[IxDA Discuss] Disillusioned Junior Designers

[Jon Kolko [SCAD]]

Hi,

I want to share with the list an email I just received from one of my
students. 

==

It's been an extremely bumpy road with [COMPANY]. Irony of ironies, I of 
all people ended up at a company that is still primarily focused on 
visual design and cute little animations. After a year of beating my 
head against the management wall, trying to incorporate interaction 
design/research, i can't do it anymore. They've broken promises, 
changed directions monthly, and i haven't had a boss or mentor to speak 
of the entire time i've been here. (I did finally learn shortcuts in 
illustrator though, hooray! :) )

i'm questioning whether i should even be doing this (design) because of 
this job, and that's really sad and not ok. some days i feel like i 
can't do anything right and it's like they threw me in the pool and 
left me to drown. other days i'm so angry that they saw my portfolio, 
interviewed me, and were still totally shocked by the skill-set that 
they actually hired. the worst part is that my finances are all fucked 
up because the salary is just insultingly low, but i believed at the 
time that there was so much room for growth that it would be ok for a 
few months.

AND I just got a new boss who is a flash-obsessed programmer, outwardly 
says he's not a designer. He seems to think i'm 'new' and took half my 
responsibilities away. It's like I've been fucking demoted.

every day i try not to just walk out the door. this all may sound a 
little dramatic, but it's like the reality of professional design has 
come crashing in so hard that i'm worried I might lose my belief that 
it can exist as something more thoughtful and meaningful.

I don't want to be jaded :(

==

The individual above is a strong designer and an intellectual individual;
she had no trouble getting her first job, which is at a relatively well
known consultancy. 

The frequency with which I receive emails like this from alumni is
incredible; this type of situation is the norm, not the exception, with
junior Interaction Designers. I certainly make an effort to talk about
evangelizing and educating others about Interaction Design in my classroom -
and how most people won't have a clue what it is that they do when they
graduate - but I'm obviously not doing enough to warn my students of the
pain that is Real Life. 

I'm curious how other educators handle this. 

I'm also interested to find out how the rest of this list feels about this
negative or completely barren public perception of Interaction Design. I'm
starting to think that, while Interaction Design has certainly come a long
ways, perhaps we haven't really begun to do the entrenchment work necessary
to really make a difference in business. 


Thanks,


Jon Kolko
Professor, Industrial & Interaction Design
Savannah College of Art and Design  

http://facultypages.scad.edu/~jkolko
AOL IM// jkolkoSCAD