Laurajanedesigns
Member
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
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
