Disappointed in what my career has to offer

amother

Bronze

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 6:10 pm

Why oh WHY did I choose to become a graphic designer?? Yes, I have the talent and love what I do, but this field is just so hard. It takes years of experience to produce decent work and the pay is just...sad.

When I was 17 my mom and sister encouraged me to become a speach or occupational therapist...cuz that's what all the million bajillion girls were also doing and they're making TONS of money at their part time flexible job. I felt strongly about pursuing a career I was good at, passionate about and most importantly, interested in so I did not pursue special ed and went into graphic design instead.

Now I'm not sure.

Design agencies pay very little. Working freelance offers a bit more but dealing with clients is just so so difficult. The learning never ends. The updates are constant. The many technicalities are so anxiety provoking. The stress sometimes kills me. Why wasn't I warned about this before?

amother

Silver

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 6:34 pm

I wish you would have asked me before you decided to go into graphic design Confused

I've been working in the field for almost 15 years and even back when I was trained I realized right away that it was not all great like people made it out to be. I have slowly taken on other work as the years have gone by to supplement my income and dropped more and more of my graphic design work.
The pay, hours and people were just not working for me.
Whenever girls have asked me about the career - I have been very honest about the downsides and discouraged them from pursuing it.
Sorry for the bad news, I don't have much positive encouragement to offer you Sad

amother

Blue

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 6:37 pm

I can only answer with my experience as a therapist. It is a big misconception that all therapists can make their own hours. Many positions require a commitment of 30 hours/week minimum and don't offer flexibility at all. The positions that do allow setting your own hours are often homecare/early intervention and come with a lot of travel time that isn't paid for and no benefits (insurance, vacation...). You only get paid for the specific hours that you work. The salaries I often hear people assuming I earn are based on one expert who only takes cash not insurance. Most of us don't earn anywhere near that (I've had people assume that I earn double what I do).
As far as continual learning, there is always more to learn and new techniques. Additionally, continuing education courses are needed to renew your license every couple of years.
Every job has it's pros and cons, the grass is always greener. I'm glad I chose something that I enjoy doing!!

amother

Lemon

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 8:08 pm

I’m a graphic designer and I disagree! I’m not in a place right now to really work full-time and/or heavily pursue freelance clients, so right now it’s very part time. But when I was able to work full time, I was making a very nice salary - first in a corporate position, and then later at a design agency. I’ve been doing this for over ten years.

Right now there are a bunch of people hiring in the NYC area, especially in Boro Park. Are you looking for a full-time job?

I also want to point out that those who were trained at places like “Design Alive” etc, unless you are exceptionally talented, you probably won’t be able to find a job outside the heimishe community. The asthetic just isn’t there.

1ofbillions

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 8:14 pm

amother wrote:

What type of therapist are you?

amother

Silver

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 8:21 pm

Quote:

I also want to point out that those who were trained at places like “Design Alive” etc, unless you are exceptionally talented, you probably won’t be able to find a job outside the heimishe community. The asthetic just isn’t there.

I have my degree from a very prestigious art school, so this is not my issue at all.
For me the problem was the job just never ends. Clients have endless demands, jobs that need to be finished two days ago, with a hundred minor changes, and they want it all for the price of babysitting.
I worked at an agency full-time for 5 years and have done freelance for more than 10 years.
I'm happy you have a job that works for you, but I don't think that's the norm in this field.
My friends who are still in the field (all who went to either Pratt, FIT, Parsons...) are either working very minimally and just supplementing their husbands incomes, or working like dogs.

amother

Green

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 8:36 pm

I'm an OT and I love my job. I feel so fortunate to be doing this for a living. However, I'm not making very much of a living! What I didn't realize is that the job markets in NYC and out of NYC do not resemble one another AT ALL! I attended school in NY and then moved away, and I was in for a shock. Moving back is not an option for us. Again, I'm very appreciative for my training and my job, but I work very hard for not much pay, which is very frustrating. The potential for growth is so limited.

amother

Lilac

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 9:08 pm

amother wrote:

How are things different OOT?

amother

Slategray

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 9:40 pm

I’m a therapist and I’ve never had luck making decent money. I’ve questioned my degree many times.

Honestly, parnassah is 100% siyata dishmaya. I have a relative with a good degree, who had a decent job for a number of years. But he lost his job in middle age, and he was never able to find a position in this professional area, though he was skilled and experienced. He has had very low income for many, many years.

amother

Natural

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 9:42 pm

amother wrote:

What type of therapist?

amother

Lemon

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 9:50 pm

amother wrote:

Quote:

I'm really sorry to hear that. I wish I could have gone to Pratt, FIT, but my parents couldn't afford it at the time :/

I totally hear you on difficult clients, low payment expectations, and all of that. Freelancing is REALLY hard, which is part of the reason why I haven't really started strongly going after new clients and/or building my freelance base (yet). I don't have the energy to deal with people.

If freelancing is so difficult right now, would you consider going back to work full-time with an agency or company? Steady paycheck and less annoying clients! As I said, I'm dipping my toes into the water right now, so I know there's a bunch of jobs out there if you're interested.

But either way, I hear you! It's really really hard. But I wanted to be a graphic designer since I was a little kid, so for me, it was this or bust! I still love what I do, but the endless demands can definitely get you seriously down.

TranquilityAndPeace

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 10:04 pm

I'm so sorry you're going through this.

I've been a photographer for 4 years, and B"H am very busy. I'm in a lot of professional photographers groups, and I see people stating similar sentiments to what you expressed in your OP.

Perhaps graphic design is different; however the business probably has many similarities.

I've studied and figured out how to streamline my business. Many of my photographer colleagues deal with clients who make endless demands/ requests/ changes. I hardly ever deal with this because I have a system that eliminates ambiguity and charges for revisions beyond what was originally in place in the contact.

I'm sure there are professional graphic design groups where you can learn from those who are more experienced in the business side of things.

I've found that success in my industry is 80% business skills and 20% photography skills. If venture to guess it's the same in your field. My suggestion would be to find business mentors.

As an aside I once hired malkadesigns.com, and she was very professional with very clear way of working. She was not cheap; however I wa happy to pay for her professionalism and expertise. Perhaps she would do business mentoring for other designers.

Hatzlachah!

amother

Silver

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 10:35 pm

Quote:

If freelancing is so difficult right now, would you consider going back to work full-time with an agency or company? Steady paycheck and less annoying clients!

I worked for a company for 5 years and had plenty of annoying clients. And maybe because I was pretty high up, but I had clients calling me all hours with "emergencies" - it was a job that I always took home with me.

At this stage in my life with kids I'm not in a position to start working like that again. I do make sure to always be working on something though so that I can always go back to it one day.

amother

Brunette

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 11:09 pm

amother wrote:

Quote:

Maybe you need to take a course on business management - I'm a freelancer (not graphics) and I invested a chunk of money in a course that taught client management - every penny was well earned! If your customers are burning you out, maybe your processes are not as airtight as they should be.

amother

Silver

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 12:00 am

I actually run a different kind of business now and deal with many people- quite successfully I might add. So I don't think that's the issue but thank you for the suggestion.

I really think it's specific to the graphic design industry. I didn't mean to derail the thread at all, I was just trying to validate the OPs feelings and agree with everything she said. (And I know many people I went to school with and worked with who have similar sentiments.)

Sorry OP, I have no practical advice for you Confused

Maybe other graphic designers have had more success and can offer you some ideas.