How to Become a Full Time Designer
Being a designer or having your own design establishment can be a rewarding job. All the hours sitting in your drafting chair can lead to some amazing projects that are both satisfying and just plain cool. This article will give you some practical tips for getting a full time design job or paving your own route to your own design company.
First of all there is education. While many people argue that education is important, it is not crucial. Education can be important to gain authority or admission into professional society’s. You may need qualifications to actually practice what you are doing, such as engineering or being an architect. If going for tertiary level education, be sure to look around and do your research. Look at exactly what the specific subjects are. Look at the quality of teachers and opportunities for networking a university may have.
With your education in place, the next step is getting some experience. Your road to being a full time designer is all dependent on the type of experience (and contacts) you have. You may have to look at different internships, one off projects online, or personal projects. Being dynamic may give you that edge, so doing contract work, drafting jobs or getting some experience online will give you that extra edge over the other candidates. So be proactive and keep an eye out for any side projects, or design competitions that you could use to sharpen your skills.
Be sure to create good contacts. Get out there and try to network with other people in the industry. Most design companies hire through word of mouth or introductions. This is the same for getting work too, if you are a contractor. The power of networking within the design community helps everybody, so type up a few emails or attend a few industry related events. This may be your biggest asset in terms of getting or receiving work, so get working on it right away.
Becoming a full time designer isn’t relatively hard. Build on your skills and network with people. You never know when a new job or client will show up. Remember that success equals preparation plus chance. Be prepared and well networked to get the advantage over everybody else, this will help seal the deal on becoming a full time designer.
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