So how?
The world is unfair. This is a fact. There are people who inherit their wealth and live in luxury while others slog their ass off just to pay the rent. I am perhaps somewhere in the middle of this scale - I am not rich, and certainly will not inherit millions. But generally, my parents can (mostly) take care of themselves and I have all the tools I need to succeed. I am not that old. I am not heavily in debt even if I am poor. I am educated with the potential to learn more and earn more. And yet I live in constant worry about the future. This is largely due to the career path I have chosen.
1. The "useless" Industrial Design degree - Immediately, the odds are stacked against you here. People generally haven't heard of this degree and thus undervalue it. We say we make a difference to how a product can "change people's lives" but the truth is that most people don't value it. It just can't be done here. Either they will copy a design from someone else, or they will get their engineers to wing it. I guess the people from our course who "made it" a) changed field, b) became a teacher and c) got lucky by working in the right places.
So how should I deal with this?
I have to look at this long term. In the short term, this piece of paper is really useless and has been useless for the last 10 years. The only time I used it was to get PR in NZ. But the fundamentals of design are useful. It has helped me in my creative process and I think I have now gained enough skill to express my creations. The next step will be learning to develop my own brand and market it.
2. The terrible career choice(s) - Shit cascades. This is, also a fact. From a shit degree, you stumbled into a shit job. Now, don't get me wrong, my time with Sstar was one of the happiest. But it is like having a great night with a beautiful prostitute. No future. I tried so hard to make it work. But I have little to show for it. Then came Huhus, which was really a bad move. And then with no choice, I joined Health Distributors. Then DM. It was like prison. I was waiting to stick a knife in them but eventually they struck first. And now you are in the 2nd winter of your career - potentially a do or die one.
So how should I deal with this?
I guess I need to accept the mistakes that I have made on my part. But I also need to leverage my strengths and build a place where I can further develop myself. I really need to pursue making my 2nd career work - Go out and meet people and make it happen. Internally, I have it all covered. Externally, I need more feedback to be successful.
1. The "useless" Industrial Design degree - Immediately, the odds are stacked against you here. People generally haven't heard of this degree and thus undervalue it. We say we make a difference to how a product can "change people's lives" but the truth is that most people don't value it. It just can't be done here. Either they will copy a design from someone else, or they will get their engineers to wing it. I guess the people from our course who "made it" a) changed field, b) became a teacher and c) got lucky by working in the right places.
So how should I deal with this?
I have to look at this long term. In the short term, this piece of paper is really useless and has been useless for the last 10 years. The only time I used it was to get PR in NZ. But the fundamentals of design are useful. It has helped me in my creative process and I think I have now gained enough skill to express my creations. The next step will be learning to develop my own brand and market it.
2. The terrible career choice(s) - Shit cascades. This is, also a fact. From a shit degree, you stumbled into a shit job. Now, don't get me wrong, my time with Sstar was one of the happiest. But it is like having a great night with a beautiful prostitute. No future. I tried so hard to make it work. But I have little to show for it. Then came Huhus, which was really a bad move. And then with no choice, I joined Health Distributors. Then DM. It was like prison. I was waiting to stick a knife in them but eventually they struck first. And now you are in the 2nd winter of your career - potentially a do or die one.
So how should I deal with this?
I guess I need to accept the mistakes that I have made on my part. But I also need to leverage my strengths and build a place where I can further develop myself. I really need to pursue making my 2nd career work - Go out and meet people and make it happen. Internally, I have it all covered. Externally, I need more feedback to be successful.
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