How hard is an art director's job?

Is an Art Director a good path to choose for this time?

• I'm a 16 year old girl and I love art. I used to want to be an engineer for the money (and my parents really pushed it on me) but I hate it. It's too hard and I don't get it. But I love art, and I am interested in graphic design; hopefully some day I'll be an art or creative director. I know I need to study graphic design, drawing, and photography if I want to be an art director. I am interested in both film and advertising. --But is there a need for art directors? I don't want to work so hard becoming one and not being able to get a job.

• Answer:

  First of all, knowing what you want at your age is EXCELLENT. That's 99% of the battle. Don't worry about whether or not you're needed, or if there's a demand. If you're excellent at what you do, there will always be room for you, so focus on BEING EXCELLENT. That means taking the time to indulge your passion in art and taking the time to learn and practice. Did you ever notice that the people that are really good at what they do, didn't neccessarily go to school to learn it. Some of the best artists out there never spent two seconds in school. That's not to say, "Don't go to school." That means develop your passion just as much as your skills. Get excited about it. Never forget this: in every artist's life, there was a period where their art was the only thing they focused on, and that's why they got good at it. They didn't give up, they didn't let people tell them it was the wrong thing to do. They just kept trying. Your parents are not living your life, it's yours to live, not theirs. Follow your interests to the end of the road and look at both the bad and the good that occurs in your life as "school." People don't fail because they're not good, they fail because they give up. Be an happy artist, and not a miserable engineer.