FrankBullitt05

Ok, I'll be getting my BA in Graphic Design in a few months, and I am at a crossroads here...

I'm wondering if I should go out to Pasadena to get a BA in Transportation Design(that's the fancy name for "I draw cars for a living" degree") or should I go out and buy a house...

Full tuition at Art Center College of Design is about $90,000 and the price for a nice house a few burbs over is about $150,000. It'll probably be a few years before I can afford either...

Anyways, ACCoD is good b/c most car companies hire directly from there, but my cousin and I are talking about starting a custom shop after we both graduate(he's going to WyoTech.) So, right now, I'm leading towards a house.

Words of Wisdom please...

mr-mstng

A house in the suburbs of Pasedena costing $150K? Are we talking California?

I always looked at advance degrees os a cost/benefit. Is the added cost of tuition worth that much more in salary, and what do most people in the field that you want to work in, have? If most have a master's you may not get in too easily without one. But, if you are considering starting your own business, realize that, it too will will require a substantial investment. Both your time and money will be pushed to their limits. Either way, you'll be investing in your future, and if possible, put the house off until you are more settled in what you are doing.

Hope this helps.

hdwrench

dont listen to me every decision i have ever made was the wrong one.

JeffreyDJ

You have to decide what you *WANT* to do.

A House will gain value over time ... The education could last a life-time ... It all depends on what YOU want to do. Why not plan to do both?

Also, 150K isn't really out of range for a home in larger cities.

Lalo

where is this suburb with $150k homes?? very interested. gonna be a teacher, so i gotta get a house cheap. although the gov't would help me out

jgsmuzzy

I went down the route of getting qualified without a degree, man is it hard work! Although now, I earn as much as if I had my degree at the same age as people with the degree, plus, I got 5 more years more work experiance and Business sense.
Life if full of decisions that will dramatically change your life, and quite honestly, you are the only one who can make them, go with the strongest feeling you have (also think of yourself in 10 years time, will you be thinking "If only I had done this")
I know my answer doesn't actually make a point of which road you should go down, but as I said, that is solely your decision.

Good luck.

FrankBullitt05

the house would be in the far far western Suburbs of Chicago... couldn't imagine the prices in Cali

Thanx, guys...
I think I'm gonna go with the house...

MustangMan311

I dunno I probly would've gone with the degree but hey, it was your decision and I wish ya luck man.

Romero

My parents are looking for a home in the Pasadena area right now. When looking for a 3 bed, 2 bath the prices are OUTRAGOUS. For that kind of place houses rang from around $350,000 up to $1,000,000 in the right part of town. In the area of eastern Pasadena, we looked at a condo and had a heart attack when we saw the price was $615,000. Housing prices here absolutely stink.

Right now, my girlfriend, my guy friend from work, and I are looking to get a house/townhouse/condo 3 bed, 2 bath for rent and I have to have a yard for my dog and a garage for all my junk. So far, in the nice parts of town we found things ranging from $1700-$2500 a month, plus one month deposit. For the places around $2000 a month we would need another person to survive. It’s not as cheap as you’d think around here.

The Art Center is amazing from what I have heard. My girlfriend and I would love to go there, but we lack money and I lack discipline.

FrankBullitt05

Yeah, ACCoD accounts for about 1/5 of the designers in the auto industry, that's why I was thinking about going there, but that leaves 80% coming from other places...

I'm looking at houses in Sugar Grove and Plano, Illinois about 50 miles west of Chicago...3 beds and 2 baths run from 130 to 180K. Same house in my home town, Naperville, is about 300k