Career Advice
Seeing your transition to industry on the horizon may cause anxiety about the future. That’s normal. Here’s the thing: the best antidote to anxiety is action. Feeling sick? Go see the campus clinic. Struggling in a course? Talk to your instructor. Wondering how to deal with stress, money, or anything else? My office door is always open. I can point you toward the supports you need. We’re fortunate to live in a country and study at a college that provides so many resources. Use them.
Remember that success isn’t a single, giant leap. It’s a mix of talent, motivation, and context, built up through small, disciplined efforts every day. Those little actions compound over time. A career path isn’t the result of one big decision but of daily steps that accumulated into something meaningful.
No mistake you make at this stage is going to define your career.
If you’re a decent person, working hard, and treating others well, you’ll find your way. When things don’t go your way, forgive yourself. Keep moving forward. Start making some money, even in small ways. It feels amazing to buy dinner for your parents with money you earned. Hustle a little. Build that momentum. Those little wins matter more than you think, and they’ll help you stay motivated and grounded.
Don’t forget the social side of your career. Networking isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a skill. Like any skill, it takes practice. You should only really be home to sleep. Spend your time at school, at work, at the gym, or out with friends. Aim to get out of the house at least three or four times a week. Personal friends and professional contacts often overlap. The people you surround yourself with matter.
You are, in many ways, the average of your five closest friends, so make sure they’re good people, ambitious, and open-minded. Be curious. Learn from people whose worldviews are different from your own.
Here’s a goal worth chasing: become so good that people will speak your name in rooms you’re not in, and put opportunities in front of you even when you’re not there. That doesn’t happen overnight, but every bit of practice, every connection, every small effort adds up.
Finally, remember that the job hunt can be arduous. Sometimes you’ll feel like you’re just searching endlessly. An average designer might need to apply 50 times to land one interview. Of those, four out of five companies might ghost you. Which means you may need to apply to 250 jobs just to land one real opportunity. That’s not failure. That’s just the math. So build resilience. Keep swiping. Keep applying. Keep moving forward.
Get out there. Make friends. Make mistakes. Embarrass yourself. Learn from it all. That’s how you grow, not just as a designer, but as a person.