Disappointed in what my career has to offer

amother

Seagreen

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 4:04 am

I'm a seit and I can not only say that I don't make that much, but that there really isn't that much money in the field as a whole. Even for someone who hustles for hours, between all the zillion off days and student (and provider) absences, I suspect the overwhelming majority of seits as well as other therapists make under 50k and in many instances much less. And of course there are no benefits.

amother

Gray

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 5:35 am

I learned graphic design in Israel and realized pretty much right after that I wasn't gonna do it as a full time job. I switched to social work which also doesn't pay very well but it's a steady income with flexible hours. Graphic design is fun as a hobby or if your husband makes enough for you to not need an income. But if someone asked me I'd advise against it. Only the very best are really successful and it's very competitive (talking about outside the frum world)

amother

Natural

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 5:40 am

amother wrote:

How much would you say the average social worker earns?

urban gypsy

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 6:25 am

I'm not a graphic designer or OT but what you are saying sounds like a problem common to all types of freelance work. If you believe your design skills are up to par, I would focus on finding different clients. There is a lot of good info out there for freelancers to deal with the stress of that lifestyle. Two good sources I've found are Ramit Sethi https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com and Sarah Von Bargen https://www.yesandyes.org. They have a lot of different information on their sites but search for the stuff related to freelancing specifically. If you have a good education and experience and generally enjoy design, I wouldn't throw in the towel just yet.

amother

Bisque

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 6:54 am

Sara Schneirer and Touro are now pushing their social work programs but it sounds similar to everybody's complaints about their fields.

A few big people at the top make a lot of money, very often from training other people. Agency work either entails traveling I.e. early intervention, in-community work which there is no reimbursement for and the work load varies as clients leave, cancel, age-out etc. The school system pays less but you are hired for a certain amount of hours. It changes from year to year due to funding so you can easily find yourself out of work. It can be brutal due to the nature of that setting...people's expectations, politics, etc.
Clinic work pays very little and has it's own problems.
And now, because of all the Jewish programs, the field is totally glutted and your average person often doesn't appreciate an older more experienced therapist as opposed to somebody less so but with the right name, connections, etc. There is age discrimination because some younger agency heads don't want older therapists with knowledge and opinions. They'd rather young and dumb. The flip side is that I hear that some agencies won't take LSWs, because there are so many social workers out there, they are taking only LCSWs.

At the end of the day, you need mazal in every Parnasa but I just wanted to put this out there.

TranquilityAndPeace

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 7:02 am

amother wrote:

Any field that pays well and allows for freelancing will be competitive. This is not specific to graphic design.

It takes a lot of business skills to be successful in the face of competition.

On the other hand, if you discover a non-competitive field, in all likelihood there is an extremely low demand for your product or service! I'd love to hear about people freelancing who DON'T have a tremendous amount of competition, yet have a steady flow of clients!

amother

Bronze

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 8:21 am

amother wrote:

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.

OP here,

You describe the sentiment very well here.

I went into graphic design because I have strong talent and passion for it. And I still do love it and appreciate it every day. We work so hard, put up with so much and there really isn't that high dollar goal or potential.

I consider it perfect for the typical jewish housewife who wants a side hustle while raising a large family. It's fun and flexible. The problem is that (unless you're from the top 1% of talent?) It'll never be something I can support myself with (y'know in case of divorce.) Sad

amother

Bronze

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 8:23 am

TranquilityAndPeace wrote:

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!

Success in graphic design is certainly more than 20% skill! Id say that skill+ creativity+experience account for at least 75% of success in this industry.

Also, its true what posters have been saying about learning more about the business side of things. I've already started reading some books, following some business coaches and listening to podcasts and I'm realizing how much more there is to learn. This is probably key. Presentation, professionalism, charging more and setting boundaries are really not my strong points and I did not know how much business skill this field would require before O went into it.

amother

Goldenrod

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 10:29 am

amother wrote:

I'm a seit and I can not only say that I don't make that much, but that there really isn't that much money in the field as a whole. Even for someone who hustles for hours, between all the zillion off days and student (and provider) absences, I suspect the overwhelming majority of seits as well as other therapists o under 50k and in many instances much less. And of course there are no benefits.

Totally agree. And because of that I teach half a day in a well paying school just so I can get some steady money...

I honestly think that my only friends who really can support themselves in the long run and are there for their families are the PAs that do three 12 hour shifts a week including nights. But that obviously is not for most of us....

SacN

Sat, Dec 15 2018, 10:20 am

I work in high tech.

Every job I've had has employed a number of graphic designers. Yes, ones from good schools have advantages in getting hired. As with any field.

All of them learned UI/UX design at some point, realizing it was critical to their career success. They all earn decently (but yes, work full-time. It is high tech.)

Maybe it's worth it to increase your skill set? Additional courses? New programs?

amother

Gray

Sat, Dec 15 2018, 1:06 pm

amother wrote:

How much would you say the average social worker earns?

Depends what country you live in.
Obviously my husband who works in IT makes 3 times my salary but I get a raise every year and my kids Kindergarten tuition is paid by the employer. I chose when I visit my clients, so I'm quite flexible. Most of them are families on welfare so they are home when my kids are in school and I can be home at 2 pm. I have 30 days paid vacation plus one week no paid if I want.

Rubber Ducky

Sat, Dec 15 2018, 3:55 pm

TranquilityAndPeace wrote:

...if you discover a non-competitive field, in all likelihood there is an extremely low demand for your product or service! I'd love to hear about people freelancing who DON'T have a tremendous amount of competition, yet have a steady flow of clients!

I do residential and kitchen design. I am blessed with a unique skill set and passion for my work. There's plenty of competition selling cabinets (highest profit) but much less for design-only, and virtually no competition in designing basement conversions. My business has been growing steadily since I really started putting energy into it about 3 years ago.

I am fortunate also to have grown up with a father who owned a jewelry store and so have always had some understanding of how a business works, and my DH is a CPA.

oneofakind

Sat, Dec 15 2018, 4:58 pm

As a social worker in early intervention, in community work or in a private practice under someone else, I get paid per hour with no benefits whatsoever. In an agency that serves schools, I got a raise once a year, a steady salary based on how many hours I was working so if there was an unexpected off day, I Got paid for that day. That was the only perk and I assure you it didn't happen often.