Alright so, I am getting ready to go back to school and am a bit torn on a more practical degree, or a degree in something completely new....

Joined the military at 17, became an aviation electronics tech.
Got a job at a satcom company directly afterwards. Both of these positions were for test/troubleshooting of radio/satcom communications assemblies to component level. Decent pay.

Currently, i quit my job to stay at home with my (now 10 month) son, becasue my wife earns a pretty good salary.
In this time, i am going to continue my education. But i find myself re-evaluating my career goals.

Do i continue in my electronics career, going for an electronics engineering degree, which will make a better salary, but ultimately svck the life out of me. Or do i change gears and go to school for a career that i would enjoy much more, in this case graphics and web design?

Cheers

Well, ultimately this is a decision only you can make. I suppose the biggest question is are you in a financial position to pursue something you enjoy. If you are, then I would go for it, were I in your shoes. It seems to me that making enough money is better than making more if it comes with large drawbacks. If you are not in a financial position to do it, then the choice becomes much harder.

No amount of money can make you happy if you hate your job. Keep that in mind, and I wish you well.

Thing to remember, there are a lot of unemployed Web Designers out there. Reason, it's easy to use the tools to create a webpage, but to have the acumen to make pages that people want to spend time on and visit again is another thing entirely. That takes time and effort to achieve.

Remember, you have a 10 month old and one income. What if your wife gets laid off or her company get's bought and she has to move but you don't want too? (not saying you would divorce her, but to make the choice to stay in your area she might have to quit)

My advice is to get an education in an area that will get a paycheck doing something you know how to do already, Engineering in your case, and you don't have to stay with Satellites, you can come work on my side in the Internet Core. There is also Cell Phone Technicians and Engineers. Then, once you have an assured paycheck skill, then pursue your passion until you can make a go of it.

These are definitely things i am considering.
I do know that if my wife lost her job, i have connects and great references to get back into electronics, of course this depreciates as time passes.

If i went the graphics and web design, i wouldn't just be doing web pages. I would also look towards branding, packaging, typography, logos. things like this.
Its nothing huge, but i design logos, flyers and other things for my band as well as a few others at this point.
I agree that it may not be the most steady work. That's really my only reservation on going down this path.

Anyone out there work in design?

A friend of mine does website design for local businesses and such and he makes decent money. Keep in mind, it IS a job he has on the side though. I'd suggest getting a degree in something you enjoy but you can also make money in.

Wise words indeed. It can become a rather difficult choice of making money vs doing what you love that may not earn you a whole lot of money. I've given up all hope on my dream of becoming a Geneticist because it just isn't in the cards. My backup job idea of getting into the gaming industry by being a level designer is also trashed. Haven't had much of any luck beyond 1 interview in a 7 year time from *starting from 2005/2006* of getting a job.

Agreed. Web Design is WAY-TOO-EASY right now because of programs that pretty much take care of everything for you. I have a website and had, still have, access to 2, possibly 3 programs which I can use to design pages. I'm also trained in how to examine hardcoding of HTML, and learned a little CSS coding because of my experience with C++ coding in learning how to deconstruct things. These programs allow you to draw things out in an art program fashion like Photoshop, GIMP, or Paint Shop Pro, adding in elements such as drop down boxes, buttons, etc.... Those drop down boxes were a pain to manually program in, but with programs they code everything for you rather quickly.

Not trying to discourage you OP, but it is a rather tough place to get a job in. Only thing I can even remotely think of are people that hire individuals to maintain websites, checking to see if areas are broken, updating old coding, creating new templates for the site, and other things.

Only thing I would add to that is make sure to get a degree in an area of expertise that you have a bit of work experience in. I can't say this for everyone, but the people around me are being stingy as hell where they only want people with prior job experience in a certain field.

GL to ya OP. Hope everything works out for you.