Biology (big or small school) or Fashion Design

[NebulaRoom]

Hi everyone, I hope you can give me some advice on this issue. I'm currently completing my M.Sc. in Microbiology. The program I was in was very intense and other students were very competitive. In short, I did not really enjoy the experience. I'm just finishing writing my thesis right now and it is excruciatingly boring. I've applied to two schools for a PhD and haven't received official acceptances yet but was told I would be. One option is a PhD in Microbiology at a very big and competitive school, much like the one I'm at now but this program looks even more intense. This place would have a lab rotation and I still haven't connected with any advisers there. 

 

The second school is very small and would be a PhD in Biology. I really find the adviser's work there exciting and I like the non-competitive department feel. It looks like all of the professors there are doing top-notch research so that makes me ignore that the overall school ranking isn't high. 

 

My third option would be to leave biology for now and start studying fashion design  . I always thought I would be an artist, but I found biology to be interesting also and would give me an actual paycheck so I went with that. I have experience in fashion design already as I have made many clothes before (of course almost none during my Master's.) I would need to go to school for the business aspect of it. 

 

Seeing what biologists go through is quite scary. In grad school there is scarce free time and then doing postdocs and being a professor you get even less free time and more stress. I enjoy teaching at research but I don't want it to be a stressful situation. I enjoy designing clothes and making art and I don't find it stressful...

 

This might sound crazy but I am really struggling with these decisions. If anyone has been through anything similar or has any advice please let me know. 

Thank you

[ChuckCL]

Not to be That Guy, but I don't think any of us can help you. You're facing an intensely personal decision. My only piece of advice is that if you don't like intense, competitive environments, fashion design IS NOT for you. You're not just going to waltz into a successful design career ...

Edited February 28, 2015 by ChuckCL

[Chai_latte]

Agreed.  The path to fashion design is not going to be any less intense than the PhD->postdoc(s)->tenure-track grind.  My whole thing is: life is short.  You need to do what will make you happy.  If that's fashion, pursue it.  Rather than jumping to fashion design school right now, you should probably go for an internship first.  See the ins-and-outs of the field with your own two eyes.

As for the right Bio program- make sure the small program graduates PhDs who are doing the type things that are of interest to you.  You already know you like the tone of the program.  Find out if you like the career prospects for recent alumni.  Whether the school is large or small, you want a "good fit".

Other than that,  good luck.

[NebulaRoom]

Thank you both. I do know fashion design is intense but the point is that I love doing it.

[MidwesternAloha]

Fashion can always be a hobby that you pursue on the side, while maintain a career that affords you the opportunity to do it. And if your fashion design takes off, you'll be able to balance practicality with what you love.

[JBeezWriter]

Well, I'm just going to disagree with all of you, LOL, and say that I could feel the energy shift when NebulaRoom began talking about Fashion Design. Believe me, I totally get it.

Fashion was always my thing, too, along with writing, but my parents dissuaded me from that and pushed me toward business... long story short, did not go into business. Went into Graphic Design as a compromise, art for me, "commercial art aka job in office" for the parents. Following even more parental pressure and dissuasion, I found myself plodding toward graduate school after coming back and working toward a second degree in Philosophy. But I aimed at an MFA in Creative Writing, with Pop Culture as a backup, thinking maybe I'd do a PhD in Philosophy or Culture Studies.

Except... midway through last summer, due to the pandemic making me have an existential crisis, I realized that all of those paths ended in professor--CW, PopC, and Phil. Well, I didn't want to be a professor.

But I do love yarn, fabric, apparel, designing... so, I pivoted. I went straight into the path (undergrad) that nobody wanted me to take, and I have to say, I have never been this happy or this fulfilled EVER. I'm getting straight A's, carrying a full load while working 40/week (understanding boss), and I know this is where I'm meant to be--Fashion Merchandising and Product Development. I've discovered I love the tech design/CAD part of it intensely. My only regret is that I didn't push harder "back then" or go into it sooner.

So, I say, it sounds to me like Biology is what NebulaRoom thinks s/he SHOULD be doing, but Fashion is what s/he WANTS to be doing. Being told to relegate it to hobby status is demeaning (sorry!). It makes it sound as if a desire for a career in not-science is "less-than", when it's not. It's just as valid (and, if you think about it, necessary, but don't get me started or I'll write my dissertation on the importance of textiles in daily life right here and now. LOL)

If that is where the passion is, that's where Neb should go. PASSION is what gets the great job, the high pay, the happiness. Plodding along on a path that one is resigned to, and trying to find meaning in the exhausted hours after work, that is a recipe for massive anti-depressants and late-life existential crises (ask me how I know, LOL).

I say, give it serious, SERIOUS thought, and do what feels right on the inside. Never mind what others say. And if, after all, you do find biology to be your calling, that's great, too. Biology and fashion aren't too unrelated; many designers are influence by biological elements.

Best of luck to you, friend.