How to get a design job without a formal degree/experience.
Tags: Education, Design, Freelance, College, Designer

All illustrations created by https://undraw.co/illustrations.

When I first got into design, I didn’t know it would be my career and at the time, I didn’t know which direction to head in. There were a lot of times I felt lost and thought that I would fail because I didn’t have a “formal education” in art or graphic design. However, I hope that this article benefits someone who is self-taught or unsure of what direction to take. Here is some insight into my experience, and how I became a self-taught designer without a formal degree or experience.

Stay curious. Don’t stop learning.

If you have no experience in design, start by training your “design eye” and your fundamental skills. Your design eye is an intuition that identifies what good design is. You can train this by looking at other designers’ work or looking at how things are designed around you. Even the most seasoned designers continue to refine their design eye everyday. However, I would recommend this article for design beginners just to start. It touches on color, type, balance, and more. As a designer, it’s easy to get caught up in the aesthetic instead of the fundamentals and usability. Personally, I felt behind compared to those who were getting a degree in design. Because of this, I found my own ways to catch up.

Here are some great places to start learning fundamentals or training your design eye:

Here are resources more geared towards UI/UX:

It was also difficult for me to find time to learn and I’m sure that’s the case for some of you as well. So instead of scrolling down my phone at night, I tried to make this time productive. For example, I would read design books from the library or fall asleep to videos on SkillShare.

Left illustration (by @fresh_bobatae) inspired my illustration (by @danaespine).

Take the time to follow designers on Instagram, Dribbble, and Behance. Study their techniques and aesthetic and then ask yourself, “How did they do that?” Try recreating your favorite designers’ work and try the techniques they do. If you don’t understand how they did it then find a Youtube Tutorial about it. Be proactive.

Here’s a list of designers I find inspirational but this list could go on forever so I’m just going to name a few:

Create your own path.

The best way to learn is to do; so if you don’t have clients or anywhere to start, go make it happen. For example, a couple of friends and I started an organization that provided free design for those who needed it on our campus. It helped us with real design briefs and real clients but don’t make a habit out of doing work for free. Know your worth.

Opportunities to seek out:

Non-profit work or volunteer work.

Helping out a friend or a coworker.

Hack-a-thons.

Slowly taking on design tasks at your current position to later grow into a design position.

Remember, don’t design just to do it or to put something on your resume. Continue to pursue passion projects and design for things you love but not everything needs to go into your portfolio. Cater it. Your portfolio can make or break you getting the client or the job offer you’ve been waiting for.

“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.”— Chuck Close

Create actual quality and don’t half-ass it because it will show. Be proud of what you put on your portfolio. It’s just like exercising or working out. You determine how hard you want to push yourself.

Apply and never settle for less.

So, you didn’t get your dream job… Yet. That’s okay. Absorb everything you can at your current job like a sponge. If your current job doesn’t relate to design, that’s okay too. Cater it and figure out how it can apply to design.

Take the initiative to step outside the box. It could be starting something with design at your current job or shadowing the current designers. In my experience, I was mostly doing email campaigns at my first job out of college but I asked if I could just help with a couple UI screens and got a little bit of experience there. Remember, the answer will always be no unless you ask.

If you want a job quick, quantity over quality. If you want a job you’ll like, quality over quantity.

In my experience, if you want a job quickly, apply as much as you can until you get a job. Set a quota for yourself of 30 applications a day or more. Want a job you like? Cater your resume, your portfolio, and your cover letter to each company. Take the time to research their history, beliefs, and the job you’re applying for. Don’t sell your self short and stay positive!

Stay in touch with friends and “network.”

I’m the last person that’s going to tell you to “network” because I hate it. However, I love creating genuine friendships which is what you should strive for through networking.

Keep in touch with your friends because you never know what door might open. Surprisingly, many of them have reached out to me for advice or potential job leads. One of my great friends put me in touch with my favorite client which lead to more work because that client knew I did a good job in the past. You never know, a friend of a friend might have design work for you.

The rest is up to you.

I may not be able to promise you a job, but I hope I helped you get started on that path. Stay motivated and keep learning. I barely touched the surface of design in this article and I encourage you to learn more if you’re interested. If you made it this far, thank you for reading and please ask me any questions you have! Good luck.