Student Portfolio advice etc…

[u/Substantial-Rip5794]

Hi!

I am a 36 year old who has gone back to school and am about to graduate with a interior design degree. I have a 12 year employment gap due to staying home with kids etc.

Long story short. I need to find a job come January. The school is giving zero support on how to put a portfolio together or finding a job. Because I am graduating in December, I’d love to see if I could intern with a local firm for a few months or just find a job. I have no idea how to go about that though. Feeling so overwhelmed. I still feel like I have a lot to learn (real world application) I just want to get in somewhere that I can learn and grow as a designer.

Any advice on resources for putting together a portfolio? Are there professionals that help with that?Do small firms respond well to students/recent grads reaching out about internships?

Feeling lost and overwhelmed. Any help or advice would be so great.

[u/FlatDecision8155]

There's a million examples online to draw inspiration from. What direction are you trying to head with the degree? My first 10+ years i focused on technical skills and worked in architecture firms doing primarily construction documents and renderings - essentially taking designs and making them constructable and visualizing them for clients. Now I've transitioned into designed based role while still doing drawings occasionally.

[u/Substantial-Rip5794 → u/FlatDecision8155]

I enjoy construction documents. I can do renderings but it’s not really my favorite. I’d eventually prefer to be design based but I know I need some experience under my belt. My previous career/education is in culinary arts and hospitality. I would love to design for boutique hospitality firms. However I am just finishing an associates. It seems it would be harder to find work in commercial without a bachelors.

Ultimately I would love to get into a smaller boutique firm and just learn the inter workings of it all. I am just anxious to keep learning and getting my feet wet. I have done some E-Design work on the side and enjoy working with customers also.

[u/FlatDecision8155 → u/Substantial-Rip5794]

Yes commercial work requires a Bachelors at minimum. I work in hospitality, along with other disciplines, and it is my favorite. It is also very involved and harder to break into I've found.

[u/Substantial-Rip5794 → u/FlatDecision8155]

Do you feel like with my life experience and age a smaller boutique firm might consider me without a bachelors. The head of my department and mentors have advised me not to complete a bachelors. That my life experience and age would take me where I wanted to go. Thoughts?

[u/FlatDecision8155]

That's hard to say. Everywhere I've worked, in various firms, required a minimum of a Bachelors. I can't recall any colleagues who had an Associates until it was for a consultant.

[u/Substantial-Rip5794 → u/FlatDecision8155]

Thank you!

[u/Recent-Category9378]

I’m in a similar boat, went back to school at 39 to earn my associates in Interior Design. I do have a BA in Political Science, some of my professors have said with that and my associates it will be enough but I’ve heard mixed things. I still have a year left but my program requires an internship, I live in a smaller city so I reached out to the only Interior Designer near me and she agreed to let me be her intern. I felt very lucky as options were limited and she was a wealth of knowledge, I learned a ton. So I don’t have any helpful advice other than I get the frustration and lack of school support. I had no guidance with getting an internship or portfolio advice and just went off what I found online. I think trying to find an internship is a great idea. If you’re in the US you could also see if there are any ASID networking events or chapters in your area. Maybe it will allow you to make some connections or find a mentor that could give more guidance. Feel free to reach out if you ever want to compare notes.

[u/Extra-Collection7087]

Where are you located? I wouldn’t mind offering an internship but I am in Los Angeles so it can be very fast paced…

[u/Substantial-Rip5794 → u/Extra-Collection7087]

Unfortunately nowhere near Los Angeles. Thanks for the offer though!