Last May I was one of the speakers at Somersworth High School’s Career Day in New Hampshire. Representing Clobeca Web Design I was very honored to accept the school’s invitation to speak about careers in Computer Graphics, specifically, relating to Website Design.
There was a good turn out of students attending my presentation. Students seemed to be paying attention. I was amazed. I brought some books relating to web design and programming. My focus was to talk about what it would be like to be in this industry. What it would take to get there. I showed them our web design and web development portfolio. Besides showing examples of our work, I discussed about what involves in producing a web site or web application product using a flowchart. I explained each area such as gathering information from the customer, project management, the design production, the programming process, etc. I also touched on web marketing. I also stressed on education. I talked about how to obtain the skills in computer graphics such as going to a technical school, getting an associates degree, bachelor’s degree, and master’s degree at a college or university. I provided statistical information on the different pay scales based on the years of experience, specialty (web designer versus software programmer), and location such as in a city or state. I wanted to give them some idea about how much a web designer or web development makes in this economy based on the different factors. I talked about the challenges of owning a business, being a freelancer versus being a full time employee. I, especially, stressed the importance on networking even starting when they are in high school as well as how important it is to keep good friendships, to get a good working relationship with your co-workers, customers, supervisors, and so on and so forth. I wanted them to realize that networking and keeping long-term relationships play a big role in reaching your goals in the future. Sometimes friends in high school could be a great help later on when you are looking for a job. Maybe their friends have contacts to people who might be in their type of industry.
What an opportunity it was for me to share with the students my knowledge about web design. I did talk to them about my personal experiences being in this career field in computer graphics such as how to deal with situations relating to customers, meeting deadlines, and the challenges in meeting project goals. I provided them with some realistic scenarios and examples of things that they might deal with in this type of work.
At the end of each session, (there were three of them total, which took place the whole morning) I did have a few students asking me questions, gave me some good feedback, and thanked me for my presentation. They said I presented some really good useful information.
The computer department’s teacher –in-charged was quite helpful in providing me with the necessary tools I needed to make my presentation run smoothly.
I would definitely do this presentation again if the school would invite me the next time they have a career day.
Great post!!
Thanks for sharing.