Very well said, Jack, I couldn't agree more. I've been a little swamped lately, but have followed what I could of this thread the past week, with some interest.
I consider myself pretty well qualified in the "will move for work" domain. My dad was a marine, so when asked where I'm from, I say "everywhere, but specifically CA, NC, AZ, OH, VA and DC". In 1995, I moved from NC to Oakland to work in the corporate office for The Nature Company (RIP), then moved to Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and spent 4 years there. There's a special place in my heart for both southern and northern CA. I was born there, and part of me will always stay there. On the other hand, after 4 years, and twice yearly flights home (for 8 state east-coast family-trip sprees), plus the INSANE cost of housing (I could deal with the rest, having lived in VA, but I couldn't afford a house anywhere), I decided to move back to the east coast. I worked in Bethesda and lived on Capitol hill, for a few years, then we (my wife's from Boston) moved back down to NC so I could finish my degree. That was 2001, for some perspective on where jobs went - nowhere, really. We're still in the RTP area after 6 years now, and I'm with a startup whose CEO believes in the area and has really been trying to drive the technology culture higher. I always used to wonder why people in dire straits don't just get up and move to where the work is. For a long time, that was my outlook. Nowadays, though, I get job offers from SV and NYC about 3 times a week, and don't think we could do it. My greatest drive right now (besides my work) is finding the last house we're going to live in, preferably on Cape Cod, if the market plays nice (it's about the beach, and we're 2 hrs away, unfortunately). As for why there aren't enough interaction designers (specifically), I actually think it's because we're somewhat rare. As others have mentioned, formal degrees for our specific work are hard to come by, and (maybe it's just me), I think our discipline takes a certain blend of technical savvy, creative juices and observational skills in the same person to be successful. I've had a really hard time applying for agency positions who want to put me in only one of three buckets: usability, visual design, or development. I've been turned down for a few of these because they didn't know where to put me. Frankly, I don't know which of those I like more, anyway. After moving 7 times in the last 15 years, all I can say is that I've never run out of work, anywhere. Only once have I actually disliked the work I was doing (that was my last job). Bryan http://www.bryanminihan.com -----Original Message----- Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Where are all the designers? I should add that I'm currently quite satisfied with my own career choices. My work isn't as sexy as a lot of what's going on in Silicon Valley, but I still have the opportunity to work for big-name companies doing interesting and challenging work. And thanks to this community, I have the opportunity to participate in the field at large. Jack ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
