Graduating this year ... help
- Thread starter Rachelj
- Start date
Rachelj said:OK so this is the year I am supposed to be graduating and getting a job. After 4 years of uni I still don't know what I want to do.
With hopefully a degree in furniture & product design, does anyone have any suggestions, and where I should start to look?
Thanks
think you should stick with it as it sounds a really interesting & useful degree, you probably already know it but this may be worth a visit??
www.designinteriorsuk.co.uk
Rachelj said:OK so this is the year I am supposed to be graduating and getting a job. After 4 years of uni I still don't know what I want to do.
With hopefully a degree in furniture & product design, does anyone have any suggestions, and where I should start to look?
Thanks
Have you enjoyed your degree?? If you have defo get into that sort of job, if not then dont worry about going for other jobs, mine has nothing to do with my degree!!
Ferd said:
Neither has mine
Rachel, a lot of companies ask for a degree but they don't really care whether it is in a relevant field so if you want to move away from furniture design it won't be a problem but if you do want to stay in that field then you'll have the advantage that you've got a degree at that level as it's quite a specialised subject.
Rachelj said:
if you dont know travel, clear your head and then decide.
theres too much pressure to go find that "ideal" job straight after doing yr degree.
if the right job is out there for you, you'll find it. my 1st job i had the interview 1 month after i finished Uni, but only got offered a position when one came up (along with another graduate) 4 months later!
if what you did your degree in, is something you love to do, then go for it. nothing stopping you achieving what you want.
to many people doing degrees/uni, "just to get a degree" even if its in something they dont wanna do. cheapens the whole system imo.
Morbyd
Moderator
Despite what many think, study at a good university is rarely about learning a trade.
University study is about giving you a set of tools for processing information, analyzing situations, and solving problems. In short, it's all about training you for "critical thinking".
Consider how you approached problems or issues 4 years ago and how you do now. Hopefully, your thought processes will have changed considerably.
With a good university education, the topics you studied need not restrict the career paths you have to choose from. My political science background comes in handy for what I do, but my university training generally had little to do with the substance of the career I've chosen.
Don't think you have to plan things in too much detail now. Start looking for a job, flirt with the areas of commerce or life that are of interest to you. In my case, I took a job related to a region that I was interested in (the former USSR) and it ended up leading me into the field that I'm in (public relations). It wasn't necessarily a planned career move, but it's one that's stuck through 3 job changes and 3 different cities.
University study is about giving you a set of tools for processing information, analyzing situations, and solving problems. In short, it's all about training you for "critical thinking".
Consider how you approached problems or issues 4 years ago and how you do now. Hopefully, your thought processes will have changed considerably.
With a good university education, the topics you studied need not restrict the career paths you have to choose from. My political science background comes in handy for what I do, but my university training generally had little to do with the substance of the career I've chosen.
Don't think you have to plan things in too much detail now. Start looking for a job, flirt with the areas of commerce or life that are of interest to you. In my case, I took a job related to a region that I was interested in (the former USSR) and it ended up leading me into the field that I'm in (public relations). It wasn't necessarily a planned career move, but it's one that's stuck through 3 job changes and 3 different cities.
Morbyd
Moderator
It's true. There are few jobs out there where you can come out of university and not have to undergo on-the-job training, training that could just as easily be successfully completed by another candidate who studied something entirely different.chewie_oo7 said:i beg to differ sir!
The exception would be vocational fields (though I've known many a programmer or graphic designer who were self-taught and successful. One example that comes to mind studied art history in university.)
(and if you read the rest of my previous post, that one line to which you responded makes more sense.)
Last edited by a moderator:
on the whole i agree with you morb but in regard to furniture and product design, i'd say this bucks the trend. this is a specific and specialist skill.
rachel , i used to work in recruitment within engineering/manf. the most common roles i'd find for graduates in disciplines such as yours, would be lower level CAD technician/draughtsperson type roles paying 12-18K pa. i'm sure you've got your sights aimed higher but remember most graduates start at this level.
don't be told that you have to stay anywhere close to the furniture industry either, i placed a guy with the same degree as you in 'pipe design'
. good markets for you to get into would be furniture related design like bathroom/shower suites, which are quite bouyant markets
.
if you're not sure, do what chewie said and travel until you know better what you want to do.
rachel
, i used to work in recruitment within engineering/manf. the most common roles i'd find for graduates in disciplines such as yours, would be lower level CAD technician/draughtsperson type roles paying 12-18K pa. i'm sure you've got your sights aimed higher but remember most graduates start at this level.don't be told that you have to stay anywhere close to the furniture industry either, i placed a guy with the same degree as you in 'pipe design'
. good markets for you to get into would be furniture related design like bathroom/shower suites, which are quite bouyant markets .if you're not sure, do what chewie said and travel until you know better what you want to do.
I'll agree with what everyone else said.. if you enjoyed your degree look for something in that field.
One thing I think is different though.. I think (unfortunately) in North America, Canada especially, university HAS become more of a trade school.
People DO care what I got my degree in... and even trying to break into another field without a specific 'certificate' is very hard.
Personally I beleive university is about broadening the mind, giving you the skills to ADAPT and learn at any job, but I think it depends on where you live.
I've worked overseas for a while, and have found it hard coming back to Canada to find a half decent job because I don't have a very specific trade or skill. Its all about the piece of paper..Friends of mine with a more 'general' degree say this too
You need the 'data-entry' certificate.. or something equally ridiculous.
When I was looking for a temp job until something better came along, I couldn't get much because they wanted me to have some "working-for-an-oil-and-gas-company-recruiting-international-vegetarian-amputee" certificate...
I agree with Morbyd, going to university is not about learning a trade..its about learning how to think, and giving you the capabilties to learn a variety of skills.
its expected that I'll have to do on the job training anyway.. its just seems to be that way more and more, especially where I am anyway.
In other countries I haven't experienced that so much..
One thing I think is different though.. I think (unfortunately) in North America, Canada especially, university HAS become more of a trade school.
People DO care what I got my degree in... and even trying to break into another field without a specific 'certificate' is very hard.
Personally I beleive university is about broadening the mind, giving you the skills to ADAPT and learn at any job, but I think it depends on where you live.
I've worked overseas for a while, and have found it hard coming back to Canada to find a half decent job because I don't have a very specific trade or skill. Its all about the piece of paper..Friends of mine with a more 'general' degree say this too
You need the 'data-entry' certificate.. or something equally ridiculous.
When I was looking for a temp job until something better came along, I couldn't get much because they wanted me to have some "working-for-an-oil-and-gas-company-recruiting-international-vegetarian-amputee" certificate...
I agree with Morbyd, going to university is not about learning a trade..its about learning how to think, and giving you the capabilties to learn a variety of skills.
its expected that I'll have to do on the job training anyway.. its just seems to be that way more and more, especially where I am anyway.
In other countries I haven't experienced that so much..
Hey thanks everyone,
yeah I do enjoy my degree despite the copius amounts of work. I like being creative but definately don't wanna be stuck at a desk churning out design after design.
I will bear the internet access in mind Ferd, so I can be like most of you on here. lol How do you all get away with it?
I have definately learnt lots of transferable skills, and I did a year in industry working for a lighting design consultancy which was a great experience
Thanks again. light at the end of the tunnel
yeah I do enjoy my degree despite the copius amounts of work. I like being creative but definately don't wanna be stuck at a desk churning out design after design.
I will bear the internet access in mind Ferd, so I can be like most of you on here. lol How do you all get away with it?
I have definately learnt lots of transferable skills, and I did a year in industry working for a lighting design consultancy which was a great experience
Thanks again.
light at the end of the tunnel