Where I am going

To be truthful, I really have no idea where I will be in 5 years time. Ideally I hope to be in a successful job that is giving me challenges and something which I enjoy. As well as this I don’t know whether I will be working for myself or for a company. However, I have always liked the sound of having my own business. These things are what I hope to discover in the next year when I start to find my feet more on the course.

Deciding what choices to make after leaving this course is difficult for me because I have never been out of education. From leaving school, I went straight to sixth form college, then onto where I am now. I have never had experience of having a ‘career’ rather than a ‘Saturday job’. Hopefully, by the end of the year, I will have decided which choices are the best for me. 

For now, I believe setting targets for the next couple of years to be more useful. I understand what I want out of the course and what I want in terms of preparing myself for work. These are things that I have already picked up on in the last 8 weeks;

In the next year I really hope to improve my weaknesses. These range from presentational skills to understanding some of the course terminology more. I am going to set myself targets in order to try to overcome these weaknesses. Firstly, in order to gain a better understanding of course terminology, I hope to set aside an hour or two a week just that so I can learn what these words mean. There are a number of things that get mentioned in class which I don’t have a clue about. By learning some of these I think it will help me get more out of the course. I will be able to respond better in group discussions as I also will actually understand what my course friends are talking about.

Another important aspect of the course for me is improving on presentational skills. Already I feel, since the course began, that my confidence has improved. The next step is performing in front of groups. This is something that I look forward to all the way until the very last minute but then, when it comes to it, there is nothing I dread more. This is because I get really nervous which causes me to forget what I’m meant to be saying. I hope that, with time, I will be able to further improve these skills by practicing.

By improving all of the above weaknesses it will improve my employability as these skills are essential to anyone who works in the design industry.

My targets for the future are:

• Improve my presentation skills.
• Achieve a merit in one of the course modules.
• Gain a better understanding of terminology.
• Be employable.

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Where I am now

Eight weeks have now passed since the course began and already I feel I have come along way. I have a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses in the course modules, but more on a personal level I am more confident and I am participating in group activities more. This is a real change from when I walked in on the first day shy and apprehensive.

One thing that I have done in order to improve my learning, is a questionnaire by Honey and Mumford. This was set in place in order to help people find out their own learning style. After completion I found, that out of the four possible learning styles I could fit into, I am a reflector. After reading about the reflective learning style I definitely agree this is the way I learn.  

Similarities between me and the reflective learner style are that I like to prepare myself before actually doing something. One of my fears is being put on the spot to say something when I haven’t had the time to prepare myself and give the best that I could. I fear things such as presentations if I don’t have the time to research. I like to look in detail and know what I am doing. This is something that I do hope to change in the future. I understand, from learning about the industry, that sometimes there is not a lot of time to prepare and, therefore, over time I hopefully will get more comfortable with less preparation.

Another area that makes me a reflective learner is that I like to make decisions when I am ready, and prepare myself and give myself time to reach those decisions. I prefer time to work on something and get it to the best standard, rather than producing it really quickly. This can often mean that it is not completed to my best. Again I recognise in industry it is not like that and I do need to be able to be fast and still produce good quality work. This is something over time I will learn.

In addition to this, I have read an article by Andy Rutledge called ‘The Employable Web Designer’. This was a very interesting read as it enabled me the chance to understand the many different skills that I will need to be a web designer. Honestly, I was amazed by the wide range of skills that you have to learn and know to be successful in the industry. When looking through there are some that I look at and believe I am on my way to achieving, however, there is a very large gap still to be learnt.

Alongside Andy Rutledge’s article I have also researched on a government website called Skillset. This explains the National Occupational Standards for numerous careers, including Interactive Media. This was another good website to compare myself and see where I am and how I need to improve. It explains the many skills, qualifications and experience required to work in Interactive Media. So far I have some of the skills but, again, there are still a lot that I need to develop.

Some of the skills that I have been learning now are Typography and Interface Design. I feel that I am coming along with these, especially in Typography where on the first test I didn’t get any correct and the second test I achieved 11 out of 25.

This week I also received my first set of grades from the Work Related Learning 1 module, which I was not looking forward to. This was because I had no idea as to the level I am at. This is the first piece I have done since starting the course that has been assessed. I was also nervous due to it being a written piece, which has never been my strongest, and I knew it wouldn’t be the best piece of work that I had ever done for that reason. However, when receiving my results I was shocked to find I had done well and passed.

When speaking to Steve about the weaknesses of the report, I understand every point and, thankfully, I now recognise the areas that I need to improve on. I always thought it was my spelling that let me down when, actually, it’s not. This really has helped me understand what I need to do to improve.

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Where I Have Come From

I first realised I enjoyed design when studying ICT and Art Graphics at GCSE level. I really enjoyed both subjects and, luckily, they were also my strongest. As I enjoyed, and achieved in them, it led me to believe that I wanted a career in the design industry; I just didn’t have a clue doing what.

I’m lucky in that my dad actually works in design, designing checkouts for supermarkets such as the Co-op. This was a brilliant opportunity to visit them and understand how a design company works.

During this 2 weeks placement, in July 2006, I learnt a number of skills on design programs such as AutoCAD and got a real feel for work. Designing checkouts wasn’t for me, but I benefited with more of an understanding that I wanted a job in the design industry.

I, therefore, decided I would apply to college and take A-Levels. This, I knew, would allow me more time to work out exactly what I wanted to do and I would also gain more skills to get somewhere in the industry.

I studied 3 A-Levels at Ossett Sixth Form College, these were a course in Business Studies, ICT and Art. I also completed an AS-Level in General Studies and another in Sociology. In total, my A-Levels took 2 years and, at the end, I achieved great results which I am very proud of.

I would say that I always try hard in everything that I do. So, after receiving my results, I was very happy that I successfully achieved the grades which I desired. Even better is that I have been awarded prizes for my achievement in Business and also ICT.

It was actually from a piece of coursework on the A-Level ICT course that I learnt all about the web design industry. My brief was to design and build a website for the schools elections. I really enjoyed this project and, therefore, I started to consider a career in this industry.

When I had finally decided a career path for me, it was time to start applying for higher education. At first I was really unsure about university. I didn’t think it was for me. I believed the best thing to do was go straight into work and learn the many skills about web design through experience.

However, I still had a look at web design courses I could do. When looking through I was disappointed that a university didn’t actually offer a suitable course for me.

I never even thought about Wakefield College. I never even knew that colleges offered degrees. But, after looking at the website and actually talking to people who knew friends/relatives that had been on the course, I immediately thought that it was the right one for me and I applied for it straightaway.

This was the only place that I applied to and I’m so excited for the first day to begin.

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