15 years later, I STILL want to be a Graphic Designer
June 4, 2015 2:46 PM
I started Graphic Design in community college back in 1999 and never finished because reasons. (I did complete year one.)
I am still very much into this field, but am worried it's too late...
I have struggled with employment in the recent past, after years of relative stability. There are many askme's posted my myself addressing this...as of right now I am working as a pedestrian courier. It's very low paying. Before that I was in sales. I used to think I was great, but I have come to realise, eh, not so much.
Long, long ago, when I was young and trying to figure out what to do with my life I made two conclusions: That I am passionate about music, yet that could not be counted on career-wise... and that I love design and wish to pursue that.
I have always loved design - I doodled constantly as a kid, have been fascinated with logos since forever, I love typography... so when I finally got the chance to go to collage at age 27 I chose Graphic Design at my local (at the time) community college.
I had to take a certificate program first called Art Fundementals. That was 1999. in 2000 I completed year of GD and did fairly well...Very well, in fact, in Typography and Photoshop.
I stuggled a little in drawing and colour theory. Overall my average was high enough to get on the Dean's list.
Year two was a bust however...I was having serious personal and relationship issues and school suffered. I was overwhelmed, and I shut down and dropped out. I still owed OSAP though...
After that failure, which really hurt, I eventually "fell" into sales/merchandising work. It was enough to live off of, and for over a decade was stable. But now - I'm back to square one. I'm $12,000 in debt and have defaulted (my old osap loans were written off). I definately can't get any loans, that's for sure.
There is a plan here in Ontario called Second Career. I am thinking of calling it Second Chance at Life. The short version of this is you can get re-educated.
Anyway - I still feel this is the one thing I would enjoy doing. I am worried that I would be too old to be starting out green...self-inflicted ageism, I know. It's just that everyone I know my age who are working in creative fields started out years ago.
So, direct questions:
Is it too late to start this again?
Is mid-40's too old for entry level in a super-competitive big city?
And, is it possible to continue school from where I left off? I highly doubt it, but boy it sure would be great to just jump back into year two...
I have struggled with employment in the recent past, after years of relative stability. There are many askme's posted my myself addressing this...as of right now I am working as a pedestrian courier. It's very low paying. Before that I was in sales. I used to think I was great, but I have come to realise, eh, not so much.
Long, long ago, when I was young and trying to figure out what to do with my life I made two conclusions: That I am passionate about music, yet that could not be counted on career-wise... and that I love design and wish to pursue that.
I have always loved design - I doodled constantly as a kid, have been fascinated with logos since forever, I love typography... so when I finally got the chance to go to collage at age 27 I chose Graphic Design at my local (at the time) community college.
I had to take a certificate program first called Art Fundementals. That was 1999. in 2000 I completed year of GD and did fairly well...Very well, in fact, in Typography and Photoshop.
I stuggled a little in drawing and colour theory. Overall my average was high enough to get on the Dean's list.
Year two was a bust however...I was having serious personal and relationship issues and school suffered. I was overwhelmed, and I shut down and dropped out. I still owed OSAP though...
After that failure, which really hurt, I eventually "fell" into sales/merchandising work. It was enough to live off of, and for over a decade was stable. But now - I'm back to square one. I'm $12,000 in debt and have defaulted (my old osap loans were written off). I definately can't get any loans, that's for sure.
There is a plan here in Ontario called Second Career. I am thinking of calling it Second Chance at Life. The short version of this is you can get re-educated.
Anyway - I still feel this is the one thing I would enjoy doing. I am worried that I would be too old to be starting out green...self-inflicted ageism, I know. It's just that everyone I know my age who are working in creative fields started out years ago.
So, direct questions:
Is it too late to start this again?
Is mid-40's too old for entry level in a super-competitive big city?
And, is it possible to continue school from where I left off? I highly doubt it, but boy it sure would be great to just jump back into year two...
In NYC, and probably other big cities, there is generally some demand for production artists skilled in programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and even advanced PowerPoint. I've known some people who use this as a fallback when Graphic Design jobs are scarce. They generally pay more than entry level graphic design positions.
For a real graphic design position in NYC you generally need a degree from Art School. There are definitely exceptions, but most firms I've known require a degree from an Art School. This does not apply to production jobs though.
