Category: design education

Another Brick In The Wall & The Guide To Common Courtesy

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The ongoing saga of job seeking & intern hardship in the UK…


Yesterday morning I woke up to this. If it was enough to make Miss Trustram boil over then it was worth a read.

So I had a look and I wrote this…
Then later on, in an unrelated exchange, I read this. Not entirely the same starting line but for the sake of debate we’ve got a situation
Graduates feel like they are being taken advantage of
V  
Design studios feel besieged by inappropriate advances

If you haven’t read the @anothergraduate blog yet then go read it quickly now then come back, It’s only been up for about a week, won’t take long: READ ME
If it’s one thing, it’s honest. It could be the design intern equivalent  Secret Diary of a Call Girl with a bit of work, obviously less sex… I’m getting off the point, this is serious stuff.

The bit that stuck with @leblond and I was the bit about the tea, ” I don’t make tea…” (@anothergraduate thinks it’s demeaning). Ouch. If we all stopped making tea the world would grind to a halt. We could stop there and write @anothergraduate off but let’s give them a chance. I emailed them.

“I really don’t want you to think I’m some self-important arrogant graduate who thinks they are entitled to a job” explains @anothergraduate “[ As an intern] you’re good enough to do the work but you’re not good enough to get paid for it – it’s undignified labour and I understand we have to do it but due to my financial circumstances I am aware that I will have to give this up soon”

Do I hear cries of Boo-Hoo from some of the longer toothed members? I asked @anothergraduate if they thought it was political and blamed my generation (35+) for the current economic situation. Turns out it’s nothing to do with the economy…


We have a Catch 22
“Is it the current situation? or is it because people offer themselves for free design agencies take advantage” questions @anothergraduate. “They can afford to pay; they just don’t. Why pay for a junior designer when interns are cheaper and you can get rid of them when you need to.”

@anothergraduate I’d say, first part, absolutely correct. A Catch 22. Your peers put themselves up for free, you’ve got competition to get paid. We’ve all done a freebie, the people at the top probably did it too. They don’t want to change the system because they think ‘well it worked for me, why is X complaining”  Like hacking at NOTW it’s a cultural thing. But it doesn’t mean it’s right. It serves a purpose but working for absolutely no cash is not fun.


Anyone in the world who hasn’t seen this graph yet… It answers a few questions

I asked @anothergraduate what the worst character traits of design studios in dealing with graduates were… “I hate it when they don’t get back to you, regardless of how many phone calls and emails. It’s especially rude after they have interviewed you – they decide you’re not good enough for them and forget all about you.” Fair point. Let’s see things from the other side. let’s assume it’s the initial contact that’s the problem here for a moment…

Tomi Vollauschek, FL@33 On advice for Students & Graduates On How to Approach Seeking Work…

After our Twitter exchange I asked the formidable Tomi Vollauschek, Co-Founder of Stererohype and FL@33 for his opinion of what students and graduates should and shouldn’t do when approaching a studio for work. This is what he said…

DO: Please do your research: consider your interests/fascinations/strengths (and weaknesses) and prepare a shortlist of your favourite studios accordingly 


Write a personal email (addressing the right person, giving tailor-made reasons for your choice and what you can bring to the studio)  #sayingireallylikelondondoesnothelp


Consider the possibility that you are probably not god-sent and that many many many others are also sending applications—that should help finding the right tone of voice. #arrogancedoesnothelp


DON’T: Write generic email applications and cc your vast list of studio’s email addresses… #bad #veryverybad


If you don’t start your application by greeting a specific contact or at the very least mention the studio name you obviously didn’t do your research and/or you couldn’t be bothered writing a tailor-made application..
 #dearsiroftenresultsinimmediatedeleteunreademail


If studios mention that they are currently not hiring please don’t ignore it. at the very least acknowledge that you read that bit of info but that you would like to try anyway (that’s one hurdle overcome). #trustme


To sum up, Vollauschek says  “I know it’s all fairly obvious and we all keep on talking about this mind-boggling lack of common sense. I just don’t get why we continuously receive such an enormous amount of these kind of applications/enquiries? It currently feels like it got worse in the last 12 months or so… We surely can’t blame everything on colleges…” 


Has it got worse? Is it a rotten culture? Internships are under the spotlight as more graduates find a voice amongst the general unrest with sites like Intern Aware questioning the legality of the entire process. 


What does a Creative Recruiter say?



