I'll try to keep it short, since my thoughts on this subject can easily turn into a long-winded rant. Also, this applies to both industrial design and architecture, as there is a lot of overlap between the two.
1) Practicality vs "creativity"
When you see design projects, such as the cardboard bike, that are clever but completely impractical, design schools and design contests are largely to blame. This is the kind of design that will win you prestigious awards and good grades, but will never actually see production. There is a huge disconnect between the kind of design that most designers want to do, and what they actually make a living doing. As a result, they fetishize these impractical concept pieces.
2) Design education vs professional practice
Most design schools are still teaching (and grading students on) their hand-drafting skills. The number of professional firms that produce finished work entirely by hand is getting smaller and smaller every day, and yet many schools do not teach their students digital design, or do so on a very superficial level. Note: This applies to hand-finished final designs. I believe that hand-sketching is still invaluable in the early stages.
3) Cost of education vs reward
The job market for designers is abysmal. And if you do manage to get a job, you will be paid much less than the rest of your college-educated peers, despite working longer hours and (in the case of architecture) spending longer in school. Design school itself is outrageously expensive, even at state institutions, due to the cost of class materials and the fact that most programs do not leave you with enough free time to hold down a job.
In short, I'm studying computer science now, and couldn't be happier.
I switched majors after a week in architecture school for much the same reasons. It really felt like a strange, cult-like realm: architects feel superior to both engineers and artists, though they do a little bit of both and neither as well as the other.
1) Practicality vs "creativity"
When you see design projects, such as the cardboard bike, that are clever but completely impractical, design schools and design contests are largely to blame. This is the kind of design that will win you prestigious awards and good grades, but will never actually see production. There is a huge disconnect between the kind of design that most designers want to do, and what they actually make a living doing. As a result, they fetishize these impractical concept pieces.
2) Design education vs professional practice
Most design schools are still teaching (and grading students on) their hand-drafting skills. The number of professional firms that produce finished work entirely by hand is getting smaller and smaller every day, and yet many schools do not teach their students digital design, or do so on a very superficial level. Note: This applies to hand-finished final designs. I believe that hand-sketching is still invaluable in the early stages.
3) Cost of education vs reward
The job market for designers is abysmal. And if you do manage to get a job, you will be paid much less than the rest of your college-educated peers, despite working longer hours and (in the case of architecture) spending longer in school. Design school itself is outrageously expensive, even at state institutions, due to the cost of class materials and the fact that most programs do not leave you with enough free time to hold down a job.
In short, I'm studying computer science now, and couldn't be happier.