What is professional/ industrial experience?
- An internship is a work-related learning experience specified for students, college graduates, and those interested in a career change who would like an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in a particular field of interest. - www.Graphicdesigninternship.net
- "Professional work experience refers to experience working for organizations within your chosen profession based on your qualifications."- From WikiAnswers
- "Undergraduate placements come in many formats, but they are all essentially a learning experience in a professional working environment which lasts for a fixed term. You will hear the terms: work experience, internships, industrial placements and vacation placements. Undergraduate placements vary in length - anything from a few weeks up to 12 months."
- "The accumulation of knowledge or skill that results from direct participation in events or activities; "a man of experience" - web definition.
- "...to have direct experience under supervision of the duties and responsibilities of professional practice." - www.pedr.co.uk
Experience refers to what is learnt from a percieved situation by the experiencer, and in this context this is applied to a working environment in the field of design. The experiencer watches or takes part in situations in order to learn how to apply this knowledge of practical experience to future endeavors. In this instance, (Industry, this being design) this could range from learning how to practically apply a certain print method, or learn how mass production can give limitations to the situation a designer may find himself in, and what to do in order to successfully overcome this. This is done best directly through experiencing these sorts of situation. The best way I can think of putting it is monkey see, monkey do and then monkey knows how to "do" again.
In summary, to me, industrial experience is interaction you have with industry from a direct learning point of view, either by observing or taking part in the subject matter of the industry involved.
Why is professional/industrial experience important as part of PPD?
- With graphic design internships you can develop new skills as a worker and learn things about yourself which you never knew you were capable of. The internship process is suppose to be a revolutionary way for you to test out your skills to the best of your ability and see if you are right for a graphic design career. - www.graphicdesigninternship.net
- Gain field-related experience for better marketability at graduation. Graduating students with experience report higher salary offers (an average of 9.2% more) than students without experience.
- Enrich their classroom learning - it's more interesting when they know how it is applied in the “real world.”
- Challenge their technical skills and improve people skills in professional environments. - College Of Engineering
I think these statements apply generally in the field of industrial experience.
- Business awareness, flexibility, initiative, team work, communication, problem solving, analytical, learn new technical skills, social skills etc
- Opportunity to see how your course translates into what people need to know and apply at work
- Opportunity to meet and liaise with new people who may be useful in your future career. - These are workshop preparation notes I found on www.researchnt1.qub.ac.uk/YOPE/docs/Week%201.doc
In summary having experience in your chosen field enriches the process of doing the set discipline because you know it's relevance in the "real" world and understand where you fit within it encompassing aspects such as networking, people skills and also practical knowledge of application of industrial processes in (this instance) the field of design.
How do you gain professional/industrial experience and what form does it take?
- Finding a graphic design internship is competitive but is getting easier as the years pass. By 2016, the need for graphic designers should increase by 10% because of the expansion of television, movies, video, and the internet. Still, be ready to face a lot of competition for these available positions. This is a reassuring piece of information!!
- "One of the best places to look for a graphic design job or internship these days is on the internet."
Some resources to possibly use:
It seems that finding the information is easyer than ever with the advent of the internet, and there is always the oppertunity of getting directly in touch with an agency either by phone or by email, the guys that have just gone out into the big bad world from this course are also a really good source of information on this subject for us. Its all about your sources.
What should you aim to gain from professional/industrial experience?
In summary:
- A knowledge of our specialist field and how to apply experience practically in order to develop beneficially
- A foot in the door of an Agency and possibly a gateway into our future careers
- An extended understanding of our education in the context of a "real world" industry
- Better people skills, liasing improvement
- An experienced control over our design as practise and our relevance proffessionally of "Who we are" as designers.
