Set sail for the future!

With a quite 'plink' of my inbox the process of steering my life in a new direction begins.

I've come to realise that I need to apply more focus to my goals in life - where I want to go and how I'm going to go about getting there. I've been toying with the idea of studying further for about a year now. Ever since I realised that sadly I can't really travel on my qualification as a Graphic Designer as we're dime a dozen and I'm decent, but not brilliant.

I always knew that at some point I'd have to make a career change. Designers either burn out or give up and there are not a lot of positions open to those who are considered ageing and less 'hip', and there's also not a lot of room at the top of the tree for those considered to be 'senior or heavy weights'. The fact that people are considered to be a Senior designer after a period of only five or six years should give you an idea of the longevity of the average designer's career. And hell, it's going to take me more than a few years to build up to the qualification I'm looking for, so I need to start the ball rolling now.

So, I've decided to move towards Marketing and Client Services - it's related, but I think with time and training I may well do better there than I ever have as a Graphic Designer. There's also a greater chance of me getting hired as in that field than as a 'foreign designer' in the UK - since I have every intention of going back.

So I've signed up with a distance learning institution to do a 6 month course in PR as starters. If that goes well and I cope with additional demand of studying added to the already full schedule of work, martial arts, role-playing, relationship and friends I'll then consider taking the next, more ambitious step I've got planned.

It's somewhat amazing to consider that all this is motivated by my loyalty to TJF Jujitsu. My greatest goal at the moment is to make it to brown-belt, so like Davis I can start my own club where ever I may choose. I early want to be back in a country where I can train whenever I choose with a variety of people and not feel constantly that I'm being held back by unfortunate circumstances. It also helps that I have more close friends in London right now than I have anywhere else on this planet (although it'll be just typical that they'll all leave just as I get my act together and head back for the UK...)