Is UK design education an epic FAIL? (Part 2: Students)

10th January 2009 Education, Industry

Note: Before I start, this is the second draft of this post. When I first wrote it I ended up going in to a 1000 word rant about students and Universities and how the whole thing just wasn’t working. After reading it back and then reading the original post I decided that this post should be a bit more constructive so rewrote it and it is…

When you’re a student time is precious, between drinking, partying and eating beans you’ve got fit in those exams, keep up with the course work and at some point start looking for a job, but unfortunately as discussed in the last post and at Design Forums it seems that leaving University with that all important degree is not nearly enough to secure yourself a job. Agency employers agree that they need much much more from potential employees than the education system is giving them and that students need to go that extra mile to keep them one step ahead of the game.

But what can students do to give them selves the upper hand? Well in my opinion…

• Get some business skills

  Its all about the extracurricular. If you can do something the next person in line can’t you’re already on to a winner and nothing sits nicely along side your design or tech skills than a little bit of business knowledge. Now lots of creative types will tell you that science and art don’t mix, and to be honest to a certain extent I think they’re right, but unfortunately in a world where cash is king basic business knowledge will get you a long way, so makes sense to equip yourself with this in preparation of whats to come.

  Grass routes skills such as knowing the difference between profit margins and turn over, estimating and tracking jobs and invoicing will be give you that extra bulk when meeting potential employers. Many senior designers feel that the business side of the industry is one of the hardest things to teach juniors, so by hitting the ground running your giving your new employer value for money from the offset.

• Speak to some real people in the industry

  No matter at what stage you leave education the big wide world can be a shock to the system. Whilst lecturers fill your head with dreams of 5 figure incomes the other side of 30k and a land filled with clients with infinite budgets, the reality of the industry is very different. During my time as a freelancer I’d like to think I’ve taken every single opportunity to speak to people with more experience than me, be it designers, developers, print technicians, business owners or even business advisers, and I’d go as far to say that I’ve learned more from these people then I ever did at school or college. So for me getting out there and speaking to these people is invaluable, even now.

  Don’t be shy. Email local firms for advice and beg (and you will need to beg) their senior designers for one to ones, go out and listen to what these people have to say and take in their advice. Ask your lecturers to put you in contact with ex-students who have managed to make their way up the ladder in successful firms and pick their brains for for the ‘hows and whys’, basically soak up everything they tell you. If you don’t know something then don’t be frightened to ask, knowledge is power so they say, so the more you know the more value you have and the better the decisions you can make.

• Keep your portfolio relevant

  Regardless of what you’re told at University most of you are not going to leave with degree in hand and strut straight into a big city agency with hundred thousand pound clients. FACT. The reality is you’re more likely to end up working at a much smaller firm with very much more modest budgets so its important that your portfolio is prepared for this. The projects, tasks and briefs required for University course work are very much geared towards the assumption that all clients are loaded and through no fault of your own, you’ll slowly find that your work and work process begins to represent this way of thinking, so the best way to counteract this is to keep you working portfolio as relevant and realistic as possible.

  Tapping the industry folk for advice (see above) should give you a better idea of the level you should be pitching at, because showing up to an interview at a local firm whose average client is a small to medium business, with a book full of faux adverting campaigns for Nike and website development projects for Oxfam you’ll be quick to alienate a potential employer. Smaller firms need to know your work can be kept practical and that your skills will still work on this level, don’t be scared to bring you’re best game just make sure it fits in with the position you’re going for.

• Plug you skills gaps

  In addition to grabbing yourself some business skills you should also be looking at other things you can learn to help to create value for money. For small multi-discipline agency a junior designer that can handle print and web is going to be a god sent, especially if you help them cut staff costs by picking up slack from two or even three departments. Over time the more skills you have (and more importantly can master) the more indispensable you’ll become, so this not only helps you find a job but retain one in the long term.

  But this isn’t going to be easy. Whilst at University your time is going to be tight and overworking yourself isn’t the best way to achieve this, so try to work smarter rather harder. Night classes and summer schools are a start, local colleges and Universities run courses on everything from flash to CSS and HTML during term time and holidays ranging from 4 days to 8 weeks and because you’re already in education these will tend to be free (or at least discounted). When you’re left with free time between lectures finding yourself with nothing to do, speak with other course tutors and find out if its possible to pick up other modules, if you’re studying graphic design try and get involved in website design, if you’re studying web development take a look at flash development. And if all else fails beg a local agency for a part time job (and again, you will have to beg), even if its making tea and fetching biscuits you’ll surprised at what you pick up.

• If its not for you get out then get out early

  This last one is a controversial one but in my opinion one of the most important. If at any point during your time at University you feel like it isn’t for you then get out as soon as you can.

  More often than not if you’re forced, or feel like you’re being forced, to do something you don’t want to do you’ll end up hating it, and if its where your talent lies you risk being put of it all together. University isn’t for everyone regardless of your previous achievements, and when leaving college its easy to get caught up in the fact that its the ‘done thing’, University provides little more than the training you need to make your way in the trade but if you can do this without £3k per year in fees then why not? Self teaching, internship, night classes, freelancing, a mixture of the above, the options are endless and no agency worth its salt will penialised you for choosing a different route. It worked for me and countless other designers and developers.

  But be careful if University gives you the structure you need to stay on track then it is very much for you, going it alone is hard if you’re not disciplined enough to get out of bed every day and get things done, you’ll fail at the first hurdle. So be warned!

So thats pretty much it. I’m sure that not everyone will agree with these points and without doubt I’m sure their are one or two additional hints and tips that could be added. But the point I think I’m trying to get across is that these are the basics that Universities should be telling their students, these points should sit along side the day to day teaching and be promoted as the ‘must have’ skills for a graduates, and instead of spending time encouraging them to chase AD&D awards they should be equipping them with the right tools for long term success. (sorry, theres the rant again)

(Photo by benrybobenry on Flickr)