell something.” What is true about life is true about work. I have never objected to working for a living, but as often as not I’ve found myself in a situation where I was living only to work. I’m an artist and a writer, so I am constantly driven to create—but I’ve rarely been lucky enough to get paid for my art or writing. So, I usually had a full time job, or two or three part time or contract jobs just to pay the bills. I would spend eight hours at work, as much as 3 hours communing to and from work, and another eight hours working on projects at home. I would get a few hours of sleep, and do it all again the next day, squeezing meals in when I had half an hour to spare.

In all honesty, my creative pursuits create more work than I could manage if there were forty-eight hours in a day. Initially, I took whatever job I could get to pay the bills and focused on improving as an artist and writer. Unfortunately, the jobs I could get did not pay well, and impeded my progress as an artist and writer. I returned to school to get a degree, and choose a major that would allow me to combine the technical experience gained from my employment with my art and writing proficiency. For four years, I split my time between work and school, with little or no time to spend on art and writing. Once I graduated, with a BS in Information Technology for Visual Communication, I found that it was a difficult as ever to find a full time position in my chosen field. I took contract and freelance jobs to build my portfolio. The pay as a contractor was half an order of magnitude better than I ever had before, but the freelance jobs really only paid in experience.

I’ve done the research, and the average salary for an illustrator, or graphics-, web- or ui designer in my area is fair enough to pay off my student loans, and cover living and commuting costs with a little left over for savings. Assuming I was working full time at my current billing rate, I would be willing to call it fair pay. Prospective employers are comfortable with the salary I am asking for, so I know it is a realistic number. Unfortunately, they’re more comfortable with applicants who are already established in similar positions at similar companies. It’s a dubious comfort to know I could count on fair pay if I could count on fair play.

Article #2

Would you choose the same degree again?

Timing Truly Matters

As much as I hate to say it, I would not choose the same degree if I could do it all over again. I am an artist and writer, and I intended to pursue a dual major in illustration and literature but was never in a financial position to support myself and go to school at the same time. Unable to get a job as an artist or writer, I settled for jobs that allowed me to pay the bills while focusing on art and writing on the side. The best work I was able to get was in IT contracting. I had the aptitude for working with computers and coding, and the creative skills for graphic and web design, so it was common for clients or employers to ask me to do work on their websites. So, when I had the opportunity to go back to school I chose a degree that combined my talent and skill with my experience.

The University of Phoenix did not offer the courses or degrees I truly wanted, but at that time it was the only school I knew of offering online courses, allowing me to coordinate my study with work. I was tempted by the prospect of being a web designer with a five- to six-figure income, doing work that called on my creative and technical skills equally. I was optimistic about finding work, because it was work I was already doing and the Internet was recovering from the dot-com collapse. I am still confident in my ability to succeed as a web designer, but I’m more confident in my ability to succeed in my original goals as an artist and writer. Assuming I can pay my current student loans and afford future classes, I hope to pursue a Master’s Fine Art Degree in Digital 3D Art to make the most of the skills I am developing now.