(cont.) A Newborn Me
from an engineer to a designer - a story of striving for getting dreams fulfilled
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When I was still a kid, I liked doing all kinds of artwork at school though sometime, I preferred doing craft projects rather than a piece of drawing. I still remembered that I was once told to draw a scene of MTR in an art class and I felt so disliked that I asked the art teacher if I could do other kind of craft project as an alternative!
Nevertheless, I loved spending a whole night enjoyed making perfect models and usually got a good grade in return. How lovely it was.
Anyhow, art seemed to always be a hobby-like activity in my mind... and indeed it disappeared from my school life after I finished my last art class in Form 3. I then continued my high school as a science student.
My brother is one year older than me. He studied triple E's (i.e. electronic and electrical engineering) as his major in university. My father worked as a technician doing aircraft engineering too. So, by the time I needed to choose my major, the word 'engineering' came to my mind instantly. And I thought it'd be too cool to be a woman engineer.
Considering the fact that I had no interest in electrical stuffs, mechanics, computers etc... the only subject left behind in the list provided by various universities in Hong Kong would be civil engineering. This reminded me for a while that my keenness of doing crafts and making models should make me suitable for taking this field of study. Yet, I forgot my pure maths' result was a disaster. Shortly after taking the first structural engineering course for my civil engineering degree, I admitted that I really had a hard time making sure a pass for this particular subject!
Perhaps, as most other Hong Kong born students were once thinking, the choice of a degree subject should be made not only to your interests but also in relation to the opportunity of being employed and accepted in the future job market. So following the same line, studying art & design seemed not going to give you a very promising future, especially in Hong Kong. This was quite a common perception around my generation and the elders, sad to say. And design courses had long been offered under Higher Diploma program at most.
I thought, at that time, being a civil engineering graduate should be good enough to secure a job and make a fair or even good living in long run. I was pleased with the choice I made.
Being raised in a lower middle class family, I never thought that I would have a chance to study abroad. Indeed, slowly via my career development, I was getting more chances to know the world outside and realised how naive I had been in the past. The kinds of degree programs available at overseas universities are indeed far more than expected. Not mention other engineering studies, even for art & design, there could be degree-level courses in textile and printing designs, graphic and illustration designs etc. offered by prestigious design schools around the world. This really opened me up and I wish I could know earlier.
But this is life, full of 'surprises'!
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When I was still a kid, I liked doing all kinds of artwork at school though sometime, I preferred doing craft projects rather than a piece of drawing. I still remembered that I was once told to draw a scene of MTR in an art class and I felt so disliked that I asked the art teacher if I could do other kind of craft project as an alternative!
Nevertheless, I loved spending a whole night enjoyed making perfect models and usually got a good grade in return. How lovely it was.
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| Toledo Metro Station, Naples, Italy by Pegeo © 2015 |
Anyhow, art seemed to always be a hobby-like activity in my mind... and indeed it disappeared from my school life after I finished my last art class in Form 3. I then continued my high school as a science student.
My brother is one year older than me. He studied triple E's (i.e. electronic and electrical engineering) as his major in university. My father worked as a technician doing aircraft engineering too. So, by the time I needed to choose my major, the word 'engineering' came to my mind instantly. And I thought it'd be too cool to be a woman engineer.
Considering the fact that I had no interest in electrical stuffs, mechanics, computers etc... the only subject left behind in the list provided by various universities in Hong Kong would be civil engineering. This reminded me for a while that my keenness of doing crafts and making models should make me suitable for taking this field of study. Yet, I forgot my pure maths' result was a disaster. Shortly after taking the first structural engineering course for my civil engineering degree, I admitted that I really had a hard time making sure a pass for this particular subject!
Perhaps, as most other Hong Kong born students were once thinking, the choice of a degree subject should be made not only to your interests but also in relation to the opportunity of being employed and accepted in the future job market. So following the same line, studying art & design seemed not going to give you a very promising future, especially in Hong Kong. This was quite a common perception around my generation and the elders, sad to say. And design courses had long been offered under Higher Diploma program at most.
I thought, at that time, being a civil engineering graduate should be good enough to secure a job and make a fair or even good living in long run. I was pleased with the choice I made.
 |
| IT'S MAGIC by Pegeo. Copyright © Pegeo Co. Ltd. 2015 |
Being raised in a lower middle class family, I never thought that I would have a chance to study abroad. Indeed, slowly via my career development, I was getting more chances to know the world outside and realised how naive I had been in the past. The kinds of degree programs available at overseas universities are indeed far more than expected. Not mention other engineering studies, even for art & design, there could be degree-level courses in textile and printing designs, graphic and illustration designs etc. offered by prestigious design schools around the world. This really opened me up and I wish I could know earlier.
But this is life, full of 'surprises'!
