I am looking for advice and information for a possible professional reconversion... I'm Spanish, 46 years old, I've always worked in graphic design, especially in packaging. Through the packaging I became interested in 3D (I am a 3D graphic designer, I use 3DS Max). I've only been living in France for 2 years and I'm having trouble finding a job in 3D or graphic design in general... (apparently age is a real handicap in this sector).
In short, I have always been attracted to industrial design and I would like to know how the market is doing for industrial designers (outlets, salaries, etc.). Your advice will be invaluable...
I am a teacher in the field of industrial design and I have noticed a clear increase in the hiring of my trainees at the end of school over the past 5 years.
Generally speaking, by observing the ads on sites like INDEED, the number of ads increases every year.
And to note that companies are much busier than in the recent past.
I still allow myself to weigh your answer @alain. ERP: indeed, your research region will make the answer evolve enormously!
If I take my case for example, I'm originally from Tours, currently working in Lyon and looking for a job in St Etienne (yes, there's easier, I agree)
But in Lyon, there is no problem finding work in the BE ... as much as St Etienne, it's a real bore. And yet there is only 60Km between the two cities. As far as in Tours, well it's an average of the two. Neither good nor bad.
In short, I would advise you to find out about the market in your area. A simple solution is to go to PoleEmploi.fr and search by profession and city. You will be better aware of what it is.
That said, if age is a concern in your current research, I'm unfortunately afraid it's the same in all branches :s
Sign up to ManPower, then create your profile and create your search alert. You will receive everything by e-mail. Nearby agencies , in connection with companies will call you. (ManPower is a recruitment firm that is highly concentrated in this sector.)
Thank you, your comments help me tremendously. I live in Bordeaux. I am already registered with Pôle emploi, Manpower and others. And I've noticed that there are quite a few offers for industrial designers. But I'm afraid what Coin37Coin says, that age is also an obstacle to being hired.
So I continue my search for information to better know this environment in Bordeaux and the surrounding area.
@felipe.ubeda: It's not that I don't want to scare you. If you want to do this job, go for it! It is rewarding on many points.
But we must not hide our faces and recognize that as a recruiter, between a 45-year-old person who is starting out in the profession and a young person who is starting his career... The young Serra privileged. I would only squeeze it for the claim of salary. Especially since I don't have the impression that you have an important mechanical background (it's not a criticism, but it's a remark that will be made to you regularly during your interviews)
You have a lifestyle, habits, children to feed, activities to pay for etc etc, and that's normal. As a result, you will inevitably ask for more than a young person starting his career and the recruiter will not understand why pay more what he can have cheaper.
In short, if you want to retrain in this profession, prepare a concrete argument... And don't think that this damn age barrier will go away.
At the very least, what I can advise you to do is to get the offers for work-study programs (there are some on Pôle Emploi). Companies seem inclined to train someone, or even to recruit at the end. All that remains is to present your project to them and put forward your arguments.
Good luck in any case for this difficult period, hoping that it will be as short as possible.
I also think that work-study can be the best way to retrain!
It allows you to start with the basics, and the salary is not a problem for the employer because there are scales (on the other hand it could be a problem for you, depending on your standard of living!).
Personally, I remain quite positive about the trend of the future market which, after several years where projects have remained in the boxes, we feel a clear trend towards investment = need for design
Hello Felipe. For 3Dgraphie, at the moment it's blocked. My niece just finished her studies 2 years ago at ESMA and she is struggling. For design, try the BE car design. If you're mobile and English-speaking, designers are highly sought after in Northern European countries. They are always one step ahead of everyday designs (furniture, crockery, accessories etc...)
It's up to you to sell yourself as best you can, in France you're old at 50 (I'm 49!). In Germany (I am a cross-border worker), age is not an obstacle at all.
If you have the opportunity, training on a more industrial design-oriented software would certainly be a plus. On burgundy maybe more Catia or SolidWorks but you should also be able to find on Pro-eng/Creo.
In my company (in Toulouse) there are only 2 3DS users max for more than 60 cartoonists. But it is only used for communication (video of assembly line operation for example). And even then, it's not a full-time activity. They do design the rest of the time. They even prefer to do the drawing on Catia and import the models on 3DS max.
If you have little experience, a recruiter will always weigh up the time he will spend training you. The further away you go, the harder it gets.
For my part I am French but I live in New Zealand (qwerty and accent do not mix please excuse me). Personally I will tell you that the way you will present things will help you. If you see a job offer in a company, for example a boiler maker manufacturer of tanks. You go on site, you take rough measurements and then you apply by linking your CV and your drawing, prepare from home the tank for which you have taken the measurements ;p.
If it works if you get the job you buy me a beer. If it doesn't work, you gain experience. winning winning.
For the reconversion side, I have been a boilermaker for 5 years now. On a bet with my boss, I'm starting to be a cartoonist in 3 weeks. very basic things (table, different braket supply for laser cutting)
my CAD level is very average for the moment but the little knowledge I have acquired is enough for me to be useful on the scale of my boilermaker company;p
And believe it or not, the fact that I went through the workshop greatly facilitates my relations with the gruff boilermakers. It also sometimes allows me to anticipate design office errors, the famous relationship between real conditions and computers.
What is sure is that if this is really what you want to do you will get there