In your college classes, every student is probably out to get an A (our teachers have come to expect it). The difference between those who receive that A and those who dream about it is how hard they are willing to work on their course work and study for the class. 

We as designers often hold ourselves to high standards, but holding yourself to a higher standard in your college career can pay off in the end. You’re probably thinking, “Wait, I’m not even in any design-related classes. How does that help?!?” Fortunately for us, any class we are required to take can help as well.

Simple things like asking questions, being attentive with course work, and being confident about yourself and your work can go past graduation into your career.

Ask Questions

In the classroom, you’ve probably heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as a dumb question.” It seems more and more people believe that asking questions shows that you don’t know what you’re talking about or not paying attention.

Truth be told, asking questions is a part of the learning process. It’s a way to help you recap what you’ve been learning (from teacher to student) and to help start discussions (from student to student). If you’re going through class without saying anything, try asking questions with a neighbor or friend. You may stay awake a little bit longer. 

When you’re working on design-related projects, asking questions doesn’t go away. The design community is very open, complete with hundreds of articles, blog posts, and websites set up to answer the questions we have when we don’t quite understand something (like creating characters in Illustrator or registering a domain name, for example).

Be Prepared

In the classroom, teachers will often ask you to be ready for the next class with assigned readings from the textbook or homework problems. Everyone’s heard about the last-minute papers and all-nighters studying (you may have had your share already) but what does that say about you? You may get a decent grade but those who knew you delayed will see it as procrastination.

Procrastination is not your friend and it won’t be outside of college either. Meeting deadlines and doing it in a timely manner is important with freelance clients or studio projects. Being prepared is like being proactive; you get your work done a day or two early and prepare for anything else that might be needed (like saving your PSD in multiple formats or including a read-only document with instructions).

Being prepared shows you’re a competent worker who takes pride in their work – just like being prepared for that test tomorrow.

Photo credit Gabriel Ghnassia

Be Confident

In the classroom, being confident about yourself and your work is important. A dual-credit teacher once told me they would have given points back for a question on a test (that I had gotten wrong), had I been more confident with my answer and my evidence when questioning her grading.

Being confident does not show you are big headed; there’s a noticeable line between confidence and arrogance. Confidence is what will land you that project or job at your local studio. Confidence in your decisions and yourself is what will impress your employers and clients through the project or your career. Confidence is key and particularly important in our community.

Simple things like asking questions, being attentive with course work, and being confident about yourself and your work can go past graduation into your career.

The Pay Off

Let’s review. Most employers and the clients you should freelance with look for individuals who ask the right questions and start a discussion, are prepared for the tasks at hand, and who are confident with themselves and their work. These are all skills commonly learned through experience, but are also skills you can learn while in college. By simply putting in a little effort in your course work and studying you’ll create habits that will help you with your career after graduation.