Anyone do graphic design full time for a living?

[TeamExtreme718x]

Was wondering if anyone on here did graphic design for a living, and if they had any advice for someone trying to enter the field. Its a life long passion of mine, also is it possible to break in with out a Bachelors degree?

[Stuart?]

I do! I got my first graphic design job back in October.

My Bachelors Degree was in Biology, graduated in 2020 right at the height of Covid. I knew I wanted a job in design so after my classes were cancelled, I moved back home and in between doing my final assignments, I spent as much time as I could working on a portfolio. That lasted from March until July when I officially got my degree and I figured I should get a job. Luckily for me, a pretty big healthcare company was hiring scientists to work in a laboratory processing Covid tests, so I got in pretty easily with my Bio degree. I did that for a while, transferred to a boring office job in 2021 when I got sick of doing 12 hour night shifts and stuck with that for a little over a year until I figured I should be doing something I actually enjoy. Again, I got lucky because on my company's internal job vacancies email, I noticed there was an opening for a graphic designer. I figured what the heck and applied, thinking I wouldn't even hear back since I have no professional experience and my portfolio is like 99% wrestling stuff.

They ended up giving me an interview and they must've been able to tell how passionate I am because they offered me the job the next day and I started a few weeks later. I've been doing it for almost 9 months now and I love it. There's boring days, sure... You'll get that with any job but it's the most fun and rewarding job I've had in my life.

Moral of the story is, there's no one set way to break into the business, mine was super unconventional. Some people might study graphic design and get a job straight out of college. My colleague worked in marketing for years until he mentioned he did graphic design in his spare time and they gave him an interview based off that. Just keep creating, share your stuff on socials, network and engage with other designers and keep sending in your portfolio and resume for jobs.

Good luck!

[TeamExtreme718x]

Jun 17, 2023 15:04:34 GMT -5 Stuart? said:

I do! I got my first graphic design job back in October.

My Bachelors Degree was in Biology, graduated in 2020 right at the height of Covid. I knew I wanted a job in design so after my classes were cancelled, I moved back home and in between doing my final assignments, I spent as much time as I could working on a portfolio. That lasted from March until July when I officially got my degree and I figured I should get a job. Luckily for me, a pretty big healthcare company was hiring scientists to work in a laboratory processing Covid tests, so I got in pretty easily with my Bio degree. I did that for a while, transferred to a boring office job in 2021 when I got sick of doing 12 hour night shifts and stuck with that for a little over a year until I figured I should be doing something I actually enjoy. Again, I got lucky because on my company's internal job vacancies email, I noticed there was an opening for a graphic designer. I figured what the heck and applied, thinking I wouldn't even hear back since I have no professional experience and my portfolio is like 99% wrestling stuff.

They ended up giving me an interview and they must've been able to tell how passionate I am because they offered me the job the next day and I started a few weeks later. I've been doing it for almost 9 months now and I love it. There's boring days, sure... You'll get that with any job but it's the most fun and rewarding job I've had in my life.

Moral of the story is, there's no one set way to break into the business, mine was super unconventional. Some people might study graphic design and get a job straight out of college. My colleague worked in marketing for years until he mentioned he did graphic design in his spare time and they gave him an interview based off that. Just keep creating, share your stuff on socials, network and engage with other designers and keep sending in your portfolio and resume for jobs.

Good luck!

Wow first and foremost just wanna say thank you for sharing your story. That was super insightful & I can totally relate to it as well. I’m basically in the same exact boat, been floating around from career to career for ages now. Always felt a need to be involved in something creative, and have been doing graphic design my whole life (just for fun) And recently a light bulb went off, where I decided I want to pursue it professionally. I have my associates degree, but I’ve been debating pursuing the bachelors for financial reasons. So to hear your story, it definitely gives me hope/inspiration to pursue a job in the field. Thanks again for sharing, really appreciate it!

[Valbroski]

It's definitely possible to break into without a Bachelors degree. I'm an art director and I only have an associates degree. I've also interviewed and helped hire other designers for my company and I've only ever looked at or cared about their portfolios. You could also always take online courses through websites like udemy that are way way more cost effective than college and just as helpful.

[def2chi]

I've been a graphic designer in the printing industry for about 15 years now. I would recommend subscribing to the Adobe Cloud, you can pick and choose which programs you want and it costs a monthly fee. I use Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator everyday. I'd hit up Youtube and start looking at tutorials for beginners to learn what the tools are and what you can do with them. The nice thing about the Adobe programs is that a lot of the tools work the same in each program. If there is an image or idea in your mind there is a way to accomplish it using these programs. Youtube is your best friend when it comes to learning tricks and techniques. Texturelabs is one channel I really like but there are tons of videos. It's mostly about getting used to the tools and how they work, then implementing them to put together a cohesive design. Sketching is also really helpful, just throw down some ideas on paper to get started. Hope this helps.

[GreyHaze:Big Bad Booty Daddy]

I do graphic design too as a freelancer, but decided to take a break to work on other projects. What do you guys think about AI in terms of the art world? I'm personally not a fan and feel like it yes, can have some benefits, but could also take away jobs and maybe fall into the wrong hands.

[TeamExtreme718x]

Jul 20, 2023 23:52:21 GMT -5 def2chi said:

I've been a graphic designer in the printing industry for about 15 years now. I would recommend subscribing to the Adobe Cloud, you can pick and choose which programs you want and it costs a monthly fee. I use Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator everyday. I'd hit up Youtube and start looking at tutorials for beginners to learn what the tools are and what you can do with them. The nice thing about the Adobe programs is that a lot of the tools work the same in each program. If there is an image or idea in your mind there is a way to accomplish it using these programs. Youtube is your best friend when it comes to learning tricks and techniques. Texturelabs is one channel I really like but there are tons of videos. It's mostly about getting used to the tools and how they work, then implementing them to put together a cohesive design. Sketching is also really helpful, just throw down some ideas on paper to get started. Hope this helps.

Appreciate the guidance thank you!!

[Valbroski]

Jul 28, 2023 16:26:06 GMT -5 GreyHaze:Big Bad Booty Daddy said:

I do graphic design too as a freelancer, but decided to take a break to work on other projects. What do you guys think about AI in terms of the art world? I'm personally not a fan and feel like it yes, can have some benefits, but could also take away jobs and maybe fall into the wrong hands.

I'm ok with it being used for new features or improvements to existing features in Photoshop/Illustrator but I don't like the idea of it replacing designers full on. I think it would be equivalent to non designers that use canva or buy stock vector images (which is fine depending on the type of project).

[williscreg]

I tried that couple of years ago but honestly did work well for me. Still need to do some studying before.
Already checked the madwire web design reviews here and I think that's the company I would like to work in the future.
Not sure how complicated is to get there, but definitely going to try one day.