I've actually been part of our Web redesign project at my job. I think I'm going to go back to school to be an art teacher. So it’s only natural to question your chosen career path from time to time. Yes, so long as you have a good idea of hierarchy of information. All jobs suck to some extent. I am sick and tired of going to interviews just to not even get a call back or if I'm qualified for the position I still don… If it’s control that you crave, going freelance is a great way to get it. PS. I've sortof reached that point of "whatever, it's your design" if a customer wants to make poor changes, but I also think I'm developing an ability to tell from the first conversation which clients are the ones who are looking for a good design vs. the clients who just want a business card a.s.a.p. back in the MS-DOS days. HECK YES This is what I was coming here to talk about! Try and get into a studio that works on brands you have a genuine interest in. Rendered by PID 17980 on r2-app-0b81f9791ec89061c at 2020-12-21 17:23:04.325370+00:00 running 406fa40 country code: NL. Design is a set of principles we follow to make our work appealing to the human eye. Thanks for sharing, and I definitely know that after time things get better as you carve your place in the industry. I think design is what you make of it. if you can make a living and get an ounce of gratification from it, id say thats a successful career relatively speaking. Also,a big part of the job is to present the work and there the good 'ol skills come very handy. Picking up code is easier than it used to be — you can learn online with the likes of Treehouse or in person at code schools like SuperHi. I would say don't give up. Please report any posts which break these rules, to maintain the quality of the subreddit. I know no job is perfect, and there's always going to be bad days and bad people to work with, but I think I can do a little better than the rut I’m in now. finish off your Bac degree and find a small technical college or online school that will hire you to teach associate level courses in design (I did this while i was freelancing to cover the months when i didn't have enough work). Businesses need to be nimble and creative to function and stay in business, and in a highly competitive world where agencies are constantly trying to one-up each other, it's not exactly conducive to a laid-back and relaxed environment. You deal with the worst clients and bosses, and you work on uninspiring projects. If I could teach with my Bachelor's I would absolutely consider it. What's happened now is that all the creativity and inspiration has just been sucked out of me. You just need to find better people to work for and with. The really fun and creative stuff starts to happen as you begin to establish a name and reputation. like goldfishdead said, you should definitely get the whole education, it's awesome, challenging in all the right ways, and sounds perfect for you. In VFX work you are match moving, and tracking, rotoscoping and compositing. Need Tips: Ended Freelance Client Relationship and Need to Fairly Price Source Files. Web analytic stuff is an area I'm less familiar with, but I'm seeing the trend of wanting web designers and programmers to know more about that. Well, graphic design works the same way. [–]AntiqueCurtains 4 points5 points6 points 8 years ago (1 child), [–][deleted] 2 points3 points4 points 8 years ago (0 children), Me too, though I prefer my technology to be cut. Same old software, etc. If there's specific skills (languages/softwares/certificates), learn them and get them. Even for just a month and take up other pursuits. [–]MaddieCakes 0 points1 point2 points 8 years ago (0 children). Posted to [–]ReverendEnder 0 points1 point2 points 8 years ago (3 children). This is of course all dependant on where I end up living and if they have a thriving UX industry, [–]neon_overload 0 points1 point2 points 8 years ago (0 children). While it's convenient and a steady paycheck, the place is stagnant, and both my skills and interest are dulling. Freelancing isn't about being a good designer. Worked with print and web, got fed up with it. Project management is a crucial role in any design studio, with a salary to match. Hang out with different people, get to know new people, go to places you wouldn't think about, do something completely out of your comfort zone. There are a LOT of A-grade bullshitters in marketing that like to throw around buzzwords and speak the lingo while having no clue to what they're doing. I'm on my final year and hate it to death, however I have found a new interest which is graphic design and that is keeping me occupied while I cope with the remaining year I have left of school. I'm not about to go back for more school, [–]al1090 0 points1 point2 points 8 years ago (0 children). All the customers thought they knew better than me, they were unprofessional and blamed their errors on me. Costs 