Friends falling out of the design field

[wienerdog]

Anyone else find it alarming how many co-workers, former co-workers or friends are dropping out of the design field? I know at least a couple really talented people who I used to work with that left the design field or aren't doing creative work anymore. Why do you think they drop out?

Financial reasons? Lack of ambition to find a better job in the field? Lack of patience to find that job?

I can't foresee myself ever having an uncreative job using design/illustration skills in some way. Probably because I wouldn't know how to do anything else, really. It reminds me of a teenager who gets very dramatic about something they love and says something to the affect of "I'd just DIE without it!"

[D-Frag]

shit man, more then 80% of my graduating class didn't pursue graphics after graduating. its really sad, but alot of people just expected this to be an easy career and when they realized how much work it was to even FIND a job, they gave up....so goes the story of most americans and there will to crumble easily at the faces of challenge.

[frankster]

Things change so much through the passage of time. I remember thinking after my first glastonbury in 95 "I'll always go to glastonbury every year for the rest of my life!!", well, I went 2 more times and it just doesn't appeal to me any more. I know teenagers are impetuous, but I'm always careful to look at the things I feel strongly about in the present and wonder if they will seem unimportant in a decade or so. Having kids has put a whole new spin on my career path. No longer can I persue the creative ideal with the result being a week of living on supernoodles. Probably not a bad thing. I'm rambling a bit aren't I. The kids didn't sleep well last night, so I'm a bit zombified. They are currently wrestling over the oversized teletubby toy, it's like wwf smackdown with babies. Maybe I should intervene, no, I'll finish my coffee first I think.

[Satchel]

I almost dropped out of it myself. My company was going through a re-organization and I had another job lined up if I didn't make it through the shuffle. It was an off-road dump truck driver. Paid better than what I am making now, probably a little boring but at least there is no stress - I coulda just put my iPod on and jammed out all day, driving in a little circle back and forth - but luckily I made it through and still have my design job. But I always got this one on the back burner incase anything happens!?!

[reuber1]

I've been thinking about going back to U of Iowa for an MA in Journalism.

[reuber1]

- I coulda just put my iPod on and jammed out all day, driving in a little circle back and forth - SIGN ME UP!!!

[(gra-ph!c-D'sig-nah)]

I think this has a lot to do with how people predicted it would work and how it turned out! I have a friend who is a music producer...he has never done much of anything in the 26 years of persuing it. He is not working as a bouncer at a night club, but only doing it so that he can stay connected to the music industry. He makes no money and barely eats..... My point is, some are in it because they love to design/produce....and some are or were in it because of the money. Some artist have to express themselves and some artist just do.

[Broacher]

>>Some artist have to express themselves and some artist just do.<<

And some just doodoo.

[frankster]

hee, hee, hee, you said doodoo, that's a rude word, hee, hee, hee.

[Virgo Nightingale]

I coulda just put my iPod on and jammed out all day, driving in a little circle back and forth

You ever see funky symbols and arrows spray painted on roads where contruction will soon start to mark where gas, electric and water lines are? My ex was once offered a job doing that. The guy who hooked him up said all he does all day is drive around smoking joints and spray painting a line once in a while. Knowing my ex, I'm surprised he didn't take the job. I guess that was too much work for him.

As far as people you graduate with not going into the field, that is extremely common. Most people don't actually go into their field of study. I have a degree in music. Now I do graphics. A friend of mine from high school went to school for pre-med. Now she does event planning for Bloomingdale's. Go figure.

[Satchel]

SIGN ME UP!!!


I know it doesn't sound too shabby to me! Since it's off-road you dont even need a special license to drive 'em... my bastard friend who never went to college is doing this making tons of cash, he said he gets bored as hell... I get stressed as hell so I figure the boredom would be a nice change of pace for a while!!!

[(gra-ph!c-D'sig-nah)]

... my bastard friend who never went to college is doing this making tons of cash

I have a bastard friend doing the same thing....except his sister is an actress/model and has been apart of a few TV shows, movies, and fredricks of hollywood. He is doing nothing with his life and is making tons of cash. His sisters boyfriend is some rich guy that gave him $5000 for gas! I know that figure looks unbelieveable but when he came to my house to boast about it...he had $5000 in cash right in front of me! Anyways....I just wanted to add on how some MF's are doing nothing and making tons of cash!

