There are many potential roles in Sustainable/Impact Design; an important question is to ask yourself is, ‘what both matches my talents and would be enjoyable?’
Start by working to gain experience which essential because Impact Design is such a hands-on practice. Seek opportunities to create solutions to social or environmental challenges through classes, volunteering for an organization, joining a club like Net Impact, or developing a personal project. A portfolio showcasing case studies of your Impact Design work is extremely helpful. This is often a personal website.
Researching the career paths of people who you think have interesting jobs in this space is also a great place to begin.
What skills and education do you need for this career?
Because the field is so new and so deeply interdisciplinary, there area number of different pathways. At its core, impact design requires
- Strength in making things
- Empathy
- An understanding of research and testing methods
- Communication and storytelling abilities
While any one type of degree is rarely required to break into this space, there are new formal education programs for sustainable/impact design that provide insight into useful and desirable skills.
Current Opportunities
Even beyond the impact world, design is accelerating in business and education:
- 10% of Fortune 500 companies have a designer in the C-Suite
- 100% of the top US business schools teach design
- 100% of the top US business schools have student-led design clubs