Giving Back

KIDS NEED MENTORS

It was a long time ago when I was at school and I asked what I wanted to do for a job. Teachers were all around us - but I can't say any of them really inspired me to become like them. My dad had never really talked properly about his job and I hadn't really bothered to enquire about mate's dads jobs. Where were the mentors in my day? There was no internet and I don't recall anyone giving me a list of possible jobs and their benefits for me to consider. There was a Careers Advisor and I kinda recall sitting with him and my mum discussing what I was interested in. The conversation likely went something like this:

CA: "Does he like maths?
Mum: "He's good at maths but not sure he really likes it?"
CA: "Are there any hobbies?"
Mum: "He's a good drawer"
CA: "Maybe he'd like to be a commercial artist then"
Mum: "Well, his dad is a graphic designer"

And that was it. My career sorted. Luckily, my dad got me a junior role at his old firm and because of my generation's ability to use computers - I moved up the ladder really quickly and have been in employment ever since.

Back then, there didn't seem to be many options open to the kids at my school. You were either good at sums (banker), good with hands (carpenter, plumber, mechanic, builder) or some arty type....
It seemed the school were out of touch with the real world - there was no cross-over - no connection with the people and jobs that were out there for the students to see/experience and discover what they liked - at least I can't remember any. We just had to 'get lucky' as I did, that my dad knew someone (all about who you know) and that good timing in the evolution of graphic design meant someone already used to playing with computers would be so beneficial to a company trying to keep up with the new changes in the industry.

These days, it seems there's far more options open to the kids - maybe a little too much choice though - so more difficult to choose one. Because, being 16 and told to 'pick a job' is a really tough place to be in. I didn't know what I wanted to do. But if someone had told me: This job will give you multiple options for work within the design industry, enable you to travel, be expressive, creative and you can wear what you want and make a fairly decent income above and beyond what a lot of the other jobs do. I'd have been a bit more receptive to it....

So today I'm going in to a school to talk about how great it is to work within the media business. This is the second time I've stood up in front of 50 kids. I got a real kick out of it last time - seeing a few bright young stars contemplate their position in the world - and maybe feeding off my (reminder to myself!) enthusiasm for graphic design and media. It's good to give back!