Chad Owen Speaks to the Practicum class

Course Activity Note—5 points
Project 3 Total—20 points
Speaker: Chad Owen

Chad Owen was by far the most entertaining speaker we've had so far this year. He made us laugh, which I was really surprised by.  Essentially, Chad gave us a summary of his career path after graduating from Iowa State, giving us tips, do's and don'ts, and general advice about being a young graphic designer. I thought it was a great talk, and I absolutely learned something usefull. Also, Chad's advice sounded a lot like the stuff I've been reading online or in books about graphic design careers. Honestly, I trusted his suggestions more than Chris Conyers' thoughts earlier this semester. Conyers gave a vibe that she wasn't really tapped in to the current job search, and that she hadn't hired anyone for a while. Chad on the other hand seemed more in tune with what its like to look for work right now, and his tips made sense. The three biggest things I got from this speaker were:

Summer is a dead period for the design world, so don't freak out if you don't get a job over the summer. Work picks up again in September


Company's usually hire you initially for your typesetting skills. The person looking at your portfolio is thinking "how much time would I waste cleaning up this person's mistakes?" You want to show that you will be an asset not a liability


Don't stay in one place too long. Advancing your career by switching companies can be years faster than moving up the ladder in one company, especially if it isn't a perfect fit. Keep moving till you find that perfect fit.


Somehow Chad's horror stories and warnings actually made me less terrified of the job search. I think that's because his stories illustrated that making a mistake doesn't have to spell disaster for your career, and that their isn't a time limit on when you will find your dream job. It might not happen right away, but we have plenty of time (the rest of our lives) to make it happen.