There’s a ton of great tips in here. I don’t have many regrets from school (at least, that were ID related), but if I could go back and do it again, I would have liked to know at the beginning…
- Don’t be afraid to invest big money in tools that help you do better work. It’s worth it.
- First-name familiarity is priceless. Network your face off. Get to conferences (even if you hate IDSA), go to reviews, meet up with professionals whenever you get the chance.
- Try to get a variety of internship experience. Designing for a corporate company is very different from working in a small firm with 4 other people.
- Read/Watch/Listen to the news… and not just tech/gadget/design news.
- Wherever you go, make it a point to watch other people do things. You’ll learn a lot.