So I’m a teenage entrepreneur from Australia. I’ve been in the startup/tech industry for a few years and I love it. My goal is to move to America and work in fashion - this is something I really want to do. My question is, do I stay in Australia and go to a regular university and major in Communications and then try to enter the extremely small fashion industry (I want to go into fashion PR) or try to get accepted into a school like FIT/Central Saint Martins where I specialise in Fashion Communications? The benefits of going to a fashion school in NYC/London would mean there are so many more opportunities and I will have a niche degree and be around like minded people. The negatives would be it would block a lot of other options for me - such as if I didn’t wanted to go back to startups.
If I stay in Australia, I won’t have the opportunity to enter the fashion industry, and I won’t be in America - which is where I want to be. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like a visceral feeling, I’m meant to be in America and I feel out of place here.
What should I do?
In my experience, most startups don’t have the money for a PR/communications person - that’s done by the start-uppers, and other employees pitching in when needed. When the startup becomes more established/bigger – and can hire PR types – it’s no longer a startup.
So if you really want to be in on the beginning stages of companies, you should develop other skills that are more welcomed by startups: finance, fundraising, marketing, etc., in other words – strong business skills, which you can parlay into a job that eventually becomes a PR/communications job. And for that you don’t need a fashion school.
My recommendation would be to study business, and try to get into the fashion world through internships/summer jobs.
If I were in startups I wouldn’t be doing PR. I have already worked for 3 startups and have a broad range of skills it basically everything from design to marketing to project management ect. I was CEO of two companies as well.
Startups isn’t the path I want to take in the future. I want to live in New York and work in fashion, but getting a visa is my biggest problem.
@stanfordgoalz, I agree that the fashion industry in Australia doesn’t offer anywhere near the depth and breadth of opportunities as in the US, and that FIT will open doors to internships and professional networking. I imagine the same would be true in London, but I’m not that familiar with the available programs.
FIT’s marketing and advertising programs are excellent with many hands-on internship opportunities and a vast industry network. If you’re sure that’s what you want to do then, go for it.
I’m not sure why you wouldn’t be able to get a student visa if you were a full time student at FIT, but maybe there’s a difficulty that I’m not aware of. Paying for the program is another story. . .
If you’re not 100% sure that fashion marketing is the career for you, then I’d agree with @katliamom that a business or tech degree (which you could pursue in Australia) would be a better foundation, along with an internship at a local fashion brand. You could always do a 1 or 2 year program at FIT on top of an undergraduate degree which, to me, would be the ideal combination.
Sorry I was misled by your “entrepreneur” reference in the title and mention of startups. As an Australian citizen, wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper for you to study in London? I hear there’s a bit of a fashion scene in Europe (smile) – once you’re established there, it might be easier to come to the US.
That’s the thing, if I don’t go to FIT - I can’t get a visa! The government wouldn’t just let some random go into the country to work!
If I go to FIT, then I can get a visa. That is my dilemma.
In simply terms:
FIT = Visa = Niche Opportunities
Australia = No America = No Visa = Not many fashion opportunities