Life decisions: Cinema or Business school?

[MrSam]

Hello good friends,

Now this isn't an urgent question since I only graduate in 2012 but within the next year I must( or at least I should) know what to do after High school.

For the last two years I've been fascinated by business, so assumed some type of business school is what I should do. But the more I read business books, specially Seth Godins books, and even more so after having attended several open days from a few business schools, I start to feel like going to business school is just going to form me to be a manager in a big Firm, and I'll be overworked and have to learn to fit in. But going to business school is the so called "sensible choice".

On the other hand I have recently rediscovered a hobby of mine which is special effects. I'd sort of stumbled on to this passion in 2006 where I had a photo story blog were I added "special effects" and did stories with my mates.
You can always read this here it's pretty hilarious.
Anyways I've rediscovered this less than a couple of weeks ago when I got a trial version of after effects. I straight away picked up, and when I wake up I think about the moment when Ill get home to be able to work on special effects for something.
We've recently filmed a short action scene ( freddiew from youtube inspired me to shoot my own stuff with what I had on my hands) and I spend most of my free time editing it. It's not great but it's a start. I also developed in this a huge interest for Filming, Cutting, as well as Editing.
And so I've asked a load of cinema schools for brochures, and will be waiting to get them and look into it.

I just don't know if I want to go the safe way business school blabla, or take the choice that is new and so called " risky".

I'm asking for your help on point of views on the subject Et cetera

Thanks for reading. Sam

[SatvikBeri]

I'd say it depends on whether you can get into a top 5 or so business school.

Going to Stanford will definitely give you the background to do all sorts of entrepreneurial ventures.

Going to Harvard, Yale, etc. will offer you a lot of flexibility, but are primed for working as an investor or in Finance.

Anything less than a top 5 business school is probably not worth attending.

[MrSam]

Oh, Why so? I can't afford a top 5 US business school anyway.

[SatvikBeri]

Originally Posted by MrSam

Oh, Why so? I can't afford a top 5 US business school anyway.

Dude, sure you can. Stanford gives full scholarships to anyone whose parents make less than $60,000 a year and prorated scholarships otherwise. Other top schools do similar things-the amount of financial aid out there is massive, if you just look for it. Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich: Personal finance and entrepreneurship tips from a Stanford graduate has written a lot about this topic-check it out. I went to very selective schools and I paid less than most of my friends who went to worse schools.

The reason I recommend only a very highly rated school is that there's a very sharp curve of, say, average salary depending on the school you attend. If you do linkedin searches looking at high-ranking jobs in a field, you'll see the vast majority come from just a few schools.

You can also check the expected value of an MBA-it tends to be very high for the top few schools, but average when you look at all schools in aggregate the expected value of an MBA is 0 or negative. The same applies to modern Law Schools. That means that there is a MASSIVE difference between going to a top 5 school and the 10th or 20th ranked school.

For you, it sounds like you only want to do business if you can do exceptionally well and not be trapped as a middle manager. Well, that frequently involves going to one of the best schools.

tl;dr version: going to a fantastic b-school makes a big difference, going to a #15 b-school makes very little difference.

[Cochonette]

I'm biased, but I say screw business and explore your artsy side.

[BitterFlower]

Originally Posted by Cochonette

I'm biased, but I say screw business and explore your artsy side.

Me too. Find a film school and go from there. I have a friend that went to Full Sail for recording arts and now he works in a studio in Chicago. He's been assistant engineer for rap acts such as Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco (he's in the credits of their albums). He's made pretty decent money and, of course, he loves what he does!

[Sue_B]

This is a way I've used to make decision at times - by trying them on and seeing how you feel. (It's actually an exercise from a coach training course I took.) Pretend there is a circle on the floor that represents your question. The circle is divided into wedges, like a pie. Stand in the first wedge and state your first option - ie business school. See how your body feels. What's your posture like? Your energy? etc. Then step into the next wedge. State this option. Again - notice how your body feels etc. Step into the 3rd wedge and keep going until you've covered all your options. Examples of options could be: business school, special effects, both, neither etc.

It helps to do this with a friend as they can take notes while you talk and they may notice a change in your voice or body posture. Plus they may have suggestions for options.

Just see how each choice feels. It may uncover some clues for you.

In addition, is there a career counsellor you can talk to? Can you get an internship in both fields to see which you like best or to see if you can combine both? Have you talked to people working in the special effects field?

Hope that helps?

[MrSam]

Thanks for all the replies.
And for now I think i'll go down the Art road, but still keeping my options wide open for now.
The thing is I go to school thinking " Geez can't wait to get home to get back to my computer to do some FX" not " Can't wait to get home to brainstorm business ideas".

And Sue there are career counselors but they're pretty useless. I mean they just give you the information they got off the internet, don't really advise you on what to do, and you just step out more confused than you stepped in.

[James81]

Do you think there might be a way to incorpoarte both into a new, third idea?

Usually when we are stuck between two choices it's because there's elements of each choice we really enjoy, but can't get entirely out of either choice. But there's always a way to take the elements of what you enjoy, what inspires you, and combine them into a third option that is better than either of the first two put together.

What are the elements of cinema and fx that you enjoy?

What are the elements of business that you enjoy?

[James81]

Another possible idea would be to get a bachelors degree in broadcast journalism or graphic design or whatever most has to do with the area of cinema that you enjoy and then get your masters in business. A lot of people do similar things because an MBA is a flexible masters program to get into.

[glennsmith]

You have described it perfectly where you say you can't wait to come home and do FX but don't think the same way about business.

Either way I would spend the next year noticing where you naturally are drawn to and notice what influences you to be interested in each area.

When you think about going to Business School are you imagining other people thinking about you a certain way. Do you imagine succeeding at getting a stable job in a big corporation and it will be great? You might well be suited as a business man and be very good at it and help improve many people's lives. Many people, me included are envious of people who have something that excites them, some passion that they love to do. If you love to do it and are good at it then you are very fortunate to have found this at such a young age

[danas]

Originally Posted by MrSam

And for now I think i'll go down the Art road, but still keeping my options wide open for now.
The thing is I go to school thinking " Geez can't wait to get home to get back to my computer to do some FX" not " Can't wait to get home to brainstorm business ideas".

good choice! Always follow your passion. It sounds like u have a business sense anyway (if it interests you)
All the successful business ppl I know in the film world, BTW, studied film and not business.
My mom has a PHd in Science but is a successful business woman today. She used her knowledge in science and combined it with her natural business talent

[MrSam]

My mind is set I've made my first really short film it was really fun, I've made a second one which I miight have time to finish editing tomorrow, it's really just great fun. If going to film school means beeing around people who share my interests, then that's what I wanna do.
Any comment will be greatly appreciated on my short.
YouTube - Cornflakes Bad Guys

It's pretty bad, my second one is slightly better, but for my next time I'll spend a lot more time on preproduction, getting everything ready, even if it means shooting over several weekends because of brothers not wanting to film all day =D.

PS: If you're gonna say good luck or something like that, please please please do so on my youtube video. I'm not saying don't do it here.
Thanks a lot.

Sam