Jul 27, 2020 | by Budi Tanrim
Reader question: Do I need formal design education?
Hi Budi, I don’t have any formal education for design. Is it possible to work as a designer without any degree in Human Computer Interaction?
Absolutely possible.
In fact, I graduated in accounting. I have no formal education whatsoever. What I observe during my time working in this industry, no body actually care about degree. People will be interested more about your track record. What projects and impacts you have done in the past.
When I interviewed for a job, no one will ask me for my education. They will ask my certificate for VISA sponsorship purpose, but never for the job itself. Often we will discuss a lot about my past experience on my previous project or company.
If you don’t have any formal education in design, try to focus on building up your craft skill on interaction design, practice design thinking, and your communication skill. I think these 3 basic skills would be necessary for you to get a job in this industry.
If you don’t have any project before, I highly encourage to make a conceptual or hypothetical project where you can illustrate your skill there. However, it’s even better if you have real project, even if that just a one-off project. So, my suggestion is to find some project online. Focus more on quantity instead of quality at this point, because you want to increase the probability of getting a project.
99designs.com and designcrowd.com was my favorite when I started my career. There, you can find online contest. Just try to enter some. Good luck.
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