Graphic design- financial future worries.

[Tansie1]

DS,17, Y12 is doing an AS in Geography, a A2 (next summer) in Graphic Design and a 2 A level equivalent BTEC in Creative Design Technologies. He has begun talking university.

His GCSEs were A English language; A's in Maths, Double Science, geography, commercial art; B's in English Lit, Spanish and Business/economics, so not too shabby! The enrollment officer at his sixth form college (&I 😁) also made him explain why these choices as more or less every A level they do there was available to him. He's not very articulate, so he wasn't really convincing, but he is pretty good at his graphics, I readily concede; he doesn't particularly like STEM, he can't write particularly well or eloquently (the A/8 for Eng Lang came as a shock to everyone!)- so I 'get' his choices but.... Will it pay the mortgage?*

I know you have to great least 'ok' with your career, much better if you love it, but I am worried that he'll end up with a £50k debt and a minimum wage, zero hours job. Few graphic designers make good money.

Anyway, yesterday we had a no holds barred chat. I readily admit I don't know much about the machinations of graphics/ commercial art/ web or games design, but my perceptions are that you have to be exceptionally good at them, and to have a confident, out going personality in order to get work/ contracts. I fear for him!

Today he's at work and naturally a bit despondent, but we will go and see his careers advisor. I have told him I don't want him to veer off on my say so, it is his life but I want him to have a clearer idea about what, exactly he wants to do with these courses then degree and to maybe tweak what he's doing in Y13.

DS1 (older brother, 19) asserts that what DS needs to do alongside is to learn to code, for example.

What do you all think? What are his prospects likely to be? Who, other than the college careers advisor, should be talk to, bearing in mind sixth forms and unis are only really interested in bums on seats, not ongoing earning capacity!

Finally, this tablet isn't MN friendly so I can't go back to correct the sentence that makes no sense! I should say something like ' I know you have to at least like your career choice' Soz!

[Tansie1]

Bump!

[BubblesBuddy]

If he doesn’t earn £25,000 pa, he won’t pay a penny towards his education. It’s not a debt, it’s a graduate tax. If he remains on lowish pay, he won’t pay the tax in sufficient amounts to pay it off.

However, that isn’t really the problem, as thousands go to university and accept the tax situation. What I think you are really asking is that his choice of career isn’t good enough when compared to his GCSE results. This might be the case but I assume it’s what he’s interested in. What else could he have done and been successful in?

You are also describing the problem with deciding a career and qualifications at 16. He’s made his decision and he’ll hsve to see how it goes. He may also mature at university and become more of a go getter. His personality might have held him back in any career but he could try and be more outgoing. Or just be the best he can at his chosen career. There’s not much point worrying about it. Support him and hopefully he gets the results to get a good job. Not everyone is self employed in this field and having to get their own work.

[fuzzyfozzy]

My daughter graduated this year as a graphic designer. She works in Canary Wharf on £30k.
She worked really hard at standing out, entered all competitions, got work exp at the bbc, made sure she went to a uni that exhibited at the London shows.
It can be done.

[katienana]

I used to work for an environmental & engineering consultancy. There was an in house Graphic Design team. They produced maps, artists impressions, site plans, as well as our marketing materials. There are probably more opportunities than you imagine but not always the sexiest stuff! If he goes to uni and gives it 100% then he will find his niche.

[boymum9]

I did graphic design at what is considered one of the "top" university's in London, firstly I chose it because of its reputation which was mistake, it just didn't fit with me and I should have done more research into where I applied, but I was stubborn and only applied there and lucky (in hindsight maybe not) that I got a place!
As previously poster stated it can be done, but I would say what her daughter has experienced is rare and she's obviously worked very hard and a small degree of luck also.
Out of my whole year of graduates I don't know one who was making a decent amount of money, most struggled in London for a good couple of years on unpaid and v low paid "work experience", I personally found that I didn't enjoy it enough to work in London in a job that paid £12,000pa so I decided to not peruse graphic design, but I think if it's something he loves and really wants to do of course you can be successful at it! Even the tutors I had at uni were very open that they did that because graphic design doesn't pay enough.
His brother is right that he should also look into coding etc alongside!

