As your student finishes their fall semester, they probably are ready and deserving of the upcoming Winter Break. Taking time for oneself, relaxing and refueling is important. The month-long semester break is also a good time for students to investigate and use a some of MIAD’s career and professional related resources.
For first-year students and sophomores
First Year students and Sophomores may want to learn more about the many creative careers that exist and the variety of specific art/design professions. The MIAD Library has a great Career Section with several books that students may check-out for reading over the Winter Break. The types of creative professions represented within the collection include:
- Advertising Design
- Architecture
- Art Direction
- Art Related Non-Profit Professions
- Art Therapy
- Comics and Graphic Novels
- Concept Art
- Fashion Design
- Fine Artist
- Game Design
- Graphic Design
- Illustration
- Photography
- Product (Industrial) Design
- Publication Design / Publishing
- Motion Design
- Museum Professions
- UX/UI (User Experience / User Interface) Design
- Visual Professions in the Performing Arts
The MIAD Career Services Office also offers an art/design career booklet that introduces students to many of these creative professions and provides web resources to learn more about each of the professions. This booklet is available in the “Resources” section at the MIAD Career Services Handshake website (accessible to all students) or by contacting careerservices@miad.edu.
For Juniors
Many juniors are ready to gain professional experience at a business or organization during the summer, or may already be engaged in professional experiences.
During the winter break Juniors can develop or update their resume and sample portfolio. They also can research professional experience opportunities such as internships, jobs, freelance projects and exhibitions. Some opportunities are posted on the MIAD Career Services’ Handshake website.
In addition to searching for opportunities, it is strongly encouraged that juniors research businesses and organizations as prospects for these professional experiences. Many creative businesses find their interns and students for professional experiences because the student makes direct contact with them rather than waiting for an internship or job announcement to be posted.
For Seniors
Seniors are encouraged to use the MIAD Career Services Handshake website to create a profile of their skills and interests, review postings and research employers (businesses/organizations) who recruit for MIAD students. Students often can navigate the Handshake system on their own, but the Career Services staff is happy to schedule a meeting and explore the system with them to be sure they are using all the functions and resources.
The Resources section at the MIAD Career Services Handshake website offers additional websites to use for searching postings and researching potential employers. Of the additional resources, students are strongly encouraged to create a LinkedIn account to use the job search feature and research prospective employers who hire MIAD graduates.
For all students
Students at any class level to learn about can use the resources of and become involved with the professional association connected with their specific career area. Recommendations include:
- United Adworkers & American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) for Communication Design majors
- Society of Illustrators & AIGA for Illustration majors
- Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) for Industrial/product Design majors
- (American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) & International Interior Design Association (IIDA) for Interior Architecture and Design majors
- Milwaukee Artists Resource Network (MARN) for New Studio Practice: Fine Arts majors
United Adworkers, AIGA, IDSA, ASID, IIDA and MARN all have active professional groups in the Milwaukee area.
The career services staff are available to further discuss any of the above resources with MIAD students.