Sociology to Interior Design

[catiboo]

I recently graduated from university with a degree in Sociology. I love fashion and design and have a very creative side to myself. But, I am also very socially conscious and love challenging people to see things in different ways. I am torn between these two sides of myself and whether or not either one can be totally fulfilling. I am just not sure if being an interior designer or going into fashion or journalism is right for me. I am also not sure if this is my resistance talking, or my parents own socialization giving me excuses to not follow this. I am not sure I have a dream. Maybe I just don't have enough experiences? I would really love to hear what other people have gone through and maybe how they were able to resolve this. Thanks for your help!

[Unity]

What about a career that combines all three? The first thing that came to mind was a consultant where you help people make the most of themselves - (like a non-feng shui consultant ) so you help them with appearance, personality, lifestyle, clothing and home interiors.

[DJCNOR]

There's the possibility of doing them all at once, or of doing them in succession, remember. Which one do you want to do first if you were to do them in succession? DJCNOR

[metalchick]

I see no reason why you can't do all of that at the same time! you could do your fashion design as commission work for special events or as an online store. Or maybe get a job writing about fashion. or you could do research on the sociology of fashion. There are a lot of ways to wrap those things up together. Good luck to you!

[ideamim]

I think how people live and how they form societies are just different takes on the same theme -- one that has never had more relevance than now! The challenges that we face as a global society have a lot of common ground with how we outfit our homes - heating and cooling, permanence vs. flexibility, sustainable materials, to name a few. And I think more people will be interested in having their homes reflect a sense of harmony with the earth, so that they can come home to a reflection of the direction they hope we're moving toward. So what about being a socially conscious Interior Designer who helps people create environments that express how they want to live as a global society?

[spiegel]

I would probably caution against going back to school to study interior design though, given the state of the global economy...architects can do the job of interior designers as well as the building shells, and when it gets to cost-cutting time, interior designers' jobs are one of the first to go. That said, there's no reason why you shouldn't pursue interests in interior design or fashion as careers, especially if you manage to find that elusive internship somewhere. Just don't go into debt for them And just out of left field, may I suggest the Manolo's blogs over at http://shoeblogs.com Shoes, aesthetics, society, wit and humour all combined. He also has several staff bloggers who write across a variety of topics, so see if it's something you might be interested in doing if you blog regularly.

[past08]

I recently graduated from university with a degree in Sociology. I love fashion and design and have a very creative side to myself. But, I am also very socially conscious and love challenging people to see things in different ways. I am torn between these two sides of myself and whether or not either one can be totally fulfilling. I am just not sure if being an interior designer or going into fashion or journalism is right for me. I am also a Interior Design consultants in Dubai not sure if this is my resistance talking, or my parents own socialization giving me excuses to not follow this. I am not sure I have a dream. Maybe I just don't have enough experiences? I would really love to hear what other people have gone through and maybe how they were able to resolve this. Thanks for your help!

What about a career that combines all three? The first thing that came to mind was a consultant where you help people make the most of themselves

[Elaine Glimme]

If you just graduated from university, I assume you're in your twenties, and you have so much ahead of you. You've learned a lot in university, but there's still so much more to learn as you get your first job. If I were you, I'd look for a good-enough job, and then explore all the possibilities out there. I hope you get to do everything and even more.

[Jennifer623]

I went though something similar and feel like I can empathize a bit. In college, I was interested in both psychology and art. I had to have both to balance one another. I think that is because I enjoy beauty and feel strongly about helping others. I ended up graduating with a double major and entertained the thought of doing art therapy to combine the two. I wonder if there is a way for you to combine both, maybe with some sort of holistic health. What if you had a fashion business that gave some of your products to certain populations which interest you? What if you used your sociology knowledge to grow your interior design business? Or what if you did both separately but each part time? What if one was just a hobby? I guess there are a lot of paths to choose from...

But, I see that your original post was from seven years ago. I am curious to see what direction you took with your interests. Would you mind providing an update?

[inspiresuccess]

In college, I was interested in both psychology and art... I ended up graduating with a double major and entertained the thought of doing art therapy to combine the two.

I'll come back and read the rest of this thread but I was stunned when I read your info. Here's why:

I started out majoring in art, then switched to psychology and ended up with a major in psychology and a minor in art. I thought about doing an M.A. in psychology to become an art therapist.

Woo! Spooky! Mirror image!

[SquarePeg]

My daughter thought about studying art therapy for a while. She went to a high school with an arts emphasis. But she was also interested in social work.