[budafist]

I feel more like people with no design background are opting IN. Sure a lot of people that graduated from my course are doing other things, but I'd say that is due to lack of entry level design jobs out there with ok pay.

You get to choose - take a pay cut doing design or find a job in sales. With student loans to think about, many are opting for jobs that pay well.

Speaking of insane amounts of cash, a family friend, 1 year out of law school has been offered a job in Germany. They'll fly her over there, give her $5000 to set her self up there and the salary is 90,000 Euros to start. She even managed to negotiate her start time to early next year so that she can travel the world before she starts work in Germany next year. When someone offers you 90,000 euros you don't negotiate! You say "when do I start?" or "where can I sign over my soul?". Granted she's a genius, but for her second job, that kinda money isn't bad at all. I think that's around $110,000US.

[PrintDriver]

>>Some artist have to express themselves and some artist just do.<<

And some just doodoo.

Dooby dooby doo.

[SurfPark]

I've been considering getting a MA in psychology since my design degree has rendered me no employment and many headaches during the interview process. I think you're right when you say that school loans and a stable income become huge factors when deciding to switch gears.

[capezio]

I've been considering getting a MA in psychology since my design degree has rendered me no employment and many headaches during the interview process. I think you're right when you say that school loans and a stable income become huge factors when deciding to switch gears.


I can empathise with many of the above scenarios. I graduated 18mths ago as a mature student. I have one thing going for me and that is I can stick out, (just about) to get the design job and not succumbe to going back into a field I left 8 years ago after redundancy only because I live alone and have no dependents living with me (kids left home) and no mortgage. Student loan doesn't need to be paid back until I earn £15k pa. So a mixture of freelance work and the odd temp job with an agency keep my head above water.

Design jobs are few and far between in this neck of the woods and the competition is fierce. Factored in is the fact that it is the place to come and live to escape London and home counties so experienced designers are selling up in London and armed with huge amounts of money taking a downstep in terms of a job thus forcing people such as me out cos employers always go for the added value that a perspective employee can bring to the job they offer. This has happened to me a number of times and discovered when being rejected and then asking for feedback on my application.

eg. I applied for a Project Assistants post to assist the Accounts Manager, (my previous experience covered this) liaising with customers, printers suppliers etc. in a leading agency here. They said experience desirable but training would be given. They had 4 interviewees all studio managers with web experience and from out of county.

[Ned]

As far as people you graduate with not going into the field, that is extremely common. Most people don't actually go into their field of study. I have a degree in music. Now I do graphics. A friend of mine from high school went to school for pre-med. Now she does event planning for Bloomingdale's. Go figure.

Same story with me, as you and D-Frag. I came from a very small graduating class, so that 80% industry drop-out rate included everybody EXCEPT me.

I don't know anybody who left the field after being actively in it for any length of time, but I do know many graduates who took the classes, never got a job in the field, and that was that.

[CamarotaDesign]

dang! stole the words right outta my mouth, ;)

Dooby dooby doo.

[greyghost]

Dooby dooby doo.

Scooby?

[Neuro]

Where are you?

[naydies]

Yes, its sad but maybe I'll finally find a cool job because of it. :D

[frankster]

Where are you?
We got some work to do now.

[Six]

This info is from the UK, so I don’t know how much application we can make to the US market, but I suspect considerable.

Six

http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article1820146.ece

[Broacher]

Sorry to bring this thread back to the original idea, but I'm puzzled: how can you FALL out of a hole?

[Virgo Nightingale]

If the hole is in the ceiling, it's pretty easy actually.... :p

[Rocketpig]

One of my good friends dropped out of the field and I was really disappointed.

It looks like he's considering getting back into it but only time will tell if he does or not.

It's a real shame because he was a hell of a good designer and (I hate to pigeonhole him, because it's not all he is) he was a black guy. He had his finger on a lot of up and moving hip hop trends that I did not follow.

There's a niche out there for him and I hope he finds it.