This week we had a guest speaker, Ronan McKinless for our lecture this week. This presentation focused on employability and the kind of jobs we could work in the future focusing on what you want to do, Where you want to do it and how you do it. For me the idea of placement and employability is very daunting as I do not know which area I want to work in but throughout his presentation I was able to establish the jobs and roles the skills I have and parts of the course I enjoy are suited to.
The first part we looked at was what kind of designer am I which allowed us to reflect on what parts of our interaction design course we enjoy, our new and existing skill set and help us establish what job title we fell under. Through discussion many of my peers felt they were more UI suited as they like designing how it looks, apply a set of guidelines and overall work with pattern libraries and design systems although I feel I am more suited to a UX role. This is due to me enjoying working on how things function whether it an app or website, working on wireframing and the functionality of my work. I also have an interest in website design and development and from previous studies I have a stronger skillset in that area.
We then looked at where we could work whether that is a large or smaller company and the benefits of both. In a larger company there is more people to learn from and it almost feels like a community of people where as in a smaller company it would feel like a family but there would be less people to learn off.
We also discussed inhouse and out of house companies and the range of work they do and how each differentiates from the other. When first entering the industry and starting off it is recommended to work in house for companies such as BT who have a specific UX and UI team who you can learn from at a ore relaxed level than out of house. In house companies don’t sell the functions which you would create but instead would be displayed to a large audience such as the BT brandmark. Out of house companies tend to be more creative and marketing agencies which are more intense work environments with higher expectations and they sell the stuff you create.
Finally for this area we looked at start ups and how most of the work can be isolating as it is a small team and you may be the only designer and a fast understanding and strong skillset is required and how a slowdown job is more remote which can be argued to be less favourable for new designers in the industry.
The final topic we looked at was how you do it. Today there is a larger range of working days and hours. Some people work full time, some work part time and some just freelance whenever they can or from the comfort of their home. It was discussed how many companies now opt for a 4 day working week instead of 5 although this is more in in house companies as the larger design companies still tend to work 5.
I found this presentation very helpful as it allowed me to gain a better understanding of how industry works as well as help calm my nerves about the daunting process of employment and placements. It taught me that I should be continuously self reflecting on the aspects I enjoy and the aspects I don’t enjoy as much so I can help distinguish which type of the design area I want to go into. At the moment I feel I am more suited to a UX designer role however I wonder if this will change over the coming months and few years.