Would you call yourself creative? Do you have a large imagination?
Creativity and imagination are the biggest common characteristics among designers, the ability to see things for what they could be instead of what they are is essential.
If you can identify with being creative, a course in design is worth looking into.
Designers are the professionals that create the brand logos you see every day, they've shaped your local restaurant to be as comforting as possible, they've designed the website you're currently looking at and they've even once drawn a design for the clothes that you're wearing right now.
A boundless imagination and strong creativity are just two of the many qualities that a designer possesses. They must also be great problem solvers, observers and listeners.
There's no shortage of courses available if design is a career you would like to pursue.
Most qualifications will provide you with the fundamentals of design and teach you how to create your own unique portfolio. You can also expect to learn how to communicate ideas or issues in a professional manner.
A diploma is the standard qualification for a designer. Most diplomas take three years to complete as a full-time student, or the equivalent of three years part-time.
If you choose a technology-based design career, most courses provide you with the skills to ensure that you're proficient with relevant programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Google SketchUp, Revit and InDesign.
A diploma in design gives you many different career options.
Depending on the course you've followed, you could work as a graphic designer, interior designer, web developer, fashion designer and even more.
After you've graduated you may wish to specialise in a certain niche. As an interior designer you could specialise with restaurants, or as a web designer you may specialise with blogs.
There are currently just over 49,000 graphic and web designers employed in Australia.
According to the Australian Government's Department of Employment, over the next four years there is set to be an above average increase in jobs available - somewhere between 25,001 and 50,000!
Fashion and interior design employment rates are set to rise strongly until 2019. There are currently between 9,000 and 11,000 fashion and interior designers working within Australia.
One of the benefits about a career in design (specifically technology-based) is that you have the option to work freelance. This means that you can work from anywhere in the world, for anyone in the world. This is beneficial to you because even if there weren't any jobs available within Australia, you always have the opportunity to work for a foreign country's business.
Fashion designers, interior designers and web designers all earn almost the same amounts as an average salary - approximately $53,000.
Graphic designers receive a bit more, earning approximately $65,000 per year.
All designers earn less than the national average coming straight out of studies, however; the more experience that a designer has, the more income will be earnt. This is particularly true with Interior designers, a very experienced professional in this field could earn up to 54% more than the national average! Very experienced fashion designers also boast a large 32% higher salary than the average.
Depending on the skills you learn or the areas you specialise in, you could earn far more than somebody with the same amount of experience in a different specialisation. Web designers that specialise in user interface design can earn up to 21% more!