We need to re-evaluate how the system works. But let’s talk about REAL JOBS. I asked Darren Scotland owner of Character Creative, a  young go-between creative recruitment agent for design studios and ad agencies, based in Leeds. What are graduate pitfalls from a agent’s point of view? “Surprisingly I don’t come across as many of these as you’d think – don’t get me wrong, universities aren’t spitting out hoards of design geniuses but there’s not many massive fails either – more a sea of mediocrity really” says Scotland candidly.

Universities are feeding students out of date information
“I was speaking at a graduate event before Christmas and there were a couple of students who had been to see the University’s career adviser, ” explains Scotland. “They’d been told to stick very rigidly to a two page CV as a word.doc and to include two mug shots at the bottom of the 2nd page. Very odd to see the same CV from several designers and I’m certain they’d have gone straight in the trash at any agency.”
It’s not any tougher now than it has been in the past
“I actually don’t think it is any tougher this year than it has been previously – it’s always been really, really hard! Getting that first role has always been the most difficult step for someone wanting a career in design – it’s basic, way too much supply and not enough demand.”
Alternative routes to education
“If I had my time again I’d seriously look at alternative routes. E.g Hyperisland are piloting a school in Manchester at the moment that I think will be a big success and Shillington College do a similar thing with traditional printed media. Many of the best designers I’ve worked with haven’t been formally educated – they’re self taught and have a genuine love for what they do.” 
Advice for @anothergraduate (and everyone else) :
“I could list a few but I think, particularly relevant for @anothergraduate: Be humble; you’re not the finished article – way off in fact – so be as good as you can be and have bags of enthusiasm. Make cups of tea, run errands, do whatever you can – don’t be a walkover though – I think it’ll be pretty obvious if an agency is taking the piss.
Obviously your work will play a part in getting you your first job but, in my experience, it’s secondary to attitude.All it takes is one piece of work to prove you’ve got it. If the attitude is right, most agencies will be happy to mould and shape you to help get the good stuff out of you on a more consistent basis.”

Definite No – No’s:
No word.docs
No blind emails – Dear Sir/Madame, etc, etc…
Don’t mud sling. Sending 10-20 personal approaches is always much better than 500 generic emails.
Don’t be scared of the telephone! Always follow up your first approach to make sure people have received it. If not why not? Start the conversation…
Darren Scotland wrote a blog post on the subject last year that is worth a look: http://charactercreative.tumblr.com/post/612850172/advice-for-graduate-designers

In Summary

 BOTH job seekers AND job givers should follow the simple rule…


And thank you to all that contributed at such short notice to this piece, especially @anothergraduate for highlighting the problems. Good luck with the blog & job hunt.


Is it all about making tea? What’s your view?


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Bracket Foreword – Vol 3 Education

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*This is a copy of the text I wrote for Bracket Vol. 3 (out December 2011) a Singapore based design journal. GO AND BUY IT

 

‘We don’t need no education’ so sang Pink Floyd in 1979, one of the most well educated bands in pop history. Idiots. Education needs defending and protecting, it’s a fragile state rather like love or democracy. If we are fortunate, we are educated to self-teach from a young age, a love affair with learning that continues throughout our lives. It’s an investment in emotion.
The prevailing ‘cool’ of my youth was the Pink Floyd mentality of ‘fight the system, don’t believe the hype and fight for your freedom of expression’. All important ideas that still hold true, however what this simplistic mantra leaves out is the simple fact that education also is an accessory to aid critical thinking and creative collaboration, it provides access to, and analysis of, information and feeds curiosity and imagination. In short, knowledge is power.
Twelve years on from my graduation from art college in the U.K. And it’s the economic, not the emotional, investment in education is being called to the fore by current students in art and design. I studied fine art, one of the most abstract degree courses possible. What was the point of it? Can you teach creativity? Can you teach love? No. But you can teach the ability to spot creativity or love when you stumble across it. You can inspire confidence in self belief. Sometimes the argument in education seems to go against free will and creative spirit, but increasingly it’s the fact that education has become a business and a production line that destroys the innate power of education and it’s ability for change. The students that demonstrate on the streets of London on behalf of education act like dissatisfied customers, for that is what they have become. Further education has become an ugly business ruled by statistics and the prevailing culture of professionalism.
It’s therefore heartening to read the answers put forth by the creatives in this edition of Bracket who remind us that education isn’t just a number crunching production line of worker bees but its also the route to self expression and happiness. The consensus is that education never stops, it’s a lifelong adventure. Some of us had good experiences of education growing up, others bad, but again the prevailing shared piece of wisdom is to keep going, get stuck in and jump into the unknown. Have self belief. The other highly visual clue to the path of education revealed here is that self expression is a driving force in the quest for knowledge.
Education shouldn’t just be about sliding into a job at the end of it. We will always need pioneers to overwhelm the status quo. We need more pioneers to assist thinking on creative education. The role of teacher or tutor is an extremely demanding position to take, it’s almost a cliché to suggest that, it’s a truism. Each of us knows from experience that we would not be doing what we do today if it were not for those that taught us. How many of us are putting our experience to use by teaching the next generation in whatever capacity we can? Different cultures adopt different approaches, the Dutch creative system allows many designers work a studio practice and put in a number of hours to teach students, it is almost a duty of honour. Sadly this progressive system is being eroded in many countries at present due to economic constraints, educators cannot access their students and engage in a productive manner.
It is assumed that creativity will blossom anywhere but it needs constant nurturing. We need to carry on tending the environment to allow it to grow. Education is one of the richest natural resources we have. We do need Education, that’s something we’ve learnt.

