In September, my peers and myself had the opportunity to attend job shadows with various design firms in downtown Seattle. The firm that I worked with was Weber Thompson, a design firm that works primarily with multi-family housing. As a large firm, their staff includes architects, interior designers, graphic designers, and construction administrators. While doing the job shadow, A classmate of mine and I were able to attend a morning staff meeting, meet with the interior design staff for a short Q & A, visit a site nearby for a client the firm is working with, and tour their offices and materials room.
Overall the experience was very informative as well as motivating. Seeing the projects that the designers get to work with made me that much more excited to be a practicing designer. When visiting the nearby site, (which was a multi-family housing project completed by another firm), the principal designer, Carrie, toured us through the units making note of conderations, challenges, important tips, etc. She also showed us portfolio examples to help us for when we have to create our own in addition to giving us some tips for when we are looking for work after college and the type of skills employers are looking for. The whole visit was a great success and I hope to keep in touch with Carrie for more advice or even for an internship.