It's not impossible, but it will take some finessing and out-of-the-box thinking to get ahead. An entry level graphic design position does not pay a lot.
posted by maggiemaggie at 3:00 PM on June 4, 2015
For a real graphic design position in NYC you generally need a degree from Art School. There are definitely exceptions, but most firms I've known require a degree from an Art School. This does not apply to production jobs though.
It's not impossible, but it will take some finessing and out-of-the-box thinking to get ahead. An entry level graphic design position does not pay a lot.
posted by maggiemaggie at 3:00 PM on June 4, 2015
Is there a way to blend what you do in sales/merchandising to do a little more design? I'm a writer and editor by training, but I have some design basics that help fill the gap for projects where we need design support but not a full-time designer. It scratches the itch for me.
posted by mochapickle at 3:48 PM on June 4, 2015
posted by mochapickle at 3:48 PM on June 4, 2015
I am you (with a different time frame). Never finished that graphic design degree, but still worked as a typesetter/production artist until I looked up from my screen one day and realized that all the typesetting jobs were being done overseas. Right now I'm a freelance production artist (and illustrator), always looking for temp or part-time gigs. I'm near a big city, so they do exist. That being said...I don't know if you've checked out any job listings for in-house graphic designers lately, but you need experience in web design as well as print design now, sometimes even for production jobs, word press, html, e-marketing, social media. If you have experience with that stuff, you'd be fine. Here they like to use the terms Guru or Rockstar, which just no. And I've been on an interview where they asked me point blank if I wouldn't be uncomfortable with all the young people (I was 40). But I still like doing it, so I do it freelance, and if they ask me something I don't know how to do I learn it.
posted by WesterbergHigh at 3:52 PM on June 4, 2015
posted by WesterbergHigh at 3:52 PM on June 4, 2015
Hey sort-of me,
ln my late 30s, I finally did what I wanted to do my entire life, and studied graphic design (in the form of a Multimedia degree (I finished age 42), because I could do it through distance education). It was difficult because I was working full-time, married to an absolute prat, and had two teenage kids, one with excessive hormones. Oh, and I hadn't been diagnosed with ADHD at the point, so I was pomodoring 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off. And the final semester was so stressful (group work, natch, sucks even when it's online) that I developed TMJ and my iris jammed open (though the ratbastard might have had something to do with that).
And guess what, I don't regret it one little bit. Having a degree gave me so many more options in work (employers just respect you more, whether the skills you've learned apply to the job or not). I've applied (every now and then) for graphic design jobs, but the entry pay is less than what I get as a research assistant, and I get to do graphic design stuff where I am, developing brochures, websites, theoretical models, PowerPoint. I also know useful shit about commercial printing, and design and colour modes and yeah.
I wouldn't do graphic design full time, but that's a side of my personality. A lot of it is working within someone else's ideas (recreating their graphics, or sticking to the branding manual). But doing the degree is one of the things that keeps me warm at night when I wonder what I've done with my life. I stuck it out. I listened to Eminem (Lose yourself) on repeat (disgusting my adolescents). I could justify taking on roles that were forbidden me before.
Look, I remember me as a 16 year old, and being told by mother (who had no fucking clue, but I didn't know that), that I wasn't good enough, and I should do something sensible. I did, and I dropped out. And then I started doing it freelance in 1991 with the early CorelDraw in a small town, and never thought I could get a proper graphics job without qualifications. It was a passion that never left me, to communicate visually. To make information attractive and easy to understand (though it's only been recently that I've articulated it this way - I thought I was making art).
I can't encourage you enough to follow your dream. What if you fuck up? You gave it a try. What if you don't fuck up and you don't like it? You know. What if it works out and becomes an ordinary every day job, that pays the bills? That's a huge win, being able to look forward to going to work. What if you do incredibly well and rival Saul Bass? Meh, who needs the fame?
Do it. Work out a way, and do it. If you're the oldest ever (you're not) to change careers, then yay you for the record. Do it. If you don't do it, it will eat at you until you die. Do it anyway.
Oh and I got better at colour when I started using the great palette options on line. There's a link in my profile to my website, and a page on that lists some colour pickers. I haven't updated my website in about a million years. Memail me if you want to chat about this, OP, and anyone else who is in the same boat.
posted by b33j at 4:43 PM on June 4, 2015
ln my late 30s, I finally did what I wanted to do my entire life, and studied graphic design (in the form of a Multimedia degree (I finished age 42), because I could do it through distance education). It was difficult because I was working full-time, married to an absolute prat, and had two teenage kids, one with excessive hormones. Oh, and I hadn't been diagnosed with ADHD at the point, so I was pomodoring 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off. And the final semester was so stressful (group work, natch, sucks even when it's online) that I developed TMJ and my iris jammed open (though the ratbastard might have had something to do with that).
