So you're a design student—what happens next? [thread]

There’s always a level of uncertainty that comes with entering the workforce after design school. But for the graduating class of 2020, that uncertainty is about much more than just where they’ll land their first job.

What happens after we’re allowed to leave our respective quarantine bunkers and reunite with our friends, families, and colleagues someplace other than a Zoom meeting?

How will a post-Coronavirus job market affect designers who are just beginning their careers?

For the first in a new series on the impact of COVID-19 on the design world, we’ve posed these questions to 6 design educators.

They sent back their most salient advice for students about to graduate in Spring 2020

“Be prepared for interviewers to ask ‘what did you do during the pandemic?’ If your answer is that you played on your Xbox, or even just that you learned to code, you’ll be viewed poorly..."— @jbaldwin, Glasgow School of Art

"...If you say you volunteered, or helped organize your community, or took part in a hackathon to develop solutions to non-clinical problems—that will help you stand out.”— @jbaldwin, Glasgow School of Art

“I think that right now is really the time to get into design education if you are so inclined. For those not interested in teaching, be a bit more creative in terms of where you might be looking for employment..."— @ilynam, TU Japan, Vermont College of Fine Arts, and CalArts

"...If you are a graphic designer who is just graduating, it is a good idea to look for potential jobs within governments.”— @ilynam, Temple University Japan, Vermont College of Fine Arts, and CalArts

“My advice to job seekers would be to target employers who are using design as a critical decision-making lever, who are measuring design outcomes relative to the bottom line, and who consistently talk about design in a deliberate, strategic way.”—Kate Canales, UT Austin

“The separation between the higher up designers and those just starting out is diminishing, especially now. We’re all at home."— @mgoldst, Rochester Institute of Technology

"We all get it...Don’t be afraid to hit up your favorite people, not necessarily for jobs, but just to engage with them and be in conversation with other people from the design world.”— @mgoldst, Rochester Institute of Technology

“We can’t do a lot of things right now, but we can keep on making..."— @leesean, Parsons and SVA

"...It’s hard to get started without the structured time or social bonds of a creative community, but we have social media, so keep making stuff and showing your work publicly even if there isn’t a client attached to it.”— @leesean, Parsons and SVA

“My hope is that we find a way to stay as supportive and generous with each other after this is over."— @siborg81, Otis College and Vermont College of Fine Arts

"This crisis is actually exposing the incredible problems, especially in America, that we have around class, around access, around ability, around identity.”— @siborg81, Otis College and Vermont College of Fine Arts

“I hope that in terms of visual communication, the industry will increasingly value visual communication as a socially engaged practice, support the work of key workers, and..."— @RegDesign_Ruth, Central Saint Martins and the University of Hertfordshire

"...look more critically at visual communication that doesn't have an essential role to play in society, and even a detrimental role.”— @RegDesign_Ruth, Central Saint Martins and the University of Hertfordshire

Read all of the advice here https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/im-a-design-student-what-happens-next/