Thursday, March 20, 2008

butterflies (no hurricanes)

I'm meeting with some friends of a friend this afternoon to talk to them about their design firm and about careers in design more generally. I'm trying to avoid getting nervous, since this is not a job interview, it is just a chance to learn some things and come away with a better understanding of a field that interests me. But I do tend towards the nervous in these sorts of situations. I took a few minutes to write out some quick questions I have. I know I should probably have more, but this is my starting point, at least:
  • formal vs. informal training - what is needed? compare local options. bachelor's degree vs. certificate/associate's programs?
  • design groups - AIGA, any others? how useful?
  • freelance vs. firms vs. companies?
  • web design - specialties? what is useful beyond CS3 and HTML?
  • breaking in - any suggestions?
  • career options with a design background generally?

Anyway, wish me luck despite the fact I don't need it today! Or any more than I do generally at least.

4 comments:

City Elf said...

good luck! :) hope you enjoy yourself and come away with the information you want.

and kudos to you for looking into a totally different field that interests and excites you - que cool.

10 lbs of awesome in a 5 lb bag said...

I hope that it went well. I want to hear all about it. A new career outside the law would be pretty cool.

Sous Chef said...

I don't know if I've mentioned this (and I really don't know if you care)but I want to tell you I'm very proud of you for doing this.

It takes a lot of courage to try and walk away from the familiar, especially when it pays so well. I just think it's really cool.

Leila said...

thanks for all the well-wishes! the meeting went great. we sat and chatted about design for nearly two hours. they gave me advice and encouraged me to go ahead and do this thing already! such great guys. and it is so cool to have a potential career path that involves stuff I actually enjoy talking about with people. neato!