Recent Interior design alumna Hayley Park (’13) talked to graduating students of Prof. Susan Forbes’ internship class today about the rewards of hard work.
“Focus on the learning process,” she advised. “Take it as a calling rather than a job. When you intern you get a taste of what it’s like and that leads you to a job. When you like it, it becomes your career. But it’s perfect when the career becomes your calling.”
Hayley is currently a junior designer at Gensler, the prestigious integrated architecture, design, planning and consulting firm at Rockefeller Center.
Her verdict was good on questions regarding salary, working hours, work environment, certification requirements and whether architects and interior designers really are able to work together.
“Do you really work 70 hours a week?” asked one student.
“You have to consider that you’re going to take more time [on projects] than experienced people,” said Hayley. But it’s not all 70 hour work weeks, she assured them.
The concern about work load was understandable. “They’re a week away from printing their thesis pretensions–the most stressful time of the entire program,” said Hayley. “They all looked tired!”
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