I’m a recent graduate with as BA in Electrical Engineering, but now that i’m out in the real world I’m beginning to think that Industrial Design is much more the field i want to get into. I’ve started work on a basic portfolio at http://www.scottsykora.com, but its missing a lot since i haven’t ever studied industrial design. I’ve also started designing products in my spare time and entering ID contests I’ve found on the web to work on my skill set.
My question is how would i go about breaking into the field. I realize that i really dont have the training required but I’ve just finished school so i would really prefer working somehow close to designers before deciding that i need to go back for a masters in design. Should i go for internships? Are there positions like “model shop technician†that would get me into an id firm without being educated in design? Are there any other options I’m overlooking?
Thanks for any help and any suggestions for my portfolio.
Hey, thanks for the positive reply. Do you have any tips about weak spots in the the portfolio from quick first impressions?
I’m definitely thinking i’ll need that masters soon, but I’m on the outside looking into the id field so i really want to get some inside experience first and make sure it really is what i want to do before spending all that money on school again.
Btw, I noticed you made a post about oneandco in another thread, do you know much about them? i noticed they have a design intern position open, any idea what they would be looking for?
I think you could land a job if you could show good, predictible repeatable process that led to good design solutions. Employers need to have faith that you can develop solutions to their problems–otherwise you’re just an unpredictable inventor! In other words, don’t show things, tell stories!
The good news is, if you have the time to do the things on your website, you should have the time to give yourself a homework assignment. Start by identifying a problem or two or three. Develop a framework for solving the problem, and document every step of your progress. That means sharing all of your experiments and failures along the way.
But I highly recommend considering that masters degree, or a second degree in ID–you will grow from the experience and have a much easier time landing the job you really want (but don’t know it yet.)