Recently, I met several students who asked me such questions: "Mr. Yu Bochen, I have graduated for a long time, but I still can't find a job. Is it true that I went abroad to study for nothing?" For students who are preparing to study in the arts, employment may not be an urgent problem to think about, However, when reviewing the interview experience of students applying for art study abroad in previous years, it is not difficult to find that many art schools will ask students about their future career planning, not only their learning, but also their ideas for future development. What is the prospect of studying abroad and working hard? How can I work while studying abroad? Let's talk about it today.
Parsons Parsons School of Design , FIT New York Fashion College and other colleges and universities will continuously arrange "employment opportunities" for students in the first year of their undergraduate studies. In the end, whether studying abroad or not, "employment" is a life problem that we have to face.
I have met students with very direct goals. The reason why I choose to study abroad is to have more advantages in employment; But at the same time, there are also some students who choose to study abroad. They are more concerned about whether studying abroad can bring about some improvements that cannot be measured by market value, namely vision, ability, etc.
For the former kind of students, before going abroad, they have basically considered their future career development direction and made a relatively clear phased plan, which will not change much. When choosing schools and majors, they will also pay special attention to those colleges that will help their future development; The latter kind of students may pay more attention to their own interests and development in the school selection stage, and consider employment planning may start late. Compared with the former kind, the space and scope will be larger.
However, no matter how you think about it in the early stage, when you graduate, it is inevitable that some students will encounter the initial problem: they cannot find jobs after graduation, and the gap between ideal and reality is too "realistic". In the past years, we found that almost all the students who can "graduate as a talent" and go out of school before entering the "society" have already "done a lot of homework" during their studies.
What is the prospect of studying abroad for employment? How can I work at school?
Employment at home and abroad has its advantages and disadvantages, and career planning also needs careful research
In fact, the employment planning is similar to that of applying for art colleges. In the early stage, detailed research and comprehensive consideration are required. After determining the direction of your choice, you can "suit the remedy to the case", discuss the situation and make preparations as early as possible.
Before applying to an art school, you should first consider what major to choose based on your interests and future development, and then decide the country and school. Different countries are like different fields of work. If you want to enter a certain field, you need to have certain ability to pass the threshold of unity. Different colleges and universities are like different companies. If you want to get an offer from the company, you must also pass the "application" and "assessment". Therefore, in the early stage of considering the employment issue, we should make a choice in the general direction based on our own situation, whether to return home or stay overseas.
In general, returning home after graduation is the choice of most students. On the one hand, as I said at the beginning, some students go abroad for the purpose of better employment. Most of these students have made plans and choices at the beginning; On the other hand, although there are now "a lot of" international students, as a matter of fact, "genuine" and capable international students still have "hidden" advantages in the domestic job market. For example, many people want to enter large factories, large enterprises, international brands in the Asia Pacific region, and so on. The threshold of some departments is really only for returned students.
Finally, family factors are also one of the reasons why many students return to China for employment. For example, a classmate Chen of Natural Light in 2017 was overseas from high school to graduate school. After graduation, he still chose to return to work. The main reason is that he left home too long.
The other is overseas employment. It may be OK to start a studio or stay in school, but if you choose to enter a large company or brand, many students may need to carefully consider and evaluate. This is mainly because even though I have adapted to the overseas thinking mode and lifestyle during my study, there is still a big difference between employment and learning. It must be recognized that it is really not easy for domestic students to get good development overseas and obtain a full-time, stable and long-term job, especially under the company, to have enough room for growth.
To sum up the above factors, first of all, in the early stage of facing the employment problem, we should consider how to choose based on our own situation. Once a decision has been made, we can better integrate our needs and carry out career planning and layout.
The accumulation of contacts and resources is essential, and employment also focuses on background improvement and "setting up people"
According to the return visit statistics of Natural Light over the years, 79% of the students who got the offer before graduation or just after graduation have started selective "crazy" internships during their studies. These internships include but are not limited to brand internships, project experiences, volunteer activities, etc., especially for students developing overseas, they are all like "practice machines without feelings".
There are generally two kinds of choices for the employment prospects of studying abroad: Top brand, design company and design studio; Create your own personal or team studio.
First of all, any step in the early stage of this kind of work may face the situation of "low investment and return", especially in the luxury industry. But it is optimistic that the opportunities and capabilities obtained from these jobs are also absolutely equal.
As far as magnitudes such as world-famous design studios and companies are concerned, the basic rules for any company to recruit employees will not be the same as those of schools. They are eager to see your "learning potential", because for schools, whether students have cultivable potential can measure the length and breadth of a student's future development. However, for all companies, they do not need your "potential", but your existing, mature and various abilities.
This can be seen from the comparison between the collection of works used for employment and the collection of works used for applying for art colleges. The collection of works used in the application needs to show the school your "possibility" and tell the school that although you have a high professional ability, you are still "exploitable".