[BubblesBuddy]

I do think the big difficulty is how to veer away from these narrow post 16 choices and widen it out so that he can be successful at a wider choice of careers. Are there elements in the BTec that might be more lucrative if he follows that avenue? How can he compete with others who do coding all the time? What course would help him do this? Is he really interested in this?

[Tansie1]

Thanks all. I am hoping he can get to talk to the owner of a design company he did 2 weeks' WE with a couple of years ago, about what he's looking for to give DS some sort of idea.

I think computer programs have become so good, as well, that where once a company employed a design studio, they now get Felix to muck about on PaintShopPro and see what he comes up with.

I agree that if he never earns more than £25k pa he'll never start repaying the debt, but at that salary, he'll never be able to afford a home or a family, either.

[PrimalLass]

There's loads of work in graphics/web now.

[PrimalLass]

I think computer programs have become so good, as well, that where once a company employed a design studio, they now get Felix to muck about on PaintShopPro and see what he comes up with.

No - Adobe skills are highly valued. To get more money, people start their own companies. I work in publishing/print and while 10 years ago there were fewer graphics jobs, now it's pretty booming.

[glasshalfsomething]

There’s lots of great graphic design jobs out there; but the focus is definitely on digital design; especially HTML.

I’ve known and worked with a PT of designers. Yes, the very successful are charismatic and big personalities; but there’s lots of jobbing designers making a decent wage (£30k+) in print and digital design.

If he ha a natural flair, he should go ahead. Can he also pick up a corresponding skill, like drawing or photography?

[Someaddedsugar]

I’m a senior graphic designer earning £35k pa (went to uni and work in Newcastle).

I love my job and have had some incredible opportunities along the way.

I would advise that your son tries to keep up with design trends (sites such as Behance, Designspiration and Creative Review are great for this), takes on any work experience possible as it’s very much about ‘who you know’, and also gets a copy of the Adobe Design suite (Creative Cloud) to practice with. There are some fab tutorials out there for him to follow.

I’d also suggest he gets the book ‘Know Your Onions’ by Drew de Soto.

[evilharpy]

I have a couple of graphic designer friends. Both have many years experience. One is freelance and works in print media (supposedly a dying industry). She makes a decent living - certainly not minimum wage. The other works in web design. He is stupidly talented and earns absolutely shitloads. Neither have ever been short of work.

[BrieAndChilli]

I work in Admin for a small graphic design and production company. We do things from designing websites, to brochures, training videos and eLearning apps, we also design adverts, exhibition booth panels, etc.
I would say coding is a very good skill to learn as lots of the stuff we now design is interactive.

[Someaddedsugar]

Also from experience, yes digital design is becoming a very big part of the job, but companies will always need printed media if that’s his specialism so don’t worry about that.

[DoctorStrange]

I wanted to do graphic/web design at that age but looked at career prospects and that was enough to put me off!

Instead I did a Computer Science degree, and am now doing a CS PhD specialising in visualisation (which means I can use some of the graphic design stuff and apply my new vis research to current GD projects). I'm also 12 months into setting up a freelance business that does branding - logo design, company 'setting', web design & creation, social media management, among other things! - focusing on small, local, businesses and I'm doing quite well.
I probably won't do it full time as I'd rather a 'steady' paycheque but it's enough to live on and I can easily turn down business if someone doesn't seem like they'll be easy to work with.

I'd strongly recommend he looks at alternative career avenues - I know 3 people who did graphic design degrees and none of them can get work in that field. Two are working in retail and the other is in a call centre without much room for moving up the career ladder. If he really wants to do graphic design he'd be better off doing a 'standard' degree in something that will get him a job easily and running his GD projects alongside the degree. When he graduates he can then approach graphic design companies but he'll have extra skills to fall back on if that doesn't work.

