by Adewale Adedamola and Mosadoluwa Fasasi
One time, an intern was given a Mac computer and he went on to sell it after his internship. The company got to know and yes, they frowned at him. But that’s a fair story.
Another story surfaced about an intern who was emotionally violated during her internship period. You know the usual; bottle it up till you’re out of the system and wait for the perfect time to burst the balloon on the bird app.
However, just like everyday living, internship has its ups and down. But today, I’ll be sharing 5 reasons why you should begin your design career by internship.
Before that, for the sake of clarity. What is an internship?
Simply, an internship is a period of time a trainee works in an organization to gain work experience. (The organization in this context is a design agency/organization). It could be with or without pay.
Let’s dive into my 5 reasons now, shall we?
- You get hands-on experience
The first reason why you want to begin your design career with an internship is that internship hands you hands-on experience (pun intended ;)
Imagine this;
Ali has just completed his bachelor’s degree. He is a brilliant student of Biochemistry and graduated with a first class. He used to design before he gained admission but as a scholar, he didn’t have much time for design. He dumped design.
After NYSC though, Ali decided to go job hunting. To his dismay, he couldn’t get a job. He then decided to go back to design to at least keep body and soul alive.
Alas! The prodigal son returns, said his Photoshop.exe.
Then a job opportunity dropped on his lap but the qualifications almost cut his neck.
It reads “2years+ experience in design with certification. Must understand work culture and must have a knowledge of other design tools such as Figma and Whimsical. Must have good visuals, and must be excellent in illustrations (using Adobe illustrator). Attach a link to your portfolio”
You’re right. No experience, no certificate, no portfolio, no work culture.
You don’t want to be Ali, that’s why you need to begin early with an internship. If you’re ready, you’re already late. So, pick that next offer.
2. You have access to a “mentor”
I read comments of junior designers who seek mentorship on Twitter. Some read like this “let me be living at your gate, let me be your houseboy” and all sorts. You’re doing it wrong.
Instead of going on Twitter and hailing every senior designer and asking for mentorship, what you should do is pick up their internship offers.
The difference between a junior designer in the comment box of a senior designer on Twitter and the one who picks up their internship offer is INTENTIONALITY.
Access is a privilege. Just as you have a provision seller across the street whom you patronize from time to time but that’s where the relationship ends ― across the street.
If you indeed need someone to mentor you, you would have to go beyond the street. Let them see that you value what they have by registering for their internship and that, my friend, is your access to a mentor! 🤝
3. You make less mistakes and you move faster in your career.
I often say the currency of experience is time or money. To make it simpler, do you need experience? There are two ways to get it:
- Spend your time working and getting experienced.
- Pay those who have the experience.
The difference? Let’s say Ali is in between these 2 choices.
In 1, Ali spends his time getting experienced. In context, let’s say to be a product manager, it would take 2 years to study and get certified. Ali studies for 2 years and boom, certified! Ali is happy and fulfilled.
But in 2, let’s say Ali sees a design agency’s internship offer and decides to pick it up. In 6 months (if he knows what he is doing) you can be rest assured he sure knows MORE THAN product management.
He has a change of 1year 4 months. This change can be spent on learning other related ethics of being a design-prenuer. You learn how to negotiate, you understand what Non-disclosure agreement means, you know what to do when a job reaches a lawsuit. You sure can’t learn all of that by watching “how to use Figma” on YouTube. Even if the tutorial is by an Indian guy.
Now, you don’t even pay for an internship. You only need to apply and cross your fingers to be picked.
4. You’re as good as your company
There’s a popular illustration about wisdom. It goes something like this “if you’re in a room with 10 wise men, it doesn’t mean you’re foolish. It means you’re the 11th wise person in the room”.
That’s a good place to be, wisdom is luxury.
This illustration applies to your design career. Internship provides you the opportunity to scale up your design. More than being assigned tasks, you’re also being accountable ― a secret to growth.
You get a feel of how things are done in a better way. You see from a higher altitude and you’re able to revel in a pool of experiences, because believe me, you’ll get more than design. I cannot stress this enough.
5. It opens you up to job opportunities
Let’s assume Ali didn’t dump design. Let’s say he was able to manage his studies and design. At the time, he didn’t even know why but he chose to hold on. He took training, volunteered and interned before he graduated.
By then, he must have learned what it means to work in a design agency, he knows how to negotiate, he knows how to collaborate on a project, he has developed soft skills, work ethics, must have also had a solid portfolio and in one word, he has experience!
Don’t you think by the time he finds out Biochemistry job isn’t forthcoming he would have a backup plan? I mean “this is Nigeria” (in Femi Falana’s voice). We all know the way things are, it’s a tough situation.
Tech is on the rise, it will keep rising. Ali has a shot in the Tech companies. He can earn a living responsibly and reduce the number of many graduates roaming the street.
You want to be like Ali. Apply for that internship today 💚
You can also sign up for the 2022 Aorthar bootcamp to learn design and MORE. Click this link: selar.co/jz2h
See you 💚
