speaking as an artist who makes a living with my art, even though it is commercial art and not fine art, I understand how the hiring world works and I get this guys viewpoint as a lot of people think that way.
As an artist it is truly frustrating that to get your foot in the door, you have to take jobs that even with a degree you can't support yourself while working. My first job as a graphic designer was at a newspaper that paid me 7.25 an hour and didn't even give me the full 40 hours a week that a full time job gets. When I went in for a raise I got a quarter that is how I ended up at 7.50 before I quit for a job that would pay me 13 and hour untrained just because I had a college degree.
The job that paid nothing though got my foot in the door and made me a working portfolio for my design work so that I could then land a job at a direct mailing house which paid me 9 an hour, still not enough to support myself well and still not 40hrs a week. I would apply for the jobs in my field that paid a living wage and get turned down as I didn't have three to five years of experience. It was so frustrating how do you get the experience if you can't even feed yourself while working the piddly jobs that give you the experience?
I finally came down south and landed a design job where I do make a living, but have no benefits. I finally have enough experience to land the decent jobs, but the economy is in such a state that they are no longer around. I would call the job I have decent, but I now know after working my way up how much I can make and I am only about half way up the ladder, even though the people I work with think I make a decent wage for an artist. I make about 18/hour and have 40hrs a week and then I pick up freelance from some of the guys here for about 30/hr. Sadly I know I am still cheap for designing magazines, but a lot of people look at that and think it is expensive. I know my employer charges at least twice that for getting graphics done through the company. So you tell me could I make more money, probably, but I take what I can get as we all need to eat.
no subject
As an artist it is truly frustrating that to get your foot in the door, you have to take jobs that even with a degree you can't support yourself while working. My first job as a graphic designer was at a newspaper that paid me 7.25 an hour and didn't even give me the full 40 hours a week that a full time job gets. When I went in for a raise I got a quarter that is how I ended up at 7.50 before I quit for a job that would pay me 13 and hour untrained just because I had a college degree.
The job that paid nothing though got my foot in the door and made me a working portfolio for my design work so that I could then land a job at a direct mailing house which paid me 9 an hour, still not enough to support myself well and still not 40hrs a week. I would apply for the jobs in my field that paid a living wage and get turned down as I didn't have three to five years of experience. It was so frustrating how do you get the experience if you can't even feed yourself while working the piddly jobs that give you the experience?
I finally came down south and landed a design job where I do make a living, but have no benefits. I finally have enough experience to land the decent jobs, but the economy is in such a state that they are no longer around. I would call the job I have decent, but I now know after working my way up how much I can make and I am only about half way up the ladder, even though the people I work with think I make a decent wage for an artist. I make about 18/hour and have 40hrs a week and then I pick up freelance from some of the guys here for about 30/hr. Sadly I know I am still cheap for designing magazines, but a lot of people look at that and think it is expensive. I know my employer charges at least twice that for getting graphics done through the company. So you tell me could I make more money, probably, but I take what I can get as we all need to eat.