Jan, Although I can understand the draw of the West Coast, don't write off some of the opportunities on the East Coast! I earned my Master of Design degree from Carnegie Mellon University, and I was lucky enough to spend two of the most rewarding/ intense /sleep-deprived years of my life there.
When I was researching schools, I had crystal clear focus on what I wanted out of a program. I picked CMU because of how well it matched my goals. I urge you to do the same. Articulate exactly what you want to be expert in at the end of the program, and then find a program that matches that. Be much less concerned about "where" but more on "how" and "what" you will learn. Most programs have unique strengths, and knowing what you want out of it will make the time, energy and money spent that much more worthwhile. Also, as to your points about Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash...many Master programs I know of require a pretty intense working knowledge of these tools upon entry to the program. The tools themselves are much more a means to an end, and not the purpose of the programs. But because much of design is "learning by doing," I definitely learned these tools backward and forward during my time there. So, if learning the tools is more your goal, I imagine certificate programs may be a better route. Good luck! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=49279 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