But for a company, the collection of works you use should be able to demonstrate your professional proficiency. Or have the ability to complete a project in perfect cooperation with team members on the premise of team cooperation.
Therefore, the collection of works used for job hunting is often more mature and more perpendicular to the specific direction of a specific specialty; For all the work collections of the applicant institutions, each page needs to display different abilities and "possibilities", so as to win the favor of the reviewers.
Therefore, it is very important to "make use of all available resources around you and the school, don't be afraid to try". During the school period, we should have a plan to enrich ourselves and enrich our "staffing" and "background", so that we can better achieve "entry upon graduation". This is especially important for students who are preparing to settle overseas.
However, attention should also be paid to distinguishing the quality of internship work. In a nutshell, just like the application background when applying for study abroad, your employment background also needs to be improved. Some internships are not worth your time to participate.
Most foreign colleges and universities have Career Services/student employment development service centers. Although the main service objects are junior and senior students, as I said at the beginning, such as Parsons and SVA New York Institute of Visual Arts In fact, art schools such as FIT will provide students with uninterrupted employment opportunities at the beginning of their freshman year.
Here, we also want to remind you that professor resources may be deeply felt by students who have studied abroad. Most of the teachers of overseas art schools are also equipped with unique skills while working in schools. For example, the SVA student pool we interviewed a while ago, her Mini Comic and Risograph instructor is Patrick Crotty, the boss of the Swiss publishing house PEOW.
Another example is when I chatted with a SAIC graduate in 2018 some time ago, he told me that at the beginning, he didn't have a specific field in mind. But since his sophomore year, he has begun to realize that he has to prepare for the future, so under the guidance of his teacher, he began to take over some "private work" from the studio. In this process, he also gradually found his own goal and direction. Half a year before graduation, he not only set up his own personal studio, but also received offers from four domestic companies.
When art schools provide these available resources, don't think it's too early to try to participate when you have time. Even if you and the other party don't choose each other in the end, each participation may become a "butterfly effect" to incite the future.
Secondly, don't ignore the opportunities that seem "thankless", such as the backstage of fashion week, such as junior assistant designers, junior designers, etc. Although it may be very tedious or basic work, you should know that no designer can accomplish it in one move. There are too few such cases. Even legendary masters such as Dior and Givenchy have experienced the transition from young "small handyman" to legendary.
A living example around us is a former natural light student who studied in Parsons Fashion Design. In his sophomore year, he participated in the New York Fashion Week as an assistant to a brand designer because of an accidental opportunity. This accident also became his "life opportunity". He entered Hollywood and participated in the design of Anne Hathaway's dress.
Even though these jobs are "basic", continuous efforts will always help you accumulate gains. In the early stage, you may experience a "seemingly hopeless" wait, but the future development prospects are definitely worth your efforts.
Finally, the personal studio seems to be a relatively easy and independent choice, but in fact, it also needs to pay a higher cost. Although it is true that the time is relatively free, in the early days of the studio, when the manpower and material resources are insufficient, one person may need to take into account multiple positions at the same time. One person is a team, which is the most common situation for entrepreneurial teams.
The above is mainly based on the overseas employment situation. It is indeed more advantageous and easier to return to China, but it does not mean that you can start work directly. It also needs these foreshadowing. In China, the students may pay more attention to the institutions Portfolio training Tutor is a profession. In the eyes of some people, this may be a low threshold occupation, but is it true?
Take the recruitment criteria and process of natural light portfolio instructors as an example:
Teachers' requirements are not only to have strong professional background and comprehensive creative ability, but also to have strong teaching ability after years of exploration and teaching.
Many teachers are indeed very competent. They have led international professional teams and done world-class design works. However, the assessment of whether an artist/designer can become one of the criteria for institutional mentors, as well as "teaching ability", requires teachers to have empathy, sense of understanding, and pay attention to the professionalism of each student in the studio environment where many people study.
Taken together, these requirements require artists/designers to enter this seemingly low threshold industry.
The premise of encountering opportunities is that you should make 200% preparations first
As the chicken soup said, opportunities are never met. Successful people often pay more efforts than you think before they meet opportunities. It may seem too "inspirational", but it is also true.
In the return visit to the former students, we found that although the majority of students returned home, most of the students who can "graduate and enter the job" have made full preparations during their schooling, combining their own courses with their future employment.
We have given many examples in the past. These examples show that almost all students who can "start work after graduation" have already paid what others did not pay and entered the "society" and "workplace" ahead of time as students.
The premise of encountering opportunities is not to wait, but to be ready at any time. Future employment requires not only opportunities, but also 200% or more of your own efforts. What is the prospect of studying abroad for employment? What do you need to learn while studying abroad? Do what? Today I have introduced so many things to you. If you have any questions, please come to natural light for free consultation.
Natural light shares more topics for you:
The real life of overseas students, talking about the "ideal" before going abroad and the "reality" after going abroad
Will studying abroad have a good future? Is it better to choose overseas employment or return to work?
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