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Designers are wankers: Agony Uncle

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Dear DAW,
Just a quick couple of questions:
What would you say the percentage of graphic design graduates actually work in their chosen field – Is it down to luck, a blag or talent?
I’m not sure if I’ve come across any kind of topic that questions whether years in design education boils down to stacking shelves or the like, or even the dole. Are design degrees now obsolete?
Sorry about this, do you get similar e-mails to this, or is it a big grey area that nobody wants to mention?

Take care and kind regards,
Great magazine.
Jack

Dear Jack,

According to the Complete University Guide, the success rate for art & design graduates getting a job in their subject is 43% after 6 months.

Want to know how much you’ll be earning? Well unfortunately you are at the bottom of the pile, it’s you, actors and Celtic studies graduates that can expect to earn no more than £16718 a year to start with, and that’s about £3,000 below the average wage.

Why bother?

Because life isn’t just about statistics and money! If you are put off by these figures then drop out now and go and do some thing more ‘profitable’.

A career in any creative industry is one of hard graft with severe unrelenting competition for work. With the rare exception, it takes years before the rewards reveal themselves. It’s a long haul.

To answer the first question about the validity of design courses:

Are design courses relevant to employers? Yes. A good course will teach you technical skills, provide you with the latest equipment, learning resources, peer support, opportunities to test out various strands of your chosen field and further your thinking and approach to life. Do college courses do this? Some do, some don’t, the more investment colleges get the more they are likely to offer: the bigger the better. Does the college you go to affect the likelihood of getting a job? Not in my experience, although the geographical location and a prestige name normally attract more interest from employers.

Does going to college get you a job? Not necessarily. A degree is not a ticket to a job. The job seeking rationale applied by arts and media graduates is sometimes misguided, in that they do not realise the severe competition for work and that there are other skills that are just as important as their degree such as hands on expereince, motivated self propelled work and enthusiam for the industry and working practices.

Media courses have multiplied like rabbits in the last 10 years. For some professions, TV especially, you will always start at the bottom of the ladder – probably as a runner – whether you are a graduate or a school leaver.

Colleges build up the importance of degrees as it validates their existence, however I would argue that education for educations sake is an important life skill.

Thirst for knowledge about the things that interest you regardless of the diploma or peer recommendation that you receive will lead to a happier life.

Because we now pay, in the UK, for our further education, there is a growing trend for the student – academic relationship to be more of a client – service provider transaction: Students expect certain results from their chosen course: Rather than just an education focused on academic pursuit, we now expect a job at the end of it. Academic institutions have had to adapt and pursue students. The resulting competition to put bums on seats – the more students you have the more money you earn – has had to be balanced with what the students expect: good career prospects and a curriculum that deals with industry focused learning.

Is this a fair relationship? No matter how good the university course is, there are many other factors – global recession, market saturation etc. That are out of their control. They can only equip students to a certain level, after that it is the responsibility of the graduate to find work. Lee’s book ‘Designers are wankers’ aims to bridge the gap between college and ‘real life’. When he wrote the book there were little or no facilities for creative students to get an education in the business side of their work. Now colleges are picking up on this.

To answer your question about whether or not this subject is talked about, I’d say yes, it’s now a burning question for all higher educational institutions.

As for the luck, blag or talent question. Hopefully it’s a mixture of all three. That’s life!

Regards,

Robert