Hello again,
As a student and future designer you need to look at software and skills you need to learn. I have done a little bit of research into this, I signed up to a job website that emails me with details of current vacancies and what the employer requires. It is quite an eye opener because there are software applications I have not even heard of.
It was interesting to see what some employers also expect for their money. In one instance the vacancy required you to have 2 years experience with PHP/MySQL, HTML, CSS, CMS and then a list of 'like you to have' skills all for £20,000-£24,000 a year.
Then I found a vacancy that required experience in Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash that paid £30,000-£45,000. Bit of a difference eh?
I don't know if this means that some employers take you for what they can, or just that there are more and more web designers out there and so we are not such a valuable commodity.
Of course looking at employment is all well and good but it isn't the only option. I have also been looking at universities, local ones in particular. Huddersfield, Leeds and Bradford all seem okay but it is going to be a question of how many more years to get the degree.
I have to admit that another 2 years does not sound great at the moment, partly because I want to get earning and partly because it means only been nearly half way through my education.
If I had no other commitments and was 10 years younger, I probably wouldn't have any issues with 2 more years (so some of you should realise how lucky you are) but I feel as though I should be further along a career path than I am.
It may be possible to achieve the degree with just 1 more year but there are a lot of 'ifs' and 'buts', so we will see!
Ideally I would like to get a degree, partly to prove something to myself and also I think it puts you in a stronger bargaining position with prospective employers.
So, what will I do? I think the best plan of action for me is to keep trying to do as well as possible on the course, learn as many software applications as possible to make myself saleable, talk to universities and maybe apply now.
If I do find employment I can always try and fit the degree in, if an employer will not allow that, then I will have to make a decision on which is the most important, the degree or the money.
For now then its a case of keeping a look out for possibilities.
Bye for now, Mark
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2 comments:
I think you have hit the nail on the head there Mark, well apart from the age difference of course.
On a more serious note though, I think that’s what we all should be aiming for, keeping our opportunities open, as you never know what may be around the corner.
From talking to a lot of people on University courses studying similar stuff to us (I'm in the first year) it seems that it would almost be a step backwards to go to University. Luckily I don't have to think too heavily into it yet, and I'm hoping to be employable pretty much straight away after this course.
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