If he really, really, wants to do GD he needs to be learning to use all of the Adobe creative suite of tools, as well as marketing and branding techniques. He should have built up a strong portfolio of work, including some 'fake' company branding setups - this includes everything a company would need to set up design-wise. I'd also recommend he learns JavaScript and how to set up and maintain Wordpress websites. Learning how to create Wordpress themes from scratch would also look good on a CV.

He should look at graphic design job postings and see what skills they're asking for and use these as a starting point to build his knowledge.

[DoctorStrange]

Also it's 'programming' not 'coding'.

[Someaddedsugar]

Would another option be a graphic design apprenticeship? That way he earns while learning and has experience when he applies for his first job...

When I first started it was essential I had a degree, now I’ve noticed job adverts are more interested in experience so that might be worth considering.

[Lilmisskittykat]

My experience was very similar to boymum9.

I have a first class hon degree in graphic design, but struggled with it being a London centric job and the stupid wages people were willing to pay especially out of London.

I think it also doesn't help that it's a skill most can teach themselves (or think they can) so then weren't willing to pay for the work if they perceive they can get a mate to do it cheap.

I only know one person doing well - rest are struggling freelancers or like me doing something different. I used the fact I had a degree to get a career in a whole new better paying field. But if I had my time again I'd study something less with the fairies and more practical

[Tansie1]

Thank you everyone for the input (and any more very welcome) I will read the replies carefully this evening, with DS2.

[Ggirl27]

I am a graphic designer and have been for 22 years after I gained my design degree. I work for a design consultancy in London and have seen many changes in technology since I started. I earn a good wage - enough to pay my mortgage and live comfortably. Where design is starting to change is the widespread availability of technology that make your average Joe think they have design skill because they can use a photoshop on a computer. The skills you really need to have to be a designer are perseverance, drive and determination. I don't really see design as job but more of a vocation as it's something you need to be drawn to, to do. But you know what, it's very rare these days that the job you start with out of school is the job you end up doing when you retire. You just choose a path and walk down it - opportunities come up and you change direction or take a detour when you come up against an obstacle. If he wants to do it let him enjoy it, it may lead to things that he has no knowledge of now but become more clear in a few years time. I wish him luck - I love my job and wouldn't want to spend my working days doing anything else.

[Tansie1]

Again, many thanks. Haven't found DS in the right frame of mind to discuss this further right now.

[merryMuppet]

I did a graphic design degree and I’d say at least half are all doing amazingly well now. One is now a member of the Academy after heading up special effects teams on films such as Harry Potter. Another is an art director with the BBC working on Strictly. Another is a Creative Director with Amazon and another an art director with Disney. I ended up in charge of the design of a section of The Guardian. We did all graduate back in the nineties and things were different then although all of us worked as runners or unpaid work experience for a few months before landing our first jobs and they didn’t pay that well but it does pay ok. I would say though that you need drive, commitment and a very strong work ethic as well as ability. As others have said, get good Adobe skills using online courses, learn HTML abd CSS for digital design. I’d recommend learning Premier and After Effects and some film and animation too as it all helps. My friend now at Disney was very shy and quiet at college but was really talented and driven. It’s definitely one of those jobs that cannot be taught. You can learn the tools that you use and you can learn to refine your thought processes and you can learn to build stamina for working long hours but you do need a basic natural ability in the first place to do well. I wouldn’t change my job for anything though. I hope it all goes well for him.

[Semster]

I'm a graphic designer and web designer. I have a degree in Business Studies and am almost entirely self-taught.

I charge $50 an hour and get more work than I need.

I certainly wouldn't worry about your son not being able to get well-paid work.

[Semster]

If he really, really, wants to do GD he needs to be learning to use all of the Adobe creative suite of tools, as well as marketing and branding techniques. He should have built up a strong portfolio of work, including some 'fake' company branding setups - this includes everything a company would need to set up design-wise. I'd also recommend he learns JavaScript and how to set up and maintain Wordpress websites. Learning how to create Wordpress themes from scratch would also look good on a CV.

Agree with this - although I've tried repeatedly to learn JavaScript and failed, so I just get others to help me, or take other people's code and modify it.