ID education issues (my second degree)

Hi all,

I’ve decided not to raise the “is it too late to became the industrial designer” issue as my first topic here since it seems to be pretty common, so appreciate if you guys can help a 32-year-old student with some advices on specific questions.

Some background beforehand. I’ve just completed my pre-degree course and planning to start the BA program in September. In Moscow we have a very poor amount of education options that allow to combine my current full-day work (not design related), studying at university and allocating some time to family but I’ve managed to find one place (they offer 3,5 years to complete the BA instead of 4,5 - 5 years for young students). Unfortunately, it is not the Pasadena University or Royal College of Art but I hope that this education would be at least a basis for obtaining fundamental skills and competences supplemented by individual courses, self-learning and enthusiasm.

So here are the questions:

  1. I like shaping different stuff (transport, instruments, electronics, toys etc.) but my real passion is car design. Given this addict, would you suggest focusing the education and seeking for potential internships/jobs in this particular area OR focusing on the industrial design in general will allow to be more flexible in terms of passing junior roles quicker (considering the age issue)?
  2. For the industrial designer is it better to become a professor in a specific skill (e.g. 3D modelling) or just to be good at all majors?
  3. In practice, how common are paid internships in the ID (US, Europe, Asia)?
  4. Currently I have BA, MA degrees in economics and a 10-year work experience in Finance. Will it be a potential benefit or simply helpful for the industrial designer? Competences in cost analysis, optimization methods etc.

Thanks for your answers in advance!

Welcome to the forums, some of my thoughts below on your questions:

1. I like shaping different stuff (transport, instruments, electronics, toys etc.) but my real passion is car design. Given this addict, would you suggest focusing the education and seeking for potential internships/jobs in this particular area OR focusing on the industrial design in general will allow to be more flexible in terms of passing junior roles quicker (considering the age issue)?

Automotive design is very exclusive. A design publication once calculated that you have a better chance of become an NBA player than a car designer. I’m not sure how they calculated that, but it shows how difficult it is. Ironically, it also tends to pay less because of the high amount of people who want to do it. Once you enter into that world, very few designers get a design produced. Things to think about.

2. For the industrial designer is it better to become a professor in a specific skill (e.g. 3D modelling) or just to be good at all majors?

It depends on what you want to do. As the saying goes “you get paid for what you can do”. So if what you can do really well is build things in 3D CAD, that is what you will likely get paid to do. If your skills lie in problem solving and idea generation then you will do more of that. So choose what you are good at to ensure you get paid to do what you like to do.

3. In practice, how common are paid internships in the ID (US, Europe, Asia)?

In the US, they are common. In most stated in the. US I don’t think it is legal to have an unpaid intern (even if the compensation is school credit, there has to be something). Many large companies have internship programs. I know at Nike they always had a handful of paid design interns

4. Currently I have BA, MA degrees in economics and a 10-year work experience in Finance. Will it be a potential benefit or simply helpful for the industrial designer? Competences in cost analysis, optimization methods etc.

Many large consulting groups like frog and IDEO actually have finance people on staff to help create and analyze business models. I think you skills could be well placed at a large firm like that, or a design firm that also does business consulting. Lunar was purchased by McKinsey a few years ago in an attempt to integrate business consulting with design consulting. That knowledge will serve you well as you progress in your career. When I was an executive at a corporation leading design big chunks of my day were devoted to just that and I had a lot to learn on the job because of it. Many product line managers in large companies have these skills. They are not designers but they work with designers and engineers to build business models, present products to sales and marketing, and in many cases they participate in the conceptualization of products and the design process with input and feedback

Hello Michael,

Appreciate a lot for your detailed answer! Some fresh thoughts from the industry guru are very helpful in terms of my case of potential radical change of profession. I’ve had some fears about entering the world of car design and, unfortunately, you confirm that they have reasons… I will be looking at this area more rationally in future. Perhaps combining design with my current finance background could be a good solution - need to explore this subject in details. Thanks!

Regards,

Artem

  1. If your passion is car design then go to a school that specializes in transportation design. If you want to play it a little bit safer then study Industrial Design so you have a bit more job opportunities. It’s difficult to land an ID job…I can only imagine it is 10x harder to land a transportation job.
  2. An Industrial Designer has to be well rounded. You need to learn all the skills and learn them well. However, you’ll soon find out what you are good at and potential employers will recognize that as your strength. (Good CAD guy, great sketching, great strategy/planning, great research, etc.)
  3. Most are paid.
  4. Flip the question around. Imagine a Designer came to your existing work and said “I want a finance job in your company but I have a background in ID”. What would your response be? Will the design background be helpful? If hired, would he be using his design background at your job often? Having a background in Finance & 10 years experience would be a bonus but ultimately you will be hired by your portfolio and you will be doing design work with little finance work. Unless, like Michael says, you work for a large design company that also offers business consulting. This getting more popular, a few years ago Accenture also acquired Fjord.

So here is a question for you. If you like design and you have a finance background; why not look for a finance position at a Design Agency or a company that has a large design department? Just another option.

Good luck.

  1. I thought for sure I wanted to be a car designer. Then I took car design in school. And then I didn’t want to be a car designer. Take a class, see if it floats your boat. But keep your options open.
  2. Only if you absolutely know that’s what you want to do. Otherwise I would advise being a jack of all trades, master of none.
  3. Paid.
  4. Costing is the responsibility of new product development. We routinely run costing models based on different variable and fixed costs. Invest in X-capital costs, determine the return on Y-labor costs, etc. While I would never expect that a designer entering the workforce, it is certainly a value to an employer.

That’s probably grossly underestimating it.