Welcome admonisher!

We ask all new members to please have a read through these important threads, including this announcement, so they will know a bit about how this place works.

Enjoy your stay!

I will, thanks for the welcoming. I read the announcement today before i post any answer to the replies

What makes you think Graphic Design isn't a 9-5 job?
You can't, or rather you shouldn't, even consider freelancing without 5-10 years of working experience, if your thoughts are to start your own business so you don't have to work 9-5 for someone else.

Most of the best freelance designers I know may not work 9-5 but they sure do put in more than 40 hours per week when they are busy. If you aren't passionate enough about design to do a little overtime when required, you won't make it. This is a service industry, just like flipping burgers. While you get a little more time to deliver the finished product, you still have to serve it hot (on time).

The successful freelancers I know all started out as juniors working for others. They didn't just hang out a shingle fresh out of school.

If you've been in school 5 years, have you done any internships? Do you have a job in the industry? Do you have any mentored experience at all? Freelance student side jobs don't count.

Put yourself in the shoes of a potential client or employer. If you have two potential designers, and one of them loves the job and is passionate about it, and the other has the attitude of "well, it's a job I guess", which one are you going to give your money to?

No just doing Illustration( i am studying illustration but learned a lot of design components(indesign, illustrator, photoshop) I do some good work but i am very slow and struggle with the heavy course load, it even led me to depression. But my way of thinking was. No matter what weather I love the program or not I must finish it because I have to get a college diploma(associate degree, technical degree cegep in montreal canada) In anything at least. Just having a high school diploma is not an off. I must have a diploma in something wathever the field. When I entered the program i was passioned but the deadlines and psychological problems( feeling lonely, wanting a girlfriend etc etc) was tought. SO no i did not do any intership cuz i sturggled just to even do the classes. Now after I am done i want to spend 3-5 years out of school for either and or finding a job or taking a break and live life fully for once in my life. I had to struggle hardcore from elementary to high school often been the kid who is the weakest but i was the best in arts. but now i am not the best anymore when in college.

I tried working part time flipping nburgers and serving coffee but i could not work and go to school. I almost got into and anxiety breakdown from trying more work than i could handle

So you say that somebody who is not in love with design or arts cant cut it. but somebody who hates flipping burgers can still cut it flipping burgers.

They say most people dont love what they are doing. So i was thinking that probably 10% of designers love there jobs and the 90% dont like it but are good at it.


I do like your point of view printdriver. I love realistic even if arch commentary and i also love optimistic outside the box commentary. I will post my work shortly for you guys to see

and once again i dont hate but. but I am not super passionate. but I used to be before college and in my first year. as soon as 2 year arrived i wanted to drop out. but i forced my self to stay so i could at least get a diploma(associate diploma/technical degree) for if ever later in life i want to go back to school or work as illustrator or designer.

I think the freelance life is for me but as to is it in illustration or graphic design i dont know. I do enjoy dancing tought but loving dancing and making it a job is different

May I ask what it is you think being a freelance designer affords you?

You sound a lot like me.

I am dyslexic. I had to take additional classes in middle school because of it. I've gotten into the habit of rereading everything like 20 times before I finalize it. A lesson that I learned very quickly.

I'm not going to lie. I'm not super passionate about graphic design, like some people here might be. Graphic design feels like a job to me. A job that I don't like thinking about on the weekend or after work. I turn down quite a bit of freelance work because of it. I like my job, and I like graphic design, but I never object to a break when it comes around, and I never do more than I have to.

It's never been a problem with clients in the past, but because I love being a salesman.

The thing I am passionate about is web design/programming.

cosmos
Put yourself in the shoes of a potential client or employer. If you have two potential designers, and one of them loves the job and is passionate about it, and the other has the attitude of "well, it's a job I guess", which one are you going to give your money to?
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Your are right, people would choose the one who loves it. But if i was the boss I would maybe take the one who is not passionate but have the skills anyway because I am like that too. Lots of job i hate I did it for he person or teache rno matter what. But it kills me inside.




pantoshi
May I ask what it is you think being a freelance designer affords you?
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Well what i need is limited to living in an RV/camper or small room, almost no possession. what cost me money is food(organic foods) and activities like dance and martial arts thats it And obviously my student loans. if i did not have a student loans i could live very cheaply. i could live on 20-30hours a week. i dont care too much for retirement because of my way of thinking of life but if i have the money for retiremetn cool ill use it for it. I dont need a house. I might not have any kids (thinking of vasectomy) dont want kid cuz at least ill have more to take care of my mother when she needs me.

SO Freelance can give me an of even if its like 20 hours aweek. I am thinking of strategies to need the less money as possible in my life





Obsidian86

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Id like to talk to you more, whats your email. I think i might be in your situation. but maybe design is not for me. and hopefully my 6 years of school is not wasted. and then i can move on. but i need to put my feet on the door before i change my mind. A question to you obsedian86

does knowing if you have add or dyslexia help^ do you think i should go and find out if i have it or it really doest matter. I know when i was young they wanted to put me in a special school or care and my mom said no and sense then i did not hear anything about that.





question in general

does wanting to pay my debts 15000 an off of a motivator to want to work a design or illustration job?

i guess reformulating the question would be do i love it an off to hone my skills to the max.

and if i have the skills but am not super passionnate about the job can i still succeede.