38000 $ a year now :( Well, it's because you're producing shit. (Or what used to?) I did not do this but, all the adjunct instructors I was working with at For-profit University were on this track. School, above all else, has given me too much anxiety to justify doing more of it. If you’re unsure about a creative profession such as graphic design, see what other designers … Consider simply taking a break. I've began overhauling my entire web presence in anticipation of my graduating this coming spring, and finding someplace that I want to be. Yep, I'm coming from a place where I paid my way through college and life. Something snapped in me one day. Scientologists? I am currently an ID student and LOVE my major! Anyway, when I applied the first time I thought it would be a piece of cake to get in since I was a cool graphic designer. There will always be shitty clients, bosses, and coworkers no matter what field you're in. I just don't feel like this is the right path for me, but I don't want to waste all the time and money I sank into school and jobs. This will open up your perspective a bit and will probably help you figure out the next stage in your life. Good news! Don't let people scare you away from what you want to do in life, just work toward doing what you want to do around the right people, that is people who don't make you hate life. Looking back I had a very naive view of what Industrial design really was. I found inspiration in the hopes that my hard work and effort would eventually pay off. ID is awesome. My ACCEPTED Graphic Design Portfolio for College Application, A little poster I made to practice type and composition. Life hole is a pretty spot on idea of what I've been dealing with the past year. And scientologists... so m any scientologists. So, I graduated last year as a graphic designer, and got a job directly out of college at a good design agency. The thing is that I don't care to much about becoming a web designer. Junior positions in the city I'm in don't come up often and I have a pretty high standard with where I 'want… and join one of thousands of communities. [–]omgdinosaurs 2 points3 points4 points 8 years ago (0 children). So is it possible to teach with only a Bachelor's? [–]-Sparkwoodand21- 0 points1 point2 points 8 years ago (1 child). So being able to work effectively and efficiently while under pressure is a huge HUGE thing you'll need no matter what. Switching careers can be a long, drawn out process. I had the same problem. Career Dilemma: I don't want to do Graphic Design anymore. Animation? [–]thefireblanket 0 points1 point2 points 8 years ago (1 child). I have the feeling that an internet startup would go nuts over someone with real design training coming on to do UI, and the fact that it's a sidestep for you (you weren't trained in user interface design, but print design) will be seen as cool to them and as having an edge over the billions of wannabe UX designers. The more artistic part has just been something I don’t care to pursue anymore. It's all been hobbyist design and working part time jobs trying to become good enough to have my way at it in a more professional setting. The following 11 signs will reveal whether you should become a graphic designer… Then I learned web design. This isn't a field for weenies. I mean that if you haven't found that thing you're looking for, make sure that you also dedicate some time to volunteering to causes that you really care about. I moved back to Australia, I've been searching for over a year now. As documented in Represent’s Behind the Design report, “project managers, account handlers and producers are the unsung heroes of the creative industries, working away behind the scenes making projects happen all the way from pre-pitch to post-delivery”. [–]Roobomatic 1 point2 points3 points 8 years ago (5 children). Repeat after me "the customer isn't always right, sometimes she's an entitled twat." As for stress and creativity, your school should at the very least touch on this subject. [–]deadlybydsgn 3 points4 points5 points 8 years ago (0 children). When I'm stressed I can't get that creative process going, and that's why I think something not as creative and more analytical might be better for me. Six years, you've only just started. I have a friend that worked "tool" jobs for a couple of years. I'm an architecture student, and the worlds are a little different, to be sure... but the TA's I had in undergrad were a huge part of why I got excited about design: people pretty close to my age (they were grad students) who just got to be creative all day and help others solve design problems. [–]goldfishdad 1 point2 points3 points 8 years ago (0 children). I came to the conclusion that graphic design is what I was meant to do. People switch things up all the time and there's nothing wrong with that. Marketing can be quite a bit of fun since it is more all-encompassing and "big picture" oriented. You're