Taking a job as a resume filler?
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- helpmeqbn
I have been offered a junior position (my first full time job) in house at a large company. I feel that this company could do some interesting things, and I'd like to design some things for them.
However, the designs they have now are very poor in my opinion, and I don't really care for the people on the department's work.
I don't want to say I'm a better designer, becuz I'm fresh out of school.
Should I take this job and hope I find another and hope I learn stuff, or not take it and keep my pride?
- d_rek0
You little bastard. You think the world owes you something? You think you don't have to slave your way to the top like the rest of us? Huh?!?
Work and make money. The reality of the creative industry is that it's not all fame and glory. Most creative companies i've come across tend to do about 65-75% "pay-the-bills" kind of work while the other quarter is usually fulfilling shit. Sometimes the ratio is better, sometimes worse. If you need the money take the job. If you think you can do better, keep looking. Or take the job AND keep looking. I know I know that's just CRAZY right!?
- < Pretty much this.Continuity
- OMG +1010101010101010101... million jillion.dMullins
- Melanie0
I would do my best to get a job in a design studio right out of school. You'll have more chance of exploring design ideas and get good input from designers who haven't already had the life sucked out of them. As a young designer Inhouse at a company, there's more chance of your ideas being crushed by people who know dick about design and you might not have enough experience / tenure to argue back.
Find a nice design studio. Don't let those nasty inhouse jobs crush your ideals until you're about 6 years into a design career.
Having said that, I'm now into 20 years as a designer and I enjoy inhouse work because I can diplomatically hold my own against the uneducated, and I have experience in other facets of marketing.
- good advice...go in-house after you've been creative on multiple clients firstmonospaced
- I'm moving in-house after 2.5 years at a small studio. In all honest i'm really happy to be making the jump.d_rek
- I did the same and I can't imagine going the other way around at the beginning of my careermonospaced
- Upside of inhouse is that it pays well but I find the tradeoff is a large portion of your creativity.Melanie
- You tend to get home earlier from inhouse roles allowing time for you to make even more money from creatively rewarding jobsAmicus
- k_temp0
My thought is, even with the shittiest job you can still learn something from it. Even if the only work you get is to silhouette images but at least you'll come out as the best motherf*** at silhouetting. And the next job interview you are allow to say [with confidence] that you can silhouette anything in 5 minutes.
You are fresh out of school, learn and get experience from any shit because you can tolerate it more and learn to deal with it earlier. If you think their design is poor, then step up and bring a fresh style into their work.
Also, some experience IS better than no experience.
- akrok0
you can always flip burgers! woo hoo. lol.
- cannonball19780
You're fresh out of school and turning your fucking nose up at a junior position with the market as it is now? Whatsamatterr, this not a glamorous enough foray into your magnificent design career? If you have any skill then go an make the place look good.
- <Knuckleberry
- FUCK YES. THIS. LAST LINE. END OF THREAD.dMullins
- +1bananana
- Design isn't just a job. At least it shouldn't be when you first start out. The kid deserves a chance to really work with designers ...Melanie
- ...and creatives before schlepping powerpoint presentations and cheap ass tradeshow booths.Melanie
- "deserve" has nothing to do with itcannonball1978
- dMullins0
"If you have any skill then go an make the place look good."
Do you have any idea how fucking busy your non RGA/BigSpaceship/etcetcfuckinget... agencies SHOULD be right now? They probably don't even have time to have a website at the moment.
THAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH TODAY'S SCHOOLS. All concepts, creative, etc., and ZERO business skills. hahahaha, poor souls!!!
- vaxorcist0
well.. I did like this...
- hope he was hired.bananana
- He spelled taupe wrong. Not hired.duckseason
- bananana0
take the job. make money, improve what is possible to and learn what you can, the market is shit right now. do freelance or personal creative projects on the side to keep yourself fresh. keep looking for your dream job; just because you say yes to this now doesn't mean you are stuck there forever.
- bulletfactory0
Take the job and kick ass if you think you can.
I promoted a designer in my department who has been around a shorter period of time than most of the other designers because they continually raise the bar.
- dnoobie0
learn the system first, see why things are the way they are, and then start recommending changes; but only after thorough contemplation.
- vaxorcist0
You might take the gig, but keep some freelance work on the side.
The unimpressive work may be that way because they have to keep certain business requirements and/or egos satisfied....
I learned at some of my early gigs that "actual design" is like 30% of the gig, the rest is gently and persuasively convincing people to actually let you do it.and/or finding out how to make good design within really, really tight and often odd requirements.
- ThisIsMe0
I had a similar attitude when I was done school. To good to work anything but the hottest studios. A wife, 2 kids, and 2.5 years with in-house, my attitude has changed. I have the respect of the company I work for, I am payed above average. I work 9-5. No more no less. Flexible work hours, paid vacations, great benefits, and they pay for any additional schooling I might want to take.
Don't get me wrong. There is a lot of soul crushing, but there was that when I worked in studios too.
I dabble in freelance when I want to design using something other then Futura.
- ben_0
Dear Helpme,
I think you'd be happier with agency-side right out of school. The pay isn't always as good as client-side (but it can be), and the hours can definitely be gruelling, but it's the place where you'll make your mark if you're going to make it at all. Working in house can be equally rewarding, but it's generally the play-it-safe route. You can always switch back and forth, no reason to think you'll be tied to one or the other for the rest of your life unless you want to be. That being said, straight out of school - be prepared to have limited input and responsibility for a good while no matter where you end up. You should be prepared to work your ass off on even the most gag-inducing projects, as they're mostly the ones that pay your wage.
- PeterPancake0
Ira says:
- monospaced0
^ wow
- vaxorcist0
the Ira Glass quote is very, very true....
Working on the Client Side is a great into into client psychology and decision making process, so when you