There could be opportunities in overlooked towns and cities with manufacturing capability that aren’t on the ‘cool’ radar. SF, NY, heck even podunk Portland (Seattle’s Mexico ) are probably harder since they are oversaturated with designers, small design firms, and not enough work. Check out Tim Brown’s interview with the NYTimes business section a few months ago: the CEO of IDEO got his start with a little woodworking company in the north of England, straight out of the industrial revolution. The opportunity could be helping to bring a previously unglamorous industry or product more relevance, helping improve their user interfaces, etc. It could be with a ‘vendor’ company to ID firms like Serigraph or LaFrance, making applications that ID firms and companies use to enhance their products.
IMHO there is little to be gained experience or financially from fighting it out with 200 other entry and mid-level applicants for the cool high profile job, unless you know someone on the inside.
You’ve already answered your own question. Go out there and see whats out there. Go to Europe and see whats going on in the design world. Travel to China and see what that emerging market is doing. Or just travel this land and find what you’re looking for. Don’t do what many of us have been too sacred to do when life hits them in the face. Take a chance and see the world, you’ll never regret it.
Yeah, but traveling without income is going to hurt. Bad. I have rent ($400), a car payment ($50), a cell phone ($70) and student loans ($500) due every month. Traveling would be great if I was a trust fund kid, but I need a purpose to traveling. I’m kind of thinking about packing my car up and road tripping.
We’re getting closer to a DIY Industrial revolution. 3D printers and CNC machines are dropping down to the $1000 range.
Super small boutique factories are sprouting up that produce niche products in short runs. There’s a great article about it in this month’s Wired magazine.
In fact, one guy in the article quit his software engineering job because he makes more money spitting out AK47’s and rocket launchers for Lego men. http://www.brickarms.com
1 cent worth of plastic he turns around and sells for a buck… Genius.
My point is, maybe you can design yourself out of your current situation.
You have a purpose to travel, getting enriched, meeting people who will help you (so be nice), and self discovery.
Sell all your junk and then you can float a few months of travel.
What kind of car do you have at $50/mo! just pay it off. How did you even get a car loan with a $50 a month payment?
Also you can get a good bike and a bob trailer for under $400-500. Your road trip doesn’t need to require gas. I rode my bike from NYC to Seattle in the summer after I got out of school. It was with a team but you can do it all by your self. Blog about it, public libraries have computers and the interwebz. You have time you might be able to get on the same team I was on, they accept outsiders, see www.illini4000.org
Buckle down and focus on communication and presentation. Remember, you’re not competing againist your class. You’re pooled amongst all the other grads from all the other schools as well as out of work professionals. Look at portfolios until you’re blue in the face. Figure out how to properly network and get your name out there. Polish your presentation up a bit and make sure you’re communicating your work effectively. Go through your resume and design that as well, but don’t over do it.
All the work you’ve done and who you’ve done it for is really irrelevant. Don’t let your head get clouded with what you’ve done in the past. Focus on how to move forward in the future. Take yourself back to the basics (resume, portfolio, networking) and do those things very well. It’s how you communicate is what makes the difference.
Well, I landed more contract work. This time about 1 hour away. Pay is good, people are good, experience is good… but dammit, I really want to get out of the midwest. So bad. I’d really like to travel overseas, so I applied at any position I could find. I also updated my resume and portfolio. If anybody hears of a decent junior position, let me know. I applied for the one that someone mentioned in Vienna, and I’m in the second round of candidates. Here’s to hoping.
) are probably harder since they are oversaturated with designers, small design firms, and not enough work. Check out Tim Brown’s interview with the NYTimes business section a few months ago: the CEO of IDEO got his start with a little woodworking company in the north of England, straight out of the industrial revolution. The opportunity could be helping to bring a previously unglamorous industry or product more relevance, helping improve their user interfaces, etc. It could be with a ‘vendor’ company to ID firms like Serigraph or LaFrance, making applications that ID firms and companies use to enhance their products.