My understanding of this is. you need to love it because there is so much sacrifice (social life, physical and mental heallth, not an off money for the effort) that if you dont love it you wont handle it. is that why?

as flipping burgers or office jobs(data entry) is repetitive so there fore its a safe thing and it doest have crazy deadlines sotherefore even people who hates it can do it because the sacrifices are not as high.

if my hypotesis is okey therefore a job in the design or art world that is repetitve and doest not as much gratification for my ego could be for me if i am the kind of guy who can handle flipping burgers and data entry

Printdriver
What makes you think Graphic Design isn't a 9-5 job?
You can't, or rather you shouldn't, even consider freelancing without 5-10 years of working experience, if your thoughts are to start your own business so you don't have to work 9-5 for someone else.

Most of the best freelance designers I know may not work 9-5 but they sure do put in more than 40 hours per week when they are busy. If you aren't passionate enough about design to do a little overtime when required, you won't make it. This is a service industry, just like flipping burgers. While you get a little more time to deliver the finished product, you still have to serve it hot (on time).

The successful freelancers I know all started out as juniors working for others. They didn't just hang out a shingle fresh out of school.

If you've been in school 5 years, have you done any internships? Do you have a job in the industry? Do you have any mentored experience at all? Freelance student side jobs don't count.
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In Illustration there is a lot of us who become freelancers For animations/editorial/book publishing illustration/etc Illustration is a freelance career thats what i have been told and thats what i have seen.

I dont know the graphic design industry as much, i heard layout designers work in house but i tought hey maybe its like illustration and some do it freelance. I know graphic designers who do freelance posters for events. I dont know if illustrators do posters right away. but for the publishing world yes.

if what you say is true i ddid not know, i putted design in the same bag as illustration.

What!? If its all like that then please feel free to direct those clients to me. I would be more than happy engulf there projects.

It definitely helps to be passionate. Graphic Design is an industry where you are continuously learning. If you aren't passionate about it, you're going to have a tough time wanting to learn everything you can. Graphic design is not an art industry, it's a business industry. It's all about making money for your clients and your company.

As for work loads, you're deadlines in school are nothing compared to the deadlines you'll face in the real world. In school, I had a week to get each project done. At my current job, I'm lucky if I get a couple days. I often have to turn projects around in a couple hours. And the projects I work on now are a lot more complex than what I was doing in school. There are times where I'll work 60 hours a week. Just a couple weeks ago, I got a call from a client at 4pm and was told they wanted to see mockups by 7am the next morning.

I've also seen articles that graphic design is a good job for introverts who don't like dealing with people because all they do is sit in front of a computer all day. This couldn't be more wrong. I spend at least 50% of my time meeting with clients, giving presentations, calling vendors, etc.

Yes, the job gets really stressful at times, but I still really like my job so it's worth the occasional stress. I have to be willing to do whatever I have to to get my projects done on time, whether that means working 12 hours a day or working from home on weekends. I sometimes feel like a doctor who is on call 24/7.

I'm not trying to discourage you, just letting you know what to expect once you leave school and start working in the industry.

I think you're looking at it backwards. Skills can be taught. Passion can't.

I can hire anyone off the street and train them for a couple weeks and they can be proficient enough with Illustrator, Photoshop, or whatever to do a job. But, I'd have just that. Someone with just enough training to do their job, but nothing else.

It's just like the people working at fast food restaurants. Think any of them are passionate about french fries? Then think about world-class chefs. They do the same thing the people at fast food places do. They cook food. But they are passionate about it, which is why they rise to the top.

So, yes, you can make a career out of design just being trained and without being passionate. But, honestly, that can be said about any job.

In order to work 20-30 hours of freelance a week, one needs to work at acquiring the freelance work itself, followed by managing the business of the projects/clients/marketing/legalities/etc. This often amounts to an additional 20-30 hours a week managing the business, marketing and sales sides of freelance. In my experience, freelancers often work more, not less than the usual 40 hour week.

In the US, the tax structure is different for a small business (which is what a freelancer is) than for a person who is employed by a company, round 15-20% more. Not sure what the terms are in Canada. Additionally, you will need to pay for your own liability insurance, your own legal adviser, your own accountant... you get the drift. Have you considered these aspects into your calculation of how many hours you need to work to live the life you seek?

If you found your course load in college too much to handle, what skills have you developed to enable you to handle the workload and pressure of deadlines in the real world? School is easy in comparison. If you miss a deadline in school, you simply get a bad grade. In the real-world you'd lose your clients and/or be financially liable for the failing to uphold the terms of your contract.

Passion aside, I am wondering if you have done enough research or given enough thought to your proposal.