Planning my future?

Slowly but surely it seems my time at Buskerud University College is running out. The focus is still heavy on the school work but for some time now I’ve had a nagging feeling about how I’m going to get ready for what is to come, (real life). Of course I have been thinking about this for quite some time now, but it feels a lot more real now that I’m just months from the leap. Do I have the knowledge? Is my portfolio sound enough to start applying to junior design positions or should I continue at a private design school to get some more practice? All I know is I need to prepare myself thoroughly to make this work. Of course I’m aware that I will encounter good and bad periods throughout this and I wouldn’t be surprised if it took me more than a year to get the kind of job I’d be satisfied with as a Graphic Designer, I kind of expect it actually. This implies that I will constantly be searching for businesses who need new people, developing new work for my portfolio and in the meantime get a different job to have something to go on - I do like having a bed and eating real food you know, gotten quite accustomed to it. Plu as a side-note I also think it will be very important to make the other (hopefully) employer aware of my plans, because getting a bad rep as an employee anywhere certainly won’t do you any good.

So what do I do? I research. 

There’s a few articles I just read that I’d really like to show you:

http://graphicpush.com/hiring-a-junior-designer

 -          Not exactly new, but it shows what you’re expected to know. The comments also show a healthy dialogue of education vs. being self-taught

http://www.hugoandcat.com/careers_junior_designer.aspx

-          Some really good points about what you should try to contribute with when you don’t have too much experience. 

http://www.lifeclever.com/talent-isnt-everything-7-habits-of-highly-effective-junior-designers/

-          Some pointers to remember that you might know of but haven’t really put into context. This one isn’t recent either, but I think it shows some general ideas that transfer well into today’s market. And I’m also quite sure these three can translate into the Norwegian design business. Disagree? Please do comment! Any discussion on this will be quite helpful.