Reply To: Who is going to take your place when you retire?

Craig,

You make a good point. Someone who is working retail or food service is going to invite assumptions about what they’ve been doing during school or since graduation. Before I landed an internship as a E&S plan reviewer, I worked, you guessed it, in a coffee shop for three years. I wasn’t doing a lot of extra thinking about LA since I was just trying to pay rent, buy books and other design supplies. However, this time around working in a 25% design, 75% retail position, I’m able to use that no-longer-academically-aimed time towards further enrichment of skills and/or research. It does take an extra effort on the part of a non-firm employed LA grad to stay abreast of and prepared for the type of work they’ll encounter in a firm. I’m very fortunate to have a spouse that understands why I spend two or three hours a night after work reading articles or watching video tutorials for Photoshop or other softwares to position myself well for when the economy improves. I think that is one way you can encourage growth and avoid stagnancy in the upcoming crop of LA’s. I am hoping for the sake of myself and others it’s a method that works.

Please don’t take this as my opinion as to the only path to success, I’m very much living what others are experiencing. My hope is that more of us will be moved towards action versus retreading the same territory over and over again.