Let me give you a little background.

I've always been a pretty good student at school. And I had this idea that, when you get good grades, you should study something that pushes you intellectually to the limit.

So throughout my schooling, I only considered scientific professions. Architect, vet and finally aerospace engineer. I entered a scientific preparatory class, PCSI then PSI*. But right at the start of my second year, I got Covid. We've all had it, more or less, of course. But I had a hard time getting over it. Week after week, month after month, I was as tired as ever. I was following classes from home, my maths teacher was sending me homework and my brother was helping me with the lessons. It was getting really difficult. But I hung in there, worked on the lessons, did the assessments... without much enthusiasm. I wasn't happy, and I didn't even realize it.

But one day, my father asked me this question: do you really want to become an engineer? Isn't there some other path you'd rather take?

I wasn't expecting it, but the question intrigued me. I soon found out more about what being an engineer was like, and quickly realized that it wouldn't appeal to me all that much. The aerospace sector is certainly exciting, but the day-to-day aspects didn’t seem that exciting to me. So what could I do? I was already well into my studies, things were going relatively well, and I'd done the hard part. But was it really worth continuing if I didn't like the job? 

I took a lot of personality tests on the internet in the hope of finding the right job for me. But all the tests came up with something different, or something that didn't suit me.

That's when my father opened a door: he suggested I go into car design.

Design. A word that up to that point had always seemed a world away. An art profession? I had never seriously considered this option, and it was quite destabilizing.

But being interested in cars, the idea was appealing. It would allow me to keep one foot in engineering, while doing something more creative than engineering. After all, I liked drawing when I was younger, so why not?

So I did a lot of research into the profession. I contacted designers, asked about schools... And among many schools, I found Rubika's ISD. The school seemed to stand out from the crowd: the students' showreels were solid, the hiring rate interesting, and several designers had recommended the school to me. So I went to a school fair, where I met the Rubika teaching team. I was immediately impressed. The directors were very understanding, and motivated me to build a portfolio to take the competitive exam.

But when I found out a little more about the school, I discovered that they also train in Game Art. It would take a long time to explain all the reasons that made me change my mind, but I finally decided to register for the Game Art exam to get into Rubika. But I hadn't drawn in... several years. I had started again a few months before to prepare my portfolio, but my level was far from satisfactory. So I wasn't accepted into the first year of Game Art... but I was admitted to the preparatory course!

I jumped at the opportunity. It would allow me to consolidate my artistic skills and familiarize myself with the school. But wait... I'd seen that Rubika also trained in animation... You mean animated film?! Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks? Actually I want to do this now!

I'm exaggerating, of course. But that's basically how I got into 3D animation at Rubika.

So you're probably thinking: he's a real weathervane, he doesn't know what he wants! And you'd be right.

When I chose in high school, I didn't know what I wanted. It took me several years to fine-tune my path and find one that really suited me. So from this experience I've learned several lessons, which I'd like to share with you.

As early as high school, it's important to ask yourself questions about your passions and desires. Unfortunately, we have to choose our career path early on, so we might as well take the opportunity to take stock of ourselves. You can think about what really motivates you in life, what really makes you tick, what makes you feel alive and happy. And from there, look at jobs that come close, in ALL fields. The aim is not to follow prestigious careers to please our parents and impress our friends, but to find something that makes us want to go to work every day. It sounds extremely cliché these days, but I challenge you to live this experience. It's what I'm living now, and I assure you it's a wonderful feeling.

Another lesson that seems important to me is this: don't get stuck on one idea. Throughout my schooling, I only considered scientific careers. That's extremely narrow, and it completely closed me off to what now seems obvious to me: I was made to work in art. I like science, I like rigor, mathematical logic. But I can find all that in art too.

It can all seem a bit daunting, with all the options available and the need to make a choice in the next few years or months. But don't panic. 

The third major lesson I've learned from my experience is this: it's okay to start again. It's okay to realize that you haven't chosen the right path, to reorient yourself, and to go back to school from 0. All the experiences you've had will serve you well in your future anyway. You may be wondering how to link physics to art, but there are actually a multitude of links. But that's a thought for another time. I'm very happy to have studied engineering, and I have no regrets - on the contrary.

I’d like to end on this: art is not necessarily a financially unstable environment. The vast majority of artists earn a very good living; maybe not as much as an engineer (although...) but enough to live comfortably. The art world has its ups and downs, but there will always be a need for artists to entertain, create worlds and make people dream.

So don't hold back. Trust yourself, keep moving forward, and everything will be just fine!