Advice Getting Into The (Highly) Competitive Manufacturing & Design Industry
Believe it or not, manufacturing and design is one of the most competitive industries in the world. So if you plan on having a career in it, you need to be clued up on what it takes to be successful. In competitive industries like this one, it’s important to understand that it’s not impossible to gain traction, it’s just a case of being smart about how you approach the situation. So, with that in mind, below is some useful advice for getting into the highly competitive manufacturing and design industry. Read on for everything that you need to know.
Get a relevant degree
The first step to getting where you want to go career-wise is always undertaking relevant training. If you’re serious about having a role in the manufacturing and design industry, the training that you need to undertake is degree level training. There are various degree courses to choose from; you just need to find the one that’s the best fit for you. For example, if it’s the design side that you’re interested in and want to be the next Steve Jobs, then undertake a manufacturing design course. However, if it’s the manufacturing side you’re interested in, such as lean manufacturing, master lean manufacturing with a specialist degree in that area of the industry.
Gain experience
Getting the relevant training is all well and good, but it takes more than that to be successful in a competitive industry like manufacturing. To give you the edge over other candidates for roles, it’s important to make time to gain experience. Contact any local manufacturing companies and ask whether they run an intern program that you could get involved in or even a shadowing program where you could shadow a member of their team for a few days to get to grips with what a job in manufacturing actually involves.
Read, read, read
Don’t let your learning stop when you complete your training, continue to learn. Like all industries, the manufacturing industry is rapidly changing, so it’s important to do a lot of reading, to ensure that you are able to keep up with all the latest industry news. Spend an hour or so a day researching industry changes, reading blog posts, and watching online tutorials, to ensure that you are as clued up as you could possibly be.
Job hunt
Once you’ve got all of the skills and experience that you could possibly need, the next step is to start job hunting. As well as looking at full-time roles, it’s also worth looking into apprenticeships, because as someone new to the industry, an apprenticeship can be a great way to get a foot in the door. You might start off with low pay, but if an apprenticeship gets you to where you want to be career-wise, then it’s worth doing.
So, there you have it, everything that you need to know about getting into the highly competitive manufacturing and design industry and landing the job of your dreams.