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Industrial Design with Bachelor's degree in Engineering?

I'm currently enrolled in an engineering program and I'm expected to graduate in 2012. Recently, I thought a lot about what I would like to do after my undergraduate study. One thing for sure is that I do not want to be employed right after my engineering program. The primary reason for that is that I wouldn't be able to get jobs that I really want. What I'd like to be is an industrial designer. First, I would like to hear any stories/advices of people who have pursued in industrial design after an undergraduate study of engineering. I'd like to know if any knowledge learned in engineering was any helpful and beneficial, compared to other students who come straight to industrial design. In addition, most likely I would be going into another undergraduate study for industrial design. The reason why I would like to do so is because I want to take many studio classes. Ideally, I want to go straight into Masters degree in industrial design but then it seems to be a bit of challenging for me to jump into like that without having undergraduate of industrial design. Any true stories/advices on that would be really appreciated. I've heard from my friend who is in Architecture (undergraduate) that the age of students in most design programs vary a lot, from 18 to 30 or even older. I would be 24~25 when I go to industrial design school. I was wondering what age would be the majority of student body. If industrial design is something that I really want to do and that I have been dreaming about, it shouldn't be an issue but I still would like to know if I would have anyone of my age around :) Any advices on which school is good for industrial design would be really appreciated. Right now, I'm thinking of Art Centre College of Design (California), Carnegie Mellon, Pratt Institute, and Rhode Island School of Design. If there are any other really awesome industrial design schools that I'm not aware of, please advise :) They don't have to be in the U.S. Anywhere in the world is perfectly fine with me. Italy would be something that I wouldn't mind trying actually but I had hard time searching for one. Lastly, portfolio is an important part of this whole process, of course. Currently, I do not have many work and I plan to create a lot of them for the next 3 years. I was wondering what kind of approach I should be taking, such as variety of fine arts, 3D modeling, engineering CAD drawings, etc. I also want to somehow distinguish my portfolio that I have a fair bit of knowledge in engineering and that's what it makes me special (Or, is it really?). Myself doesn't know anyone who pursued into industrial design after engieering but I thought it is brilliant because I know what is going on inside of products (in terms of electrical and mechanical) and I would have a wider/somewhat realistic perspective on how products should be designed. Correct me if you like :) Any answers would be really appreciated and I thank you in advance. Kevin

Public Comments

1. First off, try talking with your adviser. If they are knowledgeable, they can be a wealth of information. However, I know many are kind of worthless. I have a friend who recently decided to do industrial design for his graduate work. We are both in architecture for undergrad. I think maybe you could try taking some related courses while you are still working on your engineering degree. I don't know if it would be worthwhile to take a second round of undergrad, probably more effective to take a few studio-ish classes now to build a portfolio and go to grad. For architecture, anyway, there are 2 and 3 year grad programs. 2 years if you have an arch. undergrad and 3 if you don't, to catch you up. This may hold true for industrial design, as well. Get in contact with some of your schools of interest to see what they have to say! I'm pretty sure the University of Cincinnati's program is a good one, but don't quote me on that. Good luck!
2. Agree with the other answers, but wanted to suggest that you look at Georgia Tech's ID program too.