Being a Lego Designer?

Question

I would some day like to look into becoming a lego designer - creating lego sets for children round the world.
1 - How would I get a job with Lego? There is currently no job openings here in Canada according to the Lego site.
2 - What courses should I take?
3 - Where would I have to live to be a lego designer for the company?

Help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

If they don't have job openings posted, getting hired will be a monumentally difficult task. The most notable "in" is to compete for a spot as a Master Builder working at one of the LEGOLAND parks. That won't really get you where you want to go, but it'll at least get you within the family, so to speak, and making a transition should be a lot easier than getting hired off the street (assuming you can afford to move, after working for $13.50/hr in SoCal).

Courses are more likely to benefit you for Master Builder work than for set design, but stuff like in the physical design and structural engineering categories wouldn't hurt. Official set design tends to lean towards low piece count and sturdy construction, where personal design often results in out-of-control piece count and really fragile design in models that are the same physical size. The best help in this situation would be to just practice your set design skills. One way you could do that would be to work with one of the basic Designer sets (X-Pods included) and see what alternate models you can create with them, since that's actually a function of the official set designers. Not only do they have to come up with one or more "cover" models that can be built together using just the parts included in the box, but they have to design a bunch of secondary models that can be shown on the back of the box, and sometimes be included in the instruction booklet (most TECHNIC sets include at least two designs, X-Pods include at least four designs, and the larger Designer sets can include a dozen or more).

For set design work, you'd need to live in or near Billund, Denmark. That's where they have their corporate headquarters, and all or most of the set design takes place. I know one person who moved from their NYC operation to work in Billund (she'd already been making regular trips there for meetings), and the four non-employees they brought in to help them develop the Mindstorms NXT system also had to commute (on their own dime, no less) to Billund to get some hands-on time with the pre-production hardware designs.

Answer 2

1. You can ge ta job in the US. They ARE hiring in Maine... but not for designers. Most positions open in Lego are for in their stores. Don't look at their site for US employment. Use their "Resourcehire" site for that.

2. According to their FAQ:
"What type of qualifications or training do I need for employment?
We employ many different types of people in the different areas of our business. There are no specific qualifications to work for the LEGO Company in general. However, if you want to work for a design team, you may like to study art, design or engineering. Should you wish to follow different career paths, such as business, economics or IT, there are many positions that use these qualifications. As a general rule, we are looking for energetic, positive people with a good educational background who have an interest in working with children and children's toys."

3. Lego HQ is in Enfield CT, but most model builders are being hired by Legoland. Still, their California job site doesn't really have a designer spot open. So, try Billund Denmark. They DEFINITELY have designer slots open. (at http://www.lego.com/eng/info/default.asp?page=vacant&contentid=27719 ) But there, you must speak Danish.

Answer 3

Have tried openings in the USA?