And guess what, I don't regret it one little bit. Having a degree gave me so many more options in work (employers just respect you more, whether the skills you've learned apply to the job or not). I've applied (every now and then) for graphic design jobs, but the entry pay is less than what I get as a research assistant, and I get to do graphic design stuff where I am, developing brochures, websites, theoretical models, PowerPoint. I also know useful shit about commercial printing, and design and colour modes and yeah.
I wouldn't do graphic design full time, but that's a side of my personality. A lot of it is working within someone else's ideas (recreating their graphics, or sticking to the branding manual). But doing the degree is one of the things that keeps me warm at night when I wonder what I've done with my life. I stuck it out. I listened to Eminem (Lose yourself) on repeat (disgusting my adolescents). I could justify taking on roles that were forbidden me before.
Look, I remember me as a 16 year old, and being told by mother (who had no fucking clue, but I didn't know that), that I wasn't good enough, and I should do something sensible. I did, and I dropped out. And then I started doing it freelance in 1991 with the early CorelDraw in a small town, and never thought I could get a proper graphics job without qualifications. It was a passion that never left me, to communicate visually. To make information attractive and easy to understand (though it's only been recently that I've articulated it this way - I thought I was making art).
I can't encourage you enough to follow your dream. What if you fuck up? You gave it a try. What if you don't fuck up and you don't like it? You know. What if it works out and becomes an ordinary every day job, that pays the bills? That's a huge win, being able to look forward to going to work. What if you do incredibly well and rival Saul Bass? Meh, who needs the fame?
Do it. Work out a way, and do it. If you're the oldest ever (you're not) to change careers, then yay you for the record. Do it. If you don't do it, it will eat at you until you die. Do it anyway.
Oh and I got better at colour when I started using the great palette options on line. There's a link in my profile to my website, and a page on that lists some colour pickers. I haven't updated my website in about a million years. Memail me if you want to chat about this, OP, and anyone else who is in the same boat.
posted by b33j at 4:43 PM on June 4, 2015
I got certified in design in 2000 when I was in my 30s. I've been designing (among other things) since then. I have a friend who was a highly paid print designer working freelance who now has very little work. Why? Because there's not anywhere near the need for print designers as there used to be. If you're committed to learning web design, mobile design, app design, and other digital mediums, I'd say go for it. You'll likely need to know some coding and be open to and have some affinity for the technical (beyond what you need for print design, which is itself fairly technical). That's where all the better paying jobs have gone. My friend has no such interest so she's shifted her focus completely. You'd likely be able to do ok freelancing for both web and print (which is what I do), but the high paid in-company jobs are very hard to find. You need to be able to deal with a lot of fine detail, and not to be too precious about your designs. Sometimes the clients just want you to facilitate their vision, and that won't necessarily be your own.
posted by FlyByDay at 8:44 PM on June 4, 2015
posted by FlyByDay at 8:44 PM on June 4, 2015
I am an older student (40's) who went back and got a degree in design. I will tell you this, I was able to get a design job that paid ok, which morphed into doing a bunch of roles overnight that do not have much to do with design. I am finding that new design jobs are extremely competitive and like has been said above, quite low paid or not full time gigs.
That is one problem I am finding that even with web design skills and some coding ability, I am not having much success in responses from sending off job apps (this could of course be due to the market I am in however, being relatively close to Los Angeles). I think there are so many people out there with 5-10 years experience that it is very difficult to be competitive.
That is something to mull over before taking the leap into design.
posted by gregjunior at 1:07 PM on June 5, 2015
That is one problem I am finding that even with web design skills and some coding ability, I am not having much success in responses from sending off job apps (this could of course be due to the market I am in however, being relatively close to Los Angeles). I think there are so many people out there with 5-10 years experience that it is very difficult to be competitive.
That is something to mull over before taking the leap into design.
posted by gregjunior at 1:07 PM on June 5, 2015
Thank you everyone for your insights. I am very inspired, but cautious...
posted by Soap D. Spencer at 8:02 AM on June 9, 2015
posted by Soap D. Spencer at 8:02 AM on June 9, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by k8t at 2:48 PM on June 4, 2015