I HATE my design job...

[Laurajanedesigns]

Hi there,

I have a dilemma, im currently 'employed' with a small print house as a junior graphic designer. I have been here 3 months and already want to leave. Basically my boss and his wife run the business. They specialise in large format printing, and occasional car graphics. My boss is 75 years old (!) I work in the basement with him and i have to reproduce exactly what he wants. He cant use the computer so he literally cuts and sticks things down and colours them in, like a bit of GCSE artwork! His designs are AWFUL they're like a 1950s sandwich board. I have tried to put my own creative flair into these designs but he just wont have it. He is one of these people that has to be right, like he is the alpha male if you get the picture. He is very old fashioned and he is a signwriter by trade and he just hasn't moved with the times and hasn't bothered to understand the software.

Anyway, the other bad thing about this job is that i dont have a contract, i get paid cash in hand and i only get £5 an hour! And the other week my boss was ill and he told me not to come in all week, so i missed out on a weeks wages, and i have rent and bills to pay so its really insecure for me! When i first started he said i could have a contract and that i'd get a pay rise, but now he says contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on, and he cant afford to give me a payrise! I obviously don't get taxed or pay national insurance, and im not entitled to holiday/holiday pay. It's just rediculous, im 28 years old and i find this job so demeaning, im a talented and intelligent young lady, and i get treated like im his daughter/a bit of mud!

There is another designer who works upstairs at the front of the shop, he is same age as me but has had much more experience. He doesn't have a contract but he works freelance for them and he has suggested i do the same, but i dont really want to because im not actually learning or gaining anything from this job!

When i graduated from my second degree i worked at costa coffee to bring in some money, i worked there for a year and i left to go to this job but im so unhappy here that i handed my CV back into costa and the manager has asked if im still looking for work and to go in and see him today! So this is my dilemma - do i stay at my (bad) design job because it will look good on my CV (and no one will no how bad it is - unless they ask me), or do I go back to work at costa where i have job security and a regular income? Im going to be doing freelance work in my own time whatever i decide to do, and thats what i did before while i was working at costa and i really enjoyed being freelance!

I would really appreciate some advice, thank you for taking the time to read this

Laurajanedesigns

[Boss Hog]

Go bask to Costa then look to find something more suitable or like you say do some freelance work in your spare time as you never know where that may lead, that job you are in now is so dodgy, £5 an hour cash in hand!!! Are you declaring the income and paying tax and N.I? Get out!!

[djb]

I think you know the answer. £5 an hour with no job security whatsoever when you have bills to pay...

[Minuteman Press]

Laura,

The payment terms you describe are illegal.

My view: work somewhere with a level of stability (certainly far more than you have now) - if it's the coffee shop for a while - so be it.

Build your portfolio (or strengthen, update it) - knock on every door, show the work you have done - seek design work on a consultancy basis - develop relationships.

Get started now.

You're in a bad scenario (as you know) and must not put off action any longer.

Feel free to PM.

Best wishes

Peter

[Minuteman Press]

Three answers in four minutes - just shows how much people do care on GDF. Impressive.

[djb]

It’s coffee time!

[Laurajanedesigns]

Thank you Peter for the sensible reply, yes it is nice when people care on GDF perhaps some people have been through a similar thing when first starting their career and realise exactly how hard it can be.

Thanks again

[pcbranding]

Agree. Get some regular money coming in and do design work around it.

Put a website together (Wordpress plus a nice theme) and get your work on here and then start knocking on doors.

Paul

[spottypenguin]

Sorry for a slow reply, first chance for a break today. I can only reiterate what everyone else here is saying - your "job" as such is based on illegal terms and £5 an hour? You get £6.89/hr stacking shelves in Iceland AND you get holidays etc. Besides, it doesn't sound like you're achieving much in terms of your development / experience if the dinosaur is calling all the "design" shots.

Go back to Costa and do your freelance thang, you don't have to even mention it on your CV when you're looking for design work, describe yourself as freelancing all this time to explain any gaps (it's not entirely untrue anyway).

Good luck

[Laurajanedesigns]

Some of my family and friends have suggested maybe doing part time at costa and part time here (if they'll let me), for the sake of my CV. What are your thoughts on this?

Many thanks

Laurajanedesigns