How would you define the difference between a Junior and Midweight designer?

Helpmeplz

New Member
Hi guys

Looking to potentially move jobs soon and also weigh up my promotion abilities in current company. They have given me a 5 page tick list of things I need to do (or anyone before promotion) before I can be considered mid weight.

I want to clarify what an employer sees as the differences between mid and junior. I dont want to merely trust that my current employers definition of mid weight matches the rest of the industry. My concern is they may be too exacting.

What skills, hard and soft, abilities etc?? Are extra skills in another industry like photography essential?

Please feel free to be as specific or detailed as poss!

Also what general skills can set a candidate apart no matter what level? Im writing my cv too. Thanks
 
I suppose it varies, but I always originally considered the junior phase to be the first 2-3 years. If you have that level of experience going in, you're a junior until you're promoted internally or move to a midweight position elsewhere.

Contrary to this is that fact that most job ads you see online for junior roles ask for a minimum of 2 years studio experience, but the vague nature of these ads is a bone of contention amongst many of the members of this forum (me included) - so take that with a pinch of salt.

Personally, I think that experience in terms of 'time served' is a flawed way of quantifying someone's actual aptitude for a role, but before the stage of thorough interview/portfolio run-throughs it can be a tough thing to gauge regardless.
 
Personally I see junior as someone that has managed to get a job 2 years after 'uni', because lets be honest thats what they all expect lol.

Everyone is going to have a different viewpoint on what a middleweight is but for me personally it's basically being able to be left alone to do a project without the need for supervision etc. In essence a full understanding of the entire process of the job(s) you're required to do without the 'boss' tag responsibilities.

As to extra skills, I'd say most of us on here would say having an understanding of other fields is useful, how far you go with them is basically down to you. For example, I specialise in 3D design, rendering and animation with my background training etc being in product design (yes I'm the outlier in the group :p). However if you go back far enough I'm classically trained in art and design, which is obviously needed for layouts when presenting to clients etc. Photography is a hobby of mine and I have done it for around 20 years so you could say I know how to take a decent photo (it actually works really well with my 3D work due to composition etc).
I also have an understanding of how to knock out a website but not how to necessarily write javascript and the likes.

Do I feel all those are necessary, funnily enough yes apart from web design, but I wouldn't say I know as much as someone who specialises in anything outside my main field (hell I doubt I know everything there either considering how big a field it is) and photography which I've done for a long time (although not so much now due to time constraints)
 
Everyone is going to have a different viewpoint on what a middleweight is but for me personally it's basically being able to be left alone to do a project without the need for supervision etc. In essence a full understanding of the entire process of the job(s) you're required to do without the 'boss' tag responsibilities.

This is generally how I think of it, a designer who's experienced enough to be able to handle a job given to them from start to finish. This likely also includes navigating and solving challenges or making deign decisions based on your experiences without necessarily needing to consult a senior member of the team.
 
This is generally how I think of it, a designer who's experienced enough to be able to handle a job given to them from start to finish. This likely also includes navigating and solving challenges or making deign decisions based on your experiences without necessarily needing to consult a senior member of the team.
Couldn't agree more.
 
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