Well I’ve been studying I.T and its coming to an end, and to be honest there is no way i can see myself doing this for the rest of my life. I found these forums in seek of advice from those in the industry.
I Came to the conclusion i want to enjoy working even if it doesn’t pay extremely well, designing and creating is something i find extremely enjoyable, ever since i was a kid. Did awesome in my graphic design classes in high school (still have my folios), as well as got offered free art classes when i was younger. The only reason i didn’t pursue Design was that i also enjoy computers, chose I.T for the amount it pays, the demand and the employment opportunities.
Im looking at Industrial Design, but i cant find any information on salaries/job stability/employment, anyone got advice??
Being in Melbourne Australia, being honest, i have absolutely no idea of the demand of this role. However i do know manufacturing isn’t exactly the biggest industry here. I do have a European citizenship as well, but i really don’t want to move. I’ve tried my best to search.
Find out when the Uni ID graduate shows are (usually November) and go along. Also mid year is the ‘Victoria: State of Design’ stuff (http://www.stateofdesign.com.au/) including Launchpad, Furnitex, Design Made Trade. Find some Melbourne ID firms (there are lots). ‘Curve’ is an Australian ID magazine, Design Droplets is a good ID blog (Melbourne based).
Reading the DIA article I found a few interesting points which I agree with…
While there is a national skill shortage there is no shortage of industrial design graduates. …
Australia’s total designer population has grown by more than 1000% between 1976 and 2001. And is still growing at a superheated rate.
…in the ten years between the 1991 census and the 2001 census the number of Australians listing their occupation as industrial designer only rose from 1375 to 1927, an increase of 552. Compare this with an estimate of around 3000 industrial design graduates from the twelve university courses and eight TAFE and other providers in the same time period.
It seems to me that the universities here are either completely oblivious or uninterested in the lack of career opportunities for ID graduates. We have a few hundred graduates per year fighting for a handful of jobs in ID, so only the top 2 or 3 students get a good job and the rest end up in CAD drafting positions or back in retail or back to get a second degree.
2) Unfortunately the manufacturing sectors that have the best growth profiles for the future (paper, printing, publishing, chemicals, petroleum, coal production, food, beverages) are not those that provide the bulk of work for industrial designers.
The manufacturing in Australia that will do well are items which have to be made here due to quantity consumed e.g. food and beverages, not items which can be imported with little risk e.g. torches, clothes lines, BBQ’s, taps. I sincerely believe that it is just going to get harder for design graduates as the report said:
A quick look at the growth of the industrial design consulting sector over the last eight years or so reveals that it has apparently been stagnant (350 businesses in 1996, 350 businesses in 2002, 350 businesses in 2003). What these figures may reveal is the relative difficulty of getting sufficient work to maintain new consulting businesses in the sector given the number of existing participants.
After all that though, there are still opportunities to make a name for yourself. I see friends doing their own thing and I have a business idea of my own. I think it’s more about defining your own point of difference from the other 200 graduates of your year and working really hard on something you are passionate about. You get out what you put in, and as with everything in life, things that come easy are usually not worth having.