May 14, 2005
Master of Design
This is my last entry for this blog, as today I am no longer a master's candidate, I am a Master of Design. This isn't a boast; it's my degree: M.Des. And today I will walk across a stage and be handed my diploma and my graduate studies will officially end. I hope you'll move over to my other blog and follow my adventures at Adaptive Path and beyond.
Last night, a group of us went out together with our families for a pre-celebration, and tonight, on this rainy Saturday in Pittsburgh, I'll do it again with just my family, my friend Jeff Howard, and my advisor Shelley Evenson. I'm sure we'll raise a glass and toast CMU.
What Dick Buchanan said on the first day of school is ringing in my ears: "We will teach you to do design so well that we will, at the end of two years, call you a master of it." And so it has come to pass. I hope you've enjoyed reading this blog, especially those of you who have been following it since the beginning. I'm glad to have done it--almost as glad as I am to finish it.
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May 12, 2005
Graduation Gifts
Being the designerd that I am, I treated myself to two graduation gifts today: professional memberships in AIGA and IDSA. I was especially pleased with the IDSA membership, since now (or at least, after Saturday when I graduate from a design school), I will be finally eligible to join.
And hey, if you've enjoyed this blog and want to buy me a graduation gift, well, here's my Amazon Wish List.
Posted by Dan at 10:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 17, 2005
Job
My job search really began in earnest, although I was only half-aware of it at the time, last August at a backyard barbecue in Somerville, MA during DIS when Chad Thornton introduced me to Peter Merholtz, who offhandedly asked me when I was graduating. After another meeting with Peter in January, a long talk with CEO Janice Fraser at the IA Summit in March, and finally a day of interviews two weeks ago with most of the rest of the team, I was offered and accepted a job as a senior interaction designer at Adaptive Path. I start about a month after I graduate.
Although AP is a great company with some amazing opportunities and an impressive set of benefits and perks, I did agonize over the decision. I met with some very impressive companies and was even offered a job at some of them. But in the end, you have make your best guess based on the offers you get and hope it works out.
In some ways, it's easier to design strategies for companies than for your own life. It's tough to figure out where you want to go, and how to get there. You need, well, an adaptive path to find your way.
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April 14, 2005
T-Minus One Month
Only one month left. So much left to do, so many loose ends to wrap up. Things are starting to fall into place for after I graduate, but that puzzle isn't fully resolved yet by any means. The clock ticks and days get marked off on the calendar, one by one.
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April 3, 2005
Frequent Fliers
My classmates and I are scattered across the country these days, with job interviews and a handful of people presenting at CHI. The list of companies that people are talking to is impressive, a partial Who's Who of Interaction Design: Adaptive Path, Agnew Moyer Smith, Apple, Cooper, Google, IDEO, Microsoft, Motorola, Razorfish, Samsung, Sapient, Smart Design, and Yahoo. I wish us all luck.
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February 27, 2005
First Picked
Elizabeth has accepted a job as a designer at Google. She's the first one of us to accept an offer. Congrats to her!
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February 26, 2005
Stress
In the last week, I
- lost my programmer for my thesis project, leaving me in the lurch with a half-finished demo
- madly scrambled to find a replacement, which I think I might have done with some help from Jeff
- searched for money to pay said programmer, which may involve cashing in some savings bonds I've had for 35 years. Seriously.
- had major issues re-printing my music map of Amazon
- got a tattoo
- presented our group model for conceptual models class
- discovered a cavity in a tooth that I need to deal with ASAP
- got yet another $300 bill for the hospital for my emergency room visit back in July (this after paying them $250 already. CMU's insurance is terrible.
- speaking of which, my wife just got a notice that our insurance company hasn't paid a dime for some doctor's visits for her either, to the tune of $225
- AND the insurance company keeps sending me weekly letters asking whether I have other insurance, which I clearly don't and they are just stalling to prevent paying these bills
- had three job interviews during career days
- set up two more phone interviews for this upcoming week
- tried to do a backlog of grading for my class so I can submit my students' mid-term grades this week
- added to my thesis paper presentation for my presentation in Montreal next week
- Oh, and did I mention my daughter went to the emergency room sick?
- and that my wife is sick as well?
Anyway, this is what I've been dealing with. In this last semester, the schoolwork has gotten lighter, but the stress is still high.
Posted by Dan at 11:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 23, 2005
Career Dazed
The past two days have been the annual ritual known as Career Days, during which the School of Design is like a crazed bear half-shot full of tranquilizers, lurching around madly pawing at itself. I exaggerate, but only a little. For graduating students, it's a time of dressing up and subjecting yourself to a speed-dating style of job interviews in 20-minute blocks. Studios are cleaned, portfolios put together, interview clothes bought.
This year, like last, a reasonably impressive spread of companies came by with jobs to offer: Apple, Microsoft, GE, Google, Motorola, Sapient, Razorfish, and Siegel + Gale to name a few. A number of the interviewers were CMU alumni returning to rescue more of us and give us hope.
Posted by Dan at 9:02 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack