You need to find mentors in person.<p>Working for a startup isn't going to teach you how the design industry works; it'll teach you what that one startup thinks a designer should do.<p>I talked with a startup recently who thought they needed "a designer." It turned out they really needed like five different kinds of designers: an illustrator, a UI artist, a gameplay designer, a game systems designer, and a user experience or interaction designer.<p>If you're interested in becoming a professional product designer, or in doing any sort of design work for startups, there are professional organizations which can help, indirectly.<p>Your local IxDA, UXPA (nee UPA), and AIGA meetups will be good places to find professional designers (freelance, agency and in-house) whom you can ask to mentor you.<p>There's probably also local technical "co-founders wanted", Hacker News, and technical freelancers meetups, where you can find local peers in need of design help.<p>In all cases, talking with someone in person is going to produce better work and give you a better feel for the interpersonal relationships required than doing things over email or Skype.