for most 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students, finding a part-time or casual job in the development industry is quite frustrating and nearly impossible. there is hope, however, that a design student can get a job in their industry while still studying.
The Problems
the problems that most design students will face is that they do not yet have the skills needed to be a professional designer because they either:
- are still trying to figure out the ins and outs of the programs
- do not have a reputable portfolio
- have any knowledge on how to deal with clients
- have no idea on how to budget their time or management
now i’ve seen a lot of 4th-quarter students in my time as a senior here at the art institute of san diego and i’m actually quite surprised that a lot of these early kids are landing some pretty decent freelance jobs, even for me. but for the most part, these are the students that are struggling more than others. so i want to identify some of the problems reguarding that and possibly advise you on a solution.
no basic design skills
This of course, is the reason you are at University or College… to learn these skills. However, do not just be a static learner at University, you must propel yourself forward to learn more and be the leader of the pack. You should be active in graphic design forums, read design and freelancing blogsborrow/buy books, ask questions and get out there. Go to your local design studio and ask for work experience – i’m quite shocked and surprised that almost 99% of the students i know at my school don’t browse blogs or read up on things. i guess that’s the difference between someone who knows all the one-stop solutions for development problems and someone who doesn’t. someone who strives to become leader of the pack and someone who follows. someone who can prevent development issues and someone who waits for that issue to arise to try and solve it.
no computer skills
You need computer skills to be a successful designer and a great way to acquire these skills is by reading tutorials, books and of course, practice. I repeat again… tutorials, books and practice. By reading tutorials and books you gain more knowledge of the softwares and get better as a designer.
Try to get first hand experience off another professional designer – a great way to do this is ask for work experience at your local design studio, they are usually more than happy to help. Another thing I did was to get free stock items and deconstruct them to see how they were made, this opened a whole new world for me. this works especially well for flash/actionscript projects.
not having a reputable portfolio
we all have to start somewhere and each and every one of us started with nothing, so you are not alone. buliding your portfolio is probably the most important thing you do at a university since this is how you will get a full time job once you leave.
portfolios are another topic in itself and you can build it up by making up your own fictional graphic design briefs. studios will not mind if your portfolio items are fictional as long as they are quality. trust me.
no knowledge on clients or freelancing
this is where experience is the key and there is no way to get better experience than to gain work experience at your local design/print store – just drop in and ask. you’d be surprised how happy they are to hear from you – just mention you’re a graphic design student and are wishing to learn new things. by working there, you will learn all about dealing with clients, time management and the design industry – the big picture.
getting the clients and big jobs
this is the hardest part. once you are confident enough to go out and freelance or work at a studio/firm, you should start looking for gigs and clients. so get out there and work!
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I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!