missing the point. There is no other job for me. Good luck, but don't get caught up in a "grass is greener on the other side" quagmire. It’s time to stop thinking about alternative design careers, and start taking action. I think I attained enlightenment. [–]chugach3dguy 0 points1 point2 points 8 years ago (0 children). A little while later my wife and I decided to move to a big city. I'm definitely setting up different resumes targeted at different industries, [–]clintmccool 1 point2 points3 points 8 years ago (1 child). It's about being a good businessman/woman. We hired a person who does analytics and Site building to organize our information and build a Site map, and was fascinated the whole time. For what I read I think it is that you just don't like working at all. You should read up on UX design, a good place to start would be "A Project Guide to UX Design: For user experience designers in the field or in the making" by Russ Unger, or the classic "Don't Make Me Think" by Steve Krug. In motion graphics - since its essentially animation, at most studios there are the artists, and production staff. And for the vast majority of us, that kind of thing doesn't happen on its own. No, I'm not responsible for you giving me the wrong phone number. The creativity is not in the brief, it's in how you respond to the brief. Ouch, no thanks. Sadly here in the U.S. that kind of education isn't free. I graduated back in 2004. [–]exzackt 2 points3 points4 points 8 years ago (1 child). Didn't even get to interview. My portfolio is incredibly weak, and I don't have time to improve or add to it right now. Lol that's what my dad thinks I do. Traffic managers also have little to do with the creative goings on. Also, now I feel completely out of touch with design, since I've just been basically doing crap advertising for so long with absolutely no web. In fact, good on you for realizing that this early! Freelancing is business. I am currently studying design. Design is not magic. But this is a graphic design community, if you want to change careers - that's up to you. I get it, (graphic) design can be rough. Don't worry! When you put something out there for the world to see, you don't want the recognition. “A graphic designer can mean illustrator, animator, layout artist, website designer, UX designer, etc. While you were employed by the school you could take classes with nearly free tuition so a lot of the adjunct instructors taught there to complete their master degrees for cheap online. its not written in stone that you must do xyz with your given experience. This is something I've considered, but don't know much about. I feel like a derp looking through job descriptions. I heard that using photoshop and illustrator is kind of mandatory thing for designer… You can choose to become a hybrid designer/developer (aka the mythical unicorn), or make the switch completely — but either way your design chops will give you a unique advantage in the web development world. The last time that I really designed something for my day to day work? I can probably guess why you’re here…. After a few years as a stay-at-home dad, I'm dying to design again. Dealing with stress is always a challenge, but there are a variety of things you can do. I got my first job working for a small print shop. I did actually change most of life pretty drastically, and this job was actually supposed to get me out of that rut lol. Illustration? The important thing here is that it took me over 8 years to finally be in a position where I'm really happy with where I work and what I do. We graphic designers have a love-hate relationship with criticism. Despite reports to the contrary, the print industry is still very much alive and kicking. I received my Associates Degree in Graphic Design (emphasis in print) in ‘09 and was on the track to pursuing Graphic Design as a career and eventually work my way up the ranks to Creative Director or something similar. If they came back and shit on it, I gave them exactly what they asked for and didn't worry about it anymore. Thanks for the advice, and I definitely have considered all the things you mentioned. Funny old world. This is what you need to rediscover. My immediate thought is that you should teach. [–]Roobomatic 2 points3 points4 points 8 years ago (2 children). How To Become a Graphic Designer. You also have lots of other options in the design industry — especially when you consider that the UK has the second-largest design sector in the world, and the largest design industry in Europe. Thanks for all the support and kind words, but as you can probably see from the rest of the post I've made up my mind. This won't be going away anytime soon, if ever. The design positions were more light work, such as doing book layout and cover illustration, real easy stuff. The other students seemed to realize it was just a job way before I did. 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