Julie Zhuo, Product Design VP at Facebook designed her dream curriculum to become a great Product Designer. Let me give it to you in short.

The Curriculum

• The Basics

  • Fundamentals of graphic design
  • Computer science
  • Interaction design
  • Materials and 3-D form

• Context is King

  • History of design
  • Psychology — perception and cognition
  • Psychology — social psychology
  • Statistics
  • Visualizations
  • Marketing/Communication

• The Softer Side of Skills

  • Public speaking & communication
  • Sketching design ideas
  • Working well with others
  • Critique/giving feedback to others
  • Entrepreneurship/identifying opportunities for impact

Then few creative side subjects including creative writing, photography, classes to make video game, etc.

But at the end she added this too

” To my knowledge, there’s no single program out there that actually contains all of the above, so don’t stress if this exact formula isn’t possible. (I didn’t take about 70% of it myself, in case you’re wondering.) “

Even if such a course is there in some part of the world, I am sure it will cost you a lot more than both of your kidneys.

There is no single degree course which is going to prepare you for a career you are planning. Let it be design, art, engineering or medical. If degree from a prestigious institution was the only reason for success, then everyone who completed Engineering from IIT would be employable, but not every student from IIT is industry ready. Students from good institutions do get a good start, but it is upto them to take it forward.

A degree certificate used to help you separate from the crowd. But that is not the case anymore. Now a lot many people have access to degree courses. It is necessary that one should get a degree. As most of us are not self motivated, we take the help of a structured system. But that is not the end of it. What you learn outside your college curriculum and after your college is what makes most of the difference. Realise it now to avoid disappointments in the future.

So what can you do?

• Read books
• Watch good and relevant YouTube videos within your industry
• Do online courses to learn (not to add them to your profile)
• Follow industry experts within the area of your interest. Understand how they became who they are.
• Reach out to people who have made it when you get stuck. There are so many people out there who genuinely want to help. It may not be easy to find them, but is it worth trying.
• Explore various careers and prepare for the ones which interests you

Thanks for reading! 🙂 If you enjoyed this article, leaving a comment below would mean a lot to me and will help other people see the story.