Is Your Design Career Stuck?
by Adrian Hanft, (7 comments)
“You’ve got a very good job as an art director. To do better, you’d either have to move to another firm, move to another town, switch careers or go back to school. And all of them have costs and very uncertain returns, so you stay.”
I read that on Seth Godin’s blog today, and it just nailed me. I know several designers who are in this same situation doing exactly what Seth is talking about. I just passed my two year anniversary where I work, and have been reflecting on my short career and trying to make plans and goals for the future. Maybe you are asking these same questions:
Have I learned all I can from my current job?
Is there any way I can turn my current job into my dream job?
Can I afford to leave the job I enjoy to pursue something else?
Can I make more money doing something else?
Am I just in a slump, and things will get better?
Do I really want to be a designer anymore?
I bet we all ask ourselves these questions, but I got to tell you that writing them down is much more scary. I really do love my job, and don’t plan on leaving any time soon, but I know some of you are ready to move on. Seth’s article talks about the need to get past the fear of leaving a comfortable situation and accepting the pain that comes before your next big success. I encourage you to read his article if you are ready to find your next big thing. Then follow it up by reading this one where he offers this assurance, “You don’t have to get a formal MBA or quit your job to start a profitable business or sideline. You can leverage the amazing tools that exist without having to wager everything.” I could be wrong, but I think there are quite a few designers going through this same type of thing. What are you going to do (or what have you done) to get past a career that seems “stuck?”
Comments (7)
clinton carlson said:
Great questions. Interesting, though somewhat generic column by Seth. I for one have quit my job, gone back to school in a different career field, bounced around doing the freelance shuffle, took another full-time gig, quit that job, freelanced again, and went back to design school. One thing I’ve learned is, don’t be afraid to quit what you’re doing. I’m not sure where I’ll go when I’m done with school this time, but I do know that I have lots of options, and I’m not going to settle into the first job that hits my doorstep. I’ll find my place, whether it is starting out on my own thing, doing research, teaching, continuing in school, or getting another full-time gig…or maybe a combination of these.
Sometimes we need the tension of trying to find work to get momentum going forward. Tension can be motivating.
Posted on November 10, 2005
Nate Voss said:
Chandler Bing calls that “The Fear.”
Posted on November 10, 2005
Daniel Schutzsmith said:
Almost 2 years ago I made a decision to quit my full-time job as a web developer to go freelance and see if I would enjoy doing project management for graphic design studios. Less than 3 months later, I was hired by The”>The">http://www.choppingblock.com”>The Chopping Block and haven’t thought of working anywhere since. I whole heartedly believe that you have to take a risk to get big rewards. In my case I left my company with no job lined up to follow.
Posted on November 10, 2005
kadavy said:
I recently made a big life and career change. In my case, I didn’t take a great deal of risks in my change. I got a challenging job out of college, which I eventually grew out of. I spent alot of time unhappy about being in a job that no longer fit me and living in a place that 1) I had grown tired of living in and 2) didn’t provide many enticing career opportunities, but that was enough to motivate me to follow my curiousity for the web with my evenings. After enough study, and some good fortune, things finally lined up and I landed a Web Design position in sunny California. So I moved a little over two months ago, and the change has been overwhelmingly positive in all facets of my life.
If there is a moral to my story, it is that it isn’t always necessary to take huge risks. If you keep following your interests, and keep good friends, I believe that eventually an opportunity will come along that won’t require much consideration to act upon. This could be a job that lines up well with your skills at a company with a culture that fits you, or a friend who becomes a client big enough to make it the right time to step out on your own.
Posted on November 11, 2005
Steven K. said:
I recently read Stefan Bucher’s “The Making of Thirty Extraordinary Graphic Designers.” While all the designers’ stories were unique, one commonality in all of them was the designers’ ability to take risks — leave that comfortable, but dead-end, job and find something else, often with no prospects in sight, as Daniel also points out in the previous post.
And I’m sure for those 30 that made it, there are plenty more that failed.
If you aren’t the risk taker, then taking up a complementary hobby may be just as rewarding.
Posted on November 11, 2005
JJeffryes said:
In a way, I think this is strange advice for an art director. Very, very few of the ADs I’ve known have ever been at the same place, doing the same thing, for more than 2-3 years. When I hit the industry average of 1.5 years at the last big agency I worked for, I already had seniority over 1/3 of the staff (and left shortly after, continuing the cycle). More and more agencies are turning into empty shells, consisting of just a CD, the sales and accounting staff, and an army of disposible freelancers. I guess the upside is that if you’re not planning on taking a risk, you might soon have no choice!
In a way this is better advice for the agencies themselves. A lot of the churn is due to getting complacent, and losing the big accounts when the same old marketing stops working. Agencies need to be willing to take risks, and disrupt their old ways of doing things. I like the idea of a small team being spun off. Agencies should all have a small “skunkworks” team doing something new, even if it risks blowing up their entire business model. Otherwise someone else will do it first.
Posted on November 12, 2005
Completely Stuck said:
At some point in my career I have heard about ever designer I know say, “is there such a thing as a dream job?” If there is such a thing, how can I get one?
I also hear other news that makes me think that there is no hope for the dream job.
Many big firms don’t hire senior designers anymore. They hire contract workers for senior designer and art director positions and just production artists for full time positions.
It seems that every third time I hear a well know designer speak, they say something like this. “We could have grown, but I decided to keep it small so I could design myself. Oh yeah, we laid off the other three senior designers as well.” Well that is great for them, but what about the droves of designers that would love a mentor to learn from? I fear that too many seasoned designers are too selfish and will take their incredible knowledge with them when they retire.
If you want to do great work, you have to work for yourself.
If you don’t live in the specific city you are looking for a job in, no one will hire you.
Many well-known and respected designers don’t actually want a designer that thinks for themselves. They want a talented visual craftsperson, but they don’t want a designer with a brain. “Just do what I say!”
Again, I don’t know that I believe all of those things, but I have heard them all. What do you hear? So where do the great jobs come from? The only top tier firm that seems to advertise job openings is Landor. How do you get a job at a major design studio? Please advise!
Posted on November 14, 2005