One of the biggest sins our society has made is its creation of lies. Lies and slander, even, concerning the educational system in particular. We tell our students that they are preparing themselves for life by getting their college degree, and that by getting this slip of paper after four years of work they will be able to step out immediately into the real world. Just check out the University of California sites – their way of enticing students to pay a higher price for their education is to show very exceptional students who are being hired right out of school.

The problem I have with this is my own experience. I have already learned for myself that the world does not work this way. Part of why I have chosen to attend college in a field other than design is that I know that yes the degree helps, but I also know that design is a very difficult field to enter into, especially without a very strong resume.

On the other hand, I already had real world work experience before I attended college. I got into design with very hard work, and rather than attending college straight away I found a job – a full-time job as a web designer at a small local company, and I slowly worked my way up. However, this past fall I decided to go to school full-time in Sacramento and pursue a degree in software engineering.

One of the things I’ve observed is the attitude that once these students graduate, they will be assured a great job in whatever field they are majoring in. I think because of the real world experience I’ve already had, I know this isn’t true – especially for students in graphics or web design. Without a strong portfolio and some working experience, it’ll be very hard for them to land that job with that great design firm that’s advertising, or that company that’s hiring. Why? The company is just going to see an empty resume of someone who has never held an actual job; sure the degree or certificate will be there, but what does that tell about the student’s work ethic?

So what can students do to get some experience?

• Get an internship. Many students won’t do this just because internships are very rarely paying – after all, why slave away for nothing? Yet the real reward comes in the experience and the contacts made through said internship. Some internships even turn into actual jobs with the same company, or at least a great new networking contact and something to put on a resume.
• Get a job you’ll hate. I really hate putting that one on there, but the truth is that working a crappy job and doing well at it will help more than hurt. It’s a little bit of money in your pocket, in addition to actual experience; not only that, but many of these said jobs have upward mobility into such things as management – and trust me, management looks awesome on a resume.
• Volunteer. I do quite a bit of volunteering, actually. I began building my portfolio by volunteering to do advertisements and posters, and am even working on some volunteered web designs. Volunteering once again gets contacts similar to an internship, some experience, not to mention that you do something great for your community – and that’s a reward in itself.

Problem is, many of these take up time. Well, the best solution to that is to just do them while in school. While I was doing my certification courses for web design, I volunteered to create a site for a non-profit organization, which has turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences I have had. I met two great people that I strongly admire and respect, and by doing this, I feel I’m doing something good for myself and for the community.

Not only that, but right now we’re in an economic mess. Not many jobs are going to take a chance while hiring – that is either money well spent or money wasted, and they’d rather not take the chance of wasting time and money on someone who may or may not have actual work ethic. Showing that you are worth their time and money and payroll is the key to finding your way in the world.

So, in some, while education is a great asset, experience is certainly the key to breaking into the design field. One cannot become a great designer just by following a teacher’s advice – getting involved in the design community through volunteer work or an internship is probably the best bet, and grabbing what jobs one can.