I am now in my final year of studying graphic design and as my course comes to an end it is time to take a look to the future and decide where my chosen career will take me.
I must admit the prospect of working in a professional design environment, starting work at the beginning including working long hours, interacting with clients and colleagues and having to manage as the new recruit will be a huge culture shock, especially after spending the last 3 years of my life in a classroom and enjoying the luxury of tutors on hand whenever I needed their input and help.
However, it is also very exciting and challenging, but I am concerned about the future especially in the current recession; the economic climate makes getting a job that much harder and equally the competition is fiercer.
Since starting my degree I have always been made aware of how difficult it will be to secure a full time position and not to underestimate how many students there are versus jobs. It’s quite simple really….…there are not enough jobs for the qualifying graduate.
I have attended many lecturers at college by guest speakers from the design industry; they have all spoke of their own experiences and offered advice on the best approach to secure a position in these challenging and difficult times. One guest speaker; David Lovelock of Studio Special stated “I was in the right place at the right time, I got lucky” however this lucky scenario is not the same for everyone; Alan Cocks from “Dust” spent 2 years working as a hotel auditor before he finally made it into the industry.
So what does this mean for us students who will be graduating this summer? What are our options? Do we continue to work hard and hope to get “lucky” or take a career change and wait for the market to pick up and just accept the fact that whilst in this recession our hopes, dreams and aspirations of working in the design industry will have to be put on hold?
A common statement made by executives in the design world is “There are too many graphic design students and each year the pool is getting bigger and more competitive” (www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/interiors/annie-deakin/too-many-design-students-not-enough-jobs-1547416.html). In 2007 it was reported there was a total of 456,000 students receiving their honours (Mike Carter lecture) all of them expecting to land a job or placement of their dreams, unfortunately the reality is very different from the dream.
Another concern from the executives of the design industry is the perception that as the number of students graduating increases the quality in terms of work standard is poor and the quality of student is decreasing. However, whilst people are quick to criticise there is little advice and opinion on what constitutes a good graduate. I recently emailed David Lovelock and asked him “what would set a student aside from everyone else and what skills would he look for?” David, replied “the right approach, work ethic, intelligence, enthusiasm, passion, literacy and creativity are all qualities I would look for in a student” Mick Greer a copywriter for The Chase and Love also spoke about executives concern, also known as 'the finished article' by saying that designers don't all look for a great portfolio and a wide variety of skills they look for intelligence and creativity over anything else and this perception of students having to be a finished article is anything but a general myth.
It will always be difficult for employees and graduates to strike the correct balance and it is unrealistic for an employer to expect we will have all the skill sets, lets be honest we have been design students for the past 3 years with very little exposure to the working of the outside world but our enthusiasm will prevail as we are fresh young designers who are willing to learn with no pre conceived ideas of what the normal is, this creative naivety is what drives design and without this passion design agencies run the risk of becoming stagnant.
I also question if moving to London is a better opportunity for design students?
In March, our pathway visited London and on completing my research it became evident just how many design agencies there are in the South which gave a greater range of companies to show my portfolio too. My initial conclusion was there certainly appeared to be more opportunity in London.
Alan Offord a recent graduate posted a blog on creative pool, a blog resource offering advice from and for designers. Alan answered my question by stating “With the collective belt- tightening as the global recession continues to bite and the subsequent massive increase in the number of applicants for every job, the dream of London slipped through my fingers” Therefore the competition is just as fierce in London and moving there in hope of a job would probably not be beneficial for us.
The conclusion is; there are not enough jobs for all the qualifying graduates; but with determination and passion you can succeed.
I’m not certain where the future will take me right now but all I can do is hope for the best.
Information taken from Mike Carter's lecture
Mick Greer's lecture
Emails from David Lovelock
www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2008/may/are-graduates-motivated-by-success-passion-or-money
www.eyemagazine.com/opinion.php?id=151&old=406
www.creativepool.co.uk/content.php?url=is-london-the-best-place-for-design-graduates
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