Anyone a Designer? I would like employment advice and to know how difficult it is to get a job in that field

[fairyfly]

I have been told you are looking at between 18 months voluntary work experience ( unpaid) before you get employed. Anyone with any knowledge of this?

Anyone?????

When I started it took me a year of "voluntary" work but after that I moved up quite fast.

I'm considering the possibility of going into that again, to be able to return to it after so many years out of the industry.

Only other way in is having a wonderful portfolio and very good computer skills (good and fast are the key words)

Thankyou, yes, i think if you are incredibly individual and talented you can bypass quite a lot can't you. But with these things it's seems it's all a matter of that companies taste. Hopefully i will stumble upon a company that shares mine.

If you ae considering it, does that mean you will dust off your portfolio and revamp it>! How exciting!

I think I need to brush up my computer skills first... things have moved up quite a lot since I stopped working on this (2001).

My portfolio doesn't look that bad yet. But yes, do need to revamp it a bit.

HAve you considered signing up with a employment agency specialised in creative media? they would be able to match your portfolio to one of their clients.

I have never thought of an agency, i started this thread as i am in my second year and spoke to The Chase, who educated me about the working world. As for computer skills...... i am ubder the impression they look for three types of designers..... Ideas people......Computer people..... and Marketing people.

I am not worried about the comp bit, it's not what i am interested in. I prob will be unemployed then ;)

No, the computer is the medium since years ago, a designer without computer skills, can't find a job (unless, it becomes an illustrator, of course). Obviously, I'm not talking about programming here but about programs like photoshop, quark xpress, illustrator, dreamweaver, etc.

I can not recommend strongly enough to take advantage of your student status and try to get some work experience in design as a trainee or in a volunteer capacity, just to have a look at how the "real" world is. You can learn more in 6 months of interneship than in 3 years at university (for starters, real world work moves at a quite different pace to uni projects!)