Did pretty well in undergrad and picked up a Computer Engineering degree.
Most of my classmates went on to work for the DoD. I took the Kurt Vonnegut approach and said, 'no thanks'. I was also pushed away from being a nerd because of the people.... yeah, I've got my good friends but mostly everyone I graduated with were, well, kinda sad. So many of them focused on siloing their skill set that they didn't bother peaking their heads out of the basement computer lab to get out a live a WELL-ROUNDED life.
Applied for an MFA program that specialized in 3D (Maya specifically)... did allright, had one heck of a time learning how to paint but was fortunate to have had a lot of this kind of education when I was young (teenager) and not really all the way into computers.
Now, I boot up WoW every 6 months to look at the new artwork and scene design (then turn it off so I can go out and meet hot girls). I bought BioShock for my Mac (finally!) and played it for a while but seem to have simply lost the taste for gaming. I know I know... but man, I do SO MUCH ELSE.
Now, I work as a systems architect full-time and teach drawing and 3D animation 2 nights a week. I make presentations that communicate so much and do so in a very captivating way.... not to mention, I'm in with both the NERD scene and the ART scene. Anyone want to guess which is more fun?
I heard it explained in such a way once that practical degrees (engineering, architecture, comp sci, medicine, etc) are a great core skill-set to have but by branching out and getting something less practical, it expands your mind to the nth degree and makes those core skill-sets that much more effective.
This is by far the best decision I have made in my life.
