Becoming a Lighting Designer has been a dynamic, challenging and incredibly rewarding career choice - best decision I have ever made!The good thingsMy career with Beacon Lighting has spanned close to a decade, during which time I have witnessed the company progress and evolve to become a truly wonderful place to work. One of the great benefits of working for Beacon is accessible and consistent training that is available to all team members. There is fantastic online learning modules, blogs, forums and Q&A sessions, all accessible via an online portal and mobile app. Beacon do provide opportunities to train for various roles and upskill via training seminars and courses. Through these training modules I was able so upskill myself to become and Accredited Lighting Consultant, which combined with my prior industry experience and qualifications led me to become a Lighting Designer based out of one of our many Beacon Design Studios. As a Lighting Designer, I assist clients with lighting placement, selecting suitable product as well as creating a digital portfolio of their lighting design schematics. This role is always extremely fun and refreshing – no two projects are ever the same: simultaneously challenging and stimulating. Being a Lighting Designer means I can let my creative side really flourish, whilst still being engaged mentally. There is a great network of resources and support available to Lighting Designers from management, to colleagues and peers locally and nationwide. The most rewarding element of my job is knowing I am playing an active role in changing my clients lives. As a lighting designer, I am typically involved with my clients from the early preliminary stages all the way through their build or renovation process, until the very end. Seeing the result and how everything ties together is the very best part of my job. My role has given me the ability to keep my toes dipped in the world of interior design which has always captivated me and allows me to utilise my skill and passion for all things lighting.
The challengesThere are some challenges to this role, but I have found that all challenges have led to positive outcomes for my own personal and professional development. The ability to time manage is very crucial in order to perform to the best of my ability. This is a skill I have honed through my role, and I have created my own workflow and organisation systems that have carried on to my personal life. Another challenging aspect is the ability to multi-task. As all my clients are at different stages of their projects, I do need to be across all of my open jobs and know their status at any given time. Going hand-in-hand with multi-tasking is also the ability to prioritise jobs and having a system in place to appropriately manage client expectations. The only other aspect that can be difficult is keeping up with changing technologies, trends, and products on the market. I am a self-confessed knowledge nerd, so this does not phase me all that much as I do enjoy learning and continuing to better my education. Whilst all of this does sound daunting, there is amazing amounts of support available to Lighting Designers, particularly within the Lighting Design community as all other Lighting Designers are extremely helpful and willing to assist. All of these challenges have only helped me to excel within my role and I have learnt a lot about myself as well!