As someone who got a degree in graphic design and then a degree in CS 10 years later, I can say that I have found that software engineering has its own feelings of creative expression that I didn't expect before getting into it. Coming up with creative solutions to problems is rewarding, and coding a user interface that looks and feels good requires creativity as well.
I'm glad now that I have a good-paying CS job that is cognitively stimulating while I can truly enjoy graphic design for personal side gigs and freelance jobs, rather than losing my love for it at a lower-paying job where I might not have the freedom for creative expression in what I'm designing.
I will say that I did struggle HARD for the first few years adjusting to the level of work required for a CS degree, and the amount of math. It got dark for a while. It took me 6 years to get a 4 year degree, but I went from thinking I was bad at math to loving the problem-solving aspect of it. I'm so glad I made it through.
Understand that you may live in a country that does not have a University that teaches a full 3-4 years in graphic design. That's truly unfortunate.
You state, 'Graphic Design can be learned online via classes and via tutorials'. This is a very popular misconception on this reddit thread. Yes, these classes and tutorial do exist, but they are in NO WAY a replacement for formalized, face to face training by professional graphic designers who teach the science.
In addition, the vast majority of these online programs, in my eyes, are total scams targeted at folks just like you. If you are diligent, and spend hours and hours online you 'may' gain a grasp of fundamental 'graphic layout' (not design) and could get a job doing basic production work. This type of work, while nothing wrong with it, is typically low paying and more than likely not as exciting as you seem to want.
Conversely, if you have the means to attend a credible design school, are taught by actual graphic design professors, learn all aspects of design, and end up with a robust portfolio showing you have a solid grasp of strategic thinking and problem solving, brand development, and storytelling through web, collateral, identity, packaging, EGD, etc. and how to work with professional illustrators and photographers...then you will be positioned to work at a design firm/agency and or in an in-house design role. That can be very exciting and financially rewarding.
If your school offers this, the route I took was majoring in Graphic Design and minoring in CS. It honestly was an amazing experience to do and has helped me plenty in understanding the entirety of design in multiple avenues.
Though minoring in CS will not give you a in-depth experience and representation of what it’s like in career avenues, I would ask yourself what do you want more before considering this recommendation.
During college I also took extra CS classes because I was really considering majoring in it as well (not from outside parental pressure, just from purely intrigued with web design, back end & front end dev).
Also from my understanding, CS is such a broad umbrella, try to hone in what you want to get out of it.
I absolutely love my job, my work, and have found now that I’m in senior positions it came super in handy.
Edit: Grammar
>as graphic designing skills can be learnt from the internet and after taking courses and building a good portfolio, that will be enough to land me an okay job in designing
Building a great portfolio is a lot more difficult than people think, and ultimately is a representation of your ability/understanding as established via your development.
Basically, to have a good portfolio you need good work, which requires good ability/understanding, which requires good development. A good design program should provide good development, but it is incredibly hard to get that via self-teaching, and the evidence speaks for itself based on those who try.
Of course there will be exceptions, and a lot of formal design education is bad (or just not very design-focused in the first place), but it's still really about whether the development is good or bad, not what someone can list on a resume. Simply having a degree or making a portfolio does not make someone qualified, and even when someone is qualified, that just means meeting a minimum standard.
If in your country the bar is much lower for design then that may make all this irrelevant as you've implied, but if that's the case I would instead focus on a more valuable career path. If design in your country really is something most can do just from online-based self-teaching, then you could also just do that on the side as a hobby and start freelancing later if you choose.
As someone who got a degree in graphic design and then a degree in CS 10 years later, I can say that I have found that software engineering has its own feelings of creative expression that I didn't expect before getting into it. Coming up with creative solutions to problems is rewarding, and coding a user interface that looks and feels good requires creativity as well. I'm glad now that I have a good-paying CS job that is cognitively stimulating while I can truly enjoy graphic design for personal side gigs and freelance jobs, rather than losing my love for it at a lower-paying job where I might not have the freedom for creative expression in what I'm designing. I will say that I did struggle HARD for the first few years adjusting to the level of work required for a CS degree, and the amount of math. It got dark for a while. It took me 6 years to get a 4 year degree, but I went from thinking I was bad at math to loving the problem-solving aspect of it. I'm so glad I made it through.
Understand that you may live in a country that does not have a University that teaches a full 3-4 years in graphic design. That's truly unfortunate. You state, 'Graphic Design can be learned online via classes and via tutorials'. This is a very popular misconception on this reddit thread. Yes, these classes and tutorial do exist, but they are in NO WAY a replacement for formalized, face to face training by professional graphic designers who teach the science. In addition, the vast majority of these online programs, in my eyes, are total scams targeted at folks just like you. If you are diligent, and spend hours and hours online you 'may' gain a grasp of fundamental 'graphic layout' (not design) and could get a job doing basic production work. This type of work, while nothing wrong with it, is typically low paying and more than likely not as exciting as you seem to want. Conversely, if you have the means to attend a credible design school, are taught by actual graphic design professors, learn all aspects of design, and end up with a robust portfolio showing you have a solid grasp of strategic thinking and problem solving, brand development, and storytelling through web, collateral, identity, packaging, EGD, etc. and how to work with professional illustrators and photographers...then you will be positioned to work at a design firm/agency and or in an in-house design role. That can be very exciting and financially rewarding.
If your school offers this, the route I took was majoring in Graphic Design and minoring in CS. It honestly was an amazing experience to do and has helped me plenty in understanding the entirety of design in multiple avenues. Though minoring in CS will not give you a in-depth experience and representation of what it’s like in career avenues, I would ask yourself what do you want more before considering this recommendation. During college I also took extra CS classes because I was really considering majoring in it as well (not from outside parental pressure, just from purely intrigued with web design, back end & front end dev). Also from my understanding, CS is such a broad umbrella, try to hone in what you want to get out of it. I absolutely love my job, my work, and have found now that I’m in senior positions it came super in handy. Edit: Grammar
>as graphic designing skills can be learnt from the internet and after taking courses and building a good portfolio, that will be enough to land me an okay job in designing Building a great portfolio is a lot more difficult than people think, and ultimately is a representation of your ability/understanding as established via your development. Basically, to have a good portfolio you need good work, which requires good ability/understanding, which requires good development. A good design program should provide good development, but it is incredibly hard to get that via self-teaching, and the evidence speaks for itself based on those who try. Of course there will be exceptions, and a lot of formal design education is bad (or just not very design-focused in the first place), but it's still really about whether the development is good or bad, not what someone can list on a resume. Simply having a degree or making a portfolio does not make someone qualified, and even when someone is qualified, that just means meeting a minimum standard. If in your country the bar is much lower for design then that may make all this irrelevant as you've implied, but if that's the case I would instead focus on a more valuable career path. If design in your country really is something most can do just from online-based self-teaching, then you could also just do that on the side as a hobby and start freelancing later if you choose.