So Many Skills, So Little Time.

Over the past year we have learnt many things, all of which are linked to the industry. There have been times when I, and probably some others, may have felt that what we were learning at the time had no real point, but in the end it always makes sense.

Personal development planning is one of these such examples. On first glance PDP's sound a little too academic but the more I think about them the more sense it seems to make. The skills I have learnt from doing PDP exercises are vast. When I first started the course my knowledge of web design was very limited, and I had no real experience in any of the software we would be learning. This soon changed though as I soon grasped the concept of the software and learnt the many features of the various ones.

This is perhaps the most obvious task we have being given that is linked directly to the industry as with no knowledge of Dreamweaver, Photoshop, etc. then no employer would even consider hiring us. Now however, I feel I am well on the way to gaining the valuable skills needed to gain an employer at the end of the course.

Attending lectures and tutorials is another 'how does that help' topic at first glance. Although not as obvious as PDP the skills which we learn in lectures are greatly needed. Participation in group discussions is something that will be yet another valuable trait in the industry, as talking in groups with people and getting ideas/views across will be something I will be likely to do almost every day.

So far on the course we have had little time at present to participate in 'group projects'. Although we have had our feedback meetings and a few small group projects no big projects have been completed. We are currently taking part in a group project however which is making use of our communication skills, attention to detail, time planning and most importantly negotiational skills.

With the industry we are aiming to work in, one skill I will need to have perfect is our oral presentation skills. Speaking to clients and pitching for work will be a must if we are to survive in the competitive market of web design and so far the course is teaching us this skill well.

Group projects are probably one of the most obvious skills related to the industry that we will learn on the course, as working with people in a group environment will again be most likely on a daily basis.

Already we have had numerous presentations in both individual and group scenarios, and there are still many more of them to come. Before starting the course I had not done many presentations before and I feel that from being on the course my presentational skills have greatly improved.

Writing essays and other forms of academic writing is something that I have had to do throughout my educational life. However because I aspired to be a journalist at one point in my career my written work can sometimes reflect this a bit too much and I can tend to 'waffle' on. Because in the industry time will be essential I will not have time to do this and since starting the course I think that my written work has improved when I need it to and is more formal.

In this industry observation is everything. If you walk around with your eyes shut then you will get nowhere. The course has taught me so much about looking at designs that I know struggle to just see something and not analysis it. This will be a huge help in the industry as it allows me to easily take inspiration from designs and store it in my mind for future reference when needed.

Research is something that has been done for almost every assignment that we have completed. It is the backbone to the course almost as finding out about what we are about to undertake is a must. Although time will be a factor again in the industry and research may not be taken for individual projects, we will probably research into the industry in our spare time to keep up to date with the latest technologies and such, especially if we go in to the freelance sector.

We have had very little in the way of 'exams' on the course which meant we had no real 'revision' to do. However, when it has come to writing essays we have had to review our notes that we have taken in lessons and put them into our own words. This will again be a much needed skill in the industry as reviewing notes we have taken from client meetings and such will be something that again will be done regularly.

The things that I really need to improve on to do well in the industry is my presentational skills and my written skills. Although both have greatly improved since I started the course I still find it hard to distance myself from my journalistic traits and to present confidently.