Career Development Category Archives - General Assembly Blog | Page 29

11 Tips for Freelancers from Twyla Tharp’s the Creative Habit

By

Photo credit: Christine Bougie.

Photo credit: Christine Bougie.

“The white-hot pitch of creativity is only useful to those who know what to do with it,” says Twyla Tharp in her best-selling book, The Creative Habit. In it, she shares skills learned as a lifelong accomplished choreographer that help make creativity work better for you. It’s filled with ideas and exercises made to enhance your craft, whatever that may be, with better tools—both mental and physical. While it does focus on those involved in “the arts,” there is plenty of wisdom for the modern multi-tasking creative. Here, some of her best pieces of advice put through the lens of a freelancer who must constantly juggle craft with commerce.

Continue reading

Full-Stack Deconstructed

By

Full-Stack-Web-Development

Not long after I changed careers to become a full-stack web developer, I received an odd Facebook message from a family friend. “I visited your website,” he wrote, “and I’m still trying to figure out what pancakes have to do with websites.”

Clever…or clueless? I’m still unsure. But one thing is certain: IHOP needs to move over; the term “full stack” isn’t about pancakes anymore.

Continue reading

How JavaScript Helped Me Land A New Dream Job

By

Melissa-Steffan.jpg

If you talk to a group of junior developers, you’ll likely receive one of three main answers to the question, “Why are you a web developer?” Many—if not most—are motivated by what they don’t want to be: a waiter; a bartender; a sales rep; a broke artist. Others lucked into computer science in college. Still others will say they just wanted a job that was more flexible than the average 9-to-5.

And then there’s me. I became a developer because of a PDF.

Continue reading

The Passion Economy: How to Actually Do What You Love

By

HNCK7388

In the age of self-made YouTube stars, Kickstarter campaigns, and food bloggers, it’s no surprise our newest job seekers are pursuing passion over a steady income, established companies, and climbing the corporate ladder. This is leading to a proliferation of freelancers, artisan businesses, and innovative startups. Rather than the exception, it has become the perceived rule: Do what you love, and the rest will follow.

Is Passion Enough? 

The reality is, however, there are many reasons why turning your passions into a career can actually backfire. Following your passions is important, but it’s simply not enough to develop an idea into something real, and profitable.

The No. 1 reason startups fail? Customers don’t want the products. Other pitfalls include an inadequate team and ineffective marketing. In turns out, there are millions of details— everything from user research to marketing your product to actually developing the idea and building it—that require tangible skills. While passion might provide the spark of an idea, there’s no guarantee it can carry you across the proverbial finish line.

Continue reading

New at GA: An Internship Program for Undergraduates

By

students-jumping-a94dd2072f357e6fb566d64a0e2bae19

Over the past 3.5 years I’ve worked at General Assembly, I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve been asked whether or not we offer an internship program. Students want to dive into the working world before committing to a permanent role for a variety of reasons—from experiencing the day-to-day work environment of a particular role to exploring company culture to beefing up the implied credentials on their resume, to building tangible skills, to making money, to simply understanding what an office environment is like. Internships are often seen as a safe space to make mistakes. The actual definition of an internship is “a temporary position with an emphasis on on-the-job training rather than merely employment.”

Continue reading

Announcing General Assembly’s New Data Science Immersive

By

DataImmersive_EmailArt_560x350_v1

Data science is “one of the hottest and best-paid professions in the U.S. More than ever, companies need analytical minds who can compile data, analyze it, and drive everything from marketing forecasts to product launches with compelling predictions. Their work drives the core strategies of modern business — so much so that, by 2018, data-related job openings will total 1.5 million. That’s why we’ve worked hard to develop classes, workshops, and courses to confront the data science skills gap. The latest addition to our proud family of data education is the new Data Science Immersive program.

Launching for the first time in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. on April 11, this full-time Immersive program will equip you with the tools and techniques you need to become a data pro in just 12 weeks.

Continue reading

4 Exercises To Help You Unlock Your Dream Career

By

HNCK3991

Live your passion. Follow your bliss. Do what you love. 

You’ve probably heard advice like this when it comes to finding and achieving your dream career. But what if you’re not sure what your passion is? Or what if you have many passions? If either scenario is the case for you, then this advice remains vague and largely unhelpful.

I’ve worked with thousands of creative people on their dream career development since 2008, and what I kept finding was this:

It’s not about doing what you love or loving what you do. It’s about getting clarity on your lifestyle goals, and then figuring out what you need to do to bring them to life.

Simply put, a “dream career” is one that allows you to wake up in the morning, think about the day ahead, and look forward to at least 70% of it. If you’re doing work you enjoy with people you like being around, and it leaves room for your personal priorities, then you’re in the sweet spot.

Do you want your lifestyle to allow you to pick up your kids from the bus and spend quality time with them until bed? Then that’s a piece of your dream career puzzle.

Do you want to be able to work from anywhere, filling up your passport quickly? Then that’s a piece of your dream career puzzle.

Do you want to be able to attend a lunchtime yoga class every weekday? Then that’s a piece of your dream career development puzzle.

Continue reading

An Artist’s Journey with Code

By

Matthew Epler is a creative technologist based in Brooklyn, NY.

Matthew Epler is a creative technologist specializing in creating one-of-a-kind interactive projects with an emphasis on the Internet of Things. 

His work, which blends digital and physical design practices with computer programming, has been featured in museums and a variety of media outlets around the world including The Milan Triennale Museum of Design, mudac Lausanne, and on Wired, Huffington Post, Newsweek, Reuters, Vice, and Creative Applications.

Some of his most well-known pieces include the Netflix Switch, Levi’s Station to Station, Grand Old Party, and Big Bats

Matthew describes himself as a designer who can code, and a coder who can work with his hands. Read on to see how learning to code transformed his passion for art and film into a thriving career in creative technology. Continue reading

How to Define “Brand”

By

definebrand2-blog-deathstockphoto

When we deliver the Digital Marketing class at General Assembly, we start off with branding. Not digital branding — just branding. Digital marketing is, after all, still marketing, and in order to market effectively, you must first define your brand.

Early in the very first day of Digital Marketing, we ask the class to define the word “brand,” and then we offer up several other definitions from people who are much smarter and much more experienced than I am.

Continue reading

5 TED Talks to Help You Discover Your Passion

By

Inpsiring_Ted_Talks.jpg

Are you finding it hard to finally resolve to do something new in your career in 2016? Maybe you’re starting the year bogged down in endless work that you don’t enjoy. Or maybe you’re dealing with something more permanent, and you feel like you’ve lost an important spark in your career development.

Regardless of your situation, it’s important to take a step back and remember: everyone goes through these dips and spikes in their careers. Even more? The power is in your hands to course-correct and find the right path forward.

You need inspiration. But contrary to the popular saying, inspiration doesn’t just ‘strike.’ You need to go out and find it. Get in the right mindset for 2016 with the following TED talks.

Continue reading