Product Designer.
I went to school for Industrial Design.
But what is wrong here? What am I not seeing? I am so tired of being judged off of my ability to make shit look pretty. The commoditization of ‘stuff’ is going to cause me to either change my career completely or just die from a brain hemmorage.
What am I supposed to do? Keep doing exactly what clients want redesigning more and more with more features and less money? I spent most of my day today redesigning a $0.01 cent scooping cup. And who’s life is this going to save? Who’s going to smile because they just bought the world’s best scooper?
If I can’t design things better than Joe Schmoe, I’m without a job.
I don’t like the limbo I’m stuck in wondering if the place I’m working at ever had any intention of hiring me in the first place. I can suck it up for a couple of years and design more crap, but the process of proving myself when I’m going against what I believe in just gives me a headache.
I am also tired of being treated like an intern. I graduated at the top of my class, I’m a jack of all trades, I’m respectful and mature, I always focus on improving myself especially when it comes to basic skills, I understand I have a ways to go. I don’t care if you need to bill me half the time the full-time designers make, bill me for 2 hours, I will work 8 more for free. My point is that because I’m being treated like an intern I’m starting to act like one, not believing in myself when it comes to certain tasks like sketching or idea generation. I want a job already. I’m tired of searching.
Where should I go? Apply for more consultancy jobs or venture on to grad school. What if the 9-5 working for clients isn’t my thing? Is grad school a cop-out? Is it the best thing for me?
I want to figure out exactly what is it I’m not seeing…
