The problem is that I’m a recent unemployed graduate (BS in Information Science) who did her out-of-course work in university research and volunteering on local projects. I want to build up a portfolio (I’m currently working to make a new web page which I hope will be up by the end of this month), but I don’t have much work to show for it. Would it be possible to make my own mockups and put it there to show what I’m interested in? Also, which is better: getting a Master’s or getting work experience. I was fortunate enough to graduate without student loans thanks to a scholarship but I’m not sure I would be able to get one for grad school and I really don’t want to go.
If you want to work at a big corporation, the masters degree might help get you an interview and a higher salary… but if you want to work somewhere local, a smaller or mid size business, or for a startup (which are hiring interface and UX designers a lot more often)… the masters degree won’t really do much where a strong portfolio will.