Tips from any graphic designers on getting a decent job?

Post Reply New Topic

One thing in particular that's truly sparked my interest--actually two--are among what i want to ask: 1) where among the fields of what gets advertised most is worth working for and 2) what kind of a firm would be friendliest to work at, say non-profit, or for what kind of advertising purpose, say for a magazine publisher or logo maker or whatnot? this seems awfully daunting of a question as I am still in community college and have yet to complete a certificate but I'm not too ambitious but would like to know some ample advice on finding a good place to start, how to find where to work and what I might do to get myself and a building work resume out there. And if there are any graphics websites worth looking at, I'd like to know too.

I'm a software QA dude and usually I just dabble in GIMP but I'm addicted to http://ffffound.com/ nevertheless. It's a relational image tracker, and kinda NSFW (Users bookmark images, so there's no censorship) but also a great source of inspiration. I'd be happy to help with resume advice though, strangely enough I'm somewhat comfortable in interviews.

To know what is worth working for you need to know what is valuable to you perhaps it is like in question 2 a friendly environment,

5 years working creatively in a variety of settings I have learnt that there is little value in working a prestigious role at a prestigious company for good money if you find yourself unhappy.

As a creative worker think about what you want from your working life and will this actually make you happy?
flexibility - to drift with your own musings while simultaneously completing the work expected of you
Enjoyment - if you really enjoy working on logos and you get to work on logos much of your day
Money - a good salary working for a well established company
Power - a clear route to move up into management
Respect - Opportunities to push the boundaries in your field and gain recognition from your peers
I can keep going on but you know what you value the most.

Also non-profit certainly does not guarantee friendliness, I have fallen into this trap too many times.

awesome advice, since this is a career path i have had speculation, debated my mind on for a bit

I was a computer-based graphic designer and technical/marketing writer between 1983 and 2001. As with any industry, sales wouldn't work in the long run unless you are socially savvy. Design itself is rewarding. So is writing. But, there is the dilemma of being able to create-on-demand even when you have no idea what to suggest. In design, especially, employers and customers only know what they want "when they see it." This means that the designer would "mock-up" samples of various designs provided as choices. If you have an artistic interest, this field might work for you. But, this field could work well at the production end of design (printing, binding and rendering to video or images). High-end (magazine and newspaper) design can be complicated, but rewarding if the designer has a knowledge of color, typography, imagery, hiring photographers and negotiating the correctly produced materials.

For individuals who have ASD and aren't artists, I would recommend design work within a market which has more structured (forms, applications, templates, business cards, web-sites, packaging, menus and such). These products don't rely too much on art, and can be easy to perform for some designers (myself included).

The hours can be long and tedious, but design work doesn't change its dynamics much if at all. It can be same-old, same-old (something I preferred). As for the businesses who would hire an individual, many of them have revolving doors for design workers. In-house advertising and marketing departments are among those who are "last hired, first fired" because they are believed by the bean counters to add nothing but pep to the products. Knowing this, it helps to get the best-paying or most-notable positions that your experience would allow. Finding new jobs within advertising and marketing is a little easier than most other jobs. It is common among designers to have had a new job every few years, and even multiple jobs at the same time.

Good luck with whatever direction you take.