Back in 2008, I have completed my master’s in biotechnology. I like biotechnology as a subject, but I was unsure if it is the right choice for me to make a career. I was pretty much interested in design, technology, etc. I have decided to make a successful career; it is crucial to choose something which I like. If I look back, I feel that was one of the best decisions I have made.

Design is a soulful job, which will energize us every day, even it is mechanical. The core of a design job is on creativity, which many of the jobs today miss it. It will help you to refresh your thought process and demands you to be an idea person.

It will help you to refresh your thought process and demands you to be an idea person.

Design Tool Expert

I know it was not an easy decision, with no academic background in design. I followed many online tutorials and learned Design tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, etc. Back then, there was no Sketch or Adobe XD. Though I quickly learned the software, I had only minimal knowledge of design fundamentals, like Typography, Color Theory, UI Design, etc. But still, I was continually practicing and learning.

Job Hunting

I have prepared my resume adding my design skills, and applied for all the design jobs I came across. I was targetting the only startup because it was less competitive and easy for me to approach. I also share some of my design work to showcase my skills.

Without any surprise, I didn’t get any response from anyone. Since I was targeting only the startups, I’m sure at least a few of them might have seen my resume, but still, I didn’t get any reply. I realized something is not working, time for me to create a strategy to get a response from them.

Time for strategy

I’m a post-graduate in Biotechnology. I liked it or not; I had spent five years on the course. I wanted to use that as an advantage to get my first job in design. Because I know life sciences, I wanted to target healthcare companies where I can sell myself better.

With the combination of design + life science skills, I have prepared a new resume and targeted startups in the healthcare domain. I started getting a few responses, and some even shared assignments to work. I was trying my level best, but it was not enough to get a job offer.

2010 Pandemic

H1N1 was on a high swing; more than 3000 deaths were reported in the US alone. I have created a 2 mins animation on “How it spreads?” and showcase it on my portfolio. I must say it pulled many quality calls, and I was able to get my first job offer from a Healthcare startup called iLogy. They are a publishing company both in Print and digital. I was the first in house designer to join; as a graphic designer, my role is to support the team on creative needs.

Conclusion:

• Getting a design job is not hard if we continuously improve our skills and have a clear strategy.
• At the entry-level, our quality or the portfolio won’t be as good as we expect but don’t shy away from showcasing them. You can grow your design skills only if somebody looks at and express their thought.
• You can learn the tools faster, but not the design. It will take many practice hours to know design basics, accept the fact, and don’t rush for it.
• Any job is good, don’t be very specific on salary or role at the very beginning of the career. It is a very open world; eventually, you will reach there.