Horrific question

Renniks

Renniks

Senior Member
I'll admit this is a vague and horrific question to ask but what else is this place for ? ;)

So much information on here that I have to ask.

So anyway :)

Money, it controls what we can do, how we can do it, and how often so while considering what i plan to be doing after I finish this year at university (for those who havent read before, engineering degree) I was after some information regarding earning capabilities in the design industry.

The possible routes it would seem are straight to freelance, company for experience with an end goal of freelance, company with the goal of rising up in the company, or creating your own company.

The possible areas of design are absolutely huge (web, print etc.)...

I was intrigued on the money involved in each route, obviously its very vague and open but Im sure there are some trends?

I am more inclined towards web as this is my background and majority of my understanding, but as I have learnt web through self teaching, and have much more to learn, could begin learning the techniques, practises, methods of other design principles.

Not sure what I want out of this thread but I'm sure some information on money capabilities would be useful, and peoples opinions of routes and their own experiences.

:)

*realises life isn't all about money, and time spent has to be spent well, but there is no harm looking into greatest possible earnings*
 
When you say web design are you leaning more towards the front end design aspects or development? As there are big differences in the potential earnings and skillsets required for both, just wanted to check as I would guess there may be similarities between engineering and web development in terms of the mathematical mind to solve problems.
 
as a junior, Print Side, in a design agency you will get paid peanuts... working in a call centre 5 days a weeks pays a LOT more.

This should be the case for around 2-3 years until you start to become competent.

As for after that, i do not know... yet
 
I think the best person to answer this is probably Berry.. he's been doing this job for longer than all of us (I think :))
 
Basically the arse has fallen out of the IT web industries, companies are only willing to pay 16-18k for front end developers with multiple skill sets out side London, for back-end guys its a little better but not much.
Personally I wouldn't advise anyone to try and pursue a career in web dev.

Much better off learning a practical trade such as carpentry or plumbing, hell a semi competent mechanic can charge £70ph go figure.
 
yeah a mate of mine is now a fully trained sparky and he earns £120 per hour .. its crazy!
 
thanks for that post Dan :) (welcome to the forum by the way) i'm pretty sure thats very different now but an interesting back read :)
 
Cheers Chris, thanks for the welcome:) The articles just over 5 mths old I think so hopefully it's of some relevance.
 
This business is not as well paid as people imagine, never has been. But the trade off is hey! your doing something you love, which 80% of the workforce will never have. That aside - If you can get a job in the current climate, which is now twice as hard as it used to be, and that was hard enough! Then basically expect to get paid peanuts for a couple of years. If your doing it for the money then a Call Centre is a better earner. After you have 3/5 years good solid experience under your belt then providing you constantly develop ( and there are a bucketload of bods that blow it!) then the money is decent. Starting Salary for any junior/first timer @£12k. Web IT side a bit different as it's a technical knowledge thing rather than a creative/person thing. If your good what you earn is in your hands. If your average or end up paddling water when you get in then expect your salary to reflect your movement.
 
When I went into a Junior Design position with a small print design agency I started on £14k, that went upto £16k after 6 months, and that was my first job straight out of Uni. Whilst in Uni I had worked hard to secure commercial work outside of the Uni projects, along with web design/development experience I think that's what got me the job over a more experienced print designer. Since Feb last year I have been working as a freelancer, which I enjoy a great deal more, dealing with clients direct, no middle man, and being able to set my own hours and even choose projects to an extent, it's been great.

As Berry rightly said the majority of employees won't enjoy their jobs, it will be a means to an end, I don't think you can put a value on job satisfaction, I'm the only one from my friends that can honestly say I love my work :D
 
I'm not too bothered about payment straight away, was more looking in the long term.

All very interesting to hear, I am able to write (confidently) in php, html strict (and lower variances), xhtml strict (and lower variances), css, know about all the browser compliancey issues (I've come across at least) but other than knowing what is capable and (more importantly) what isnt, quite frankly I find it dull but not sure still if I can cut in with design.

Got a year to sort stuff though.
 
Renniks, there are very very few people who can do both design and development back to front, inside out, upside down, the ones that can earn lots of MEGA money as they are rare as rocking horse shite. therefore, you have a choice, become a jack of all trades and a master of none, or specialise in a specific area.

Become a jack of all trades and never truly master any discipline and command an average wage, or carve out a position for yourself as the only person worth contacting about on a specific subject and earn a decent income.
 
I definately want to specialise and go down one route only.
I have lots of room for improvement in all aspects of web (who doesnt?!) dev/design

was intrigued as to what would be the way forward.

As it currently stands I feel that creating my portfolio, attempting to get studio work, and if unable to getting a job elsewhere and doing part time freelance to begin. Hopefully somewhere in Cardiff someone will want me :D
 
Of course some one wants you, they perhaps just dont know it yet or know that you exist, personally i would pick say 2-3 topics that your passionate about, then go about designing and more importantly in your case developing these subjects in to fully fledge web project/system, show what you can do, prove what you know, and then easily get hired.
 
Greg said:
When I went into a Junior Design position with a small print design agency I started on £14k, that went upto £16k after 6 months, and that was my first job straight out of Uni.
Click to expand...


Crikey Greg - you landed well - i started as a junior on 12k straight out of uni - took me 3 years and 3 jobs to get up to 16k.

Ahhh happy, but skint days.

It's all been worth it.


Being a designer is more than driving impracticle cars, collecting random expensive things, buying obscure rare cds just for the design, wearing clobber your mates wouldn't be seen dead in, sniffing printed items etc etc.

Its about doing a job you love.

If you don't love it. Don't do it.
 
Indeed I want to do a job I love, I'm sure I would love working in it (cant know until tried) but *sob story* growing up with parents who didnt have much money, and situations where I had wished I had had more, I dont want to grow old like that :) So will try my best after uni to alter that.
 
rossnorthernunion said:
Crikey Greg - you landed well - i started as a junior on 12k straight out of uni - took me 3 years and 3 jobs to get up to 16k.
Click to expand...

Yeah I was really lucky, the only downside to that position was the hour commute each way, but definitely worth it all in the end, that studio experience is the only reason I've been able to freelance, especially with improving my technical print knowledge, the side that Uni didn't really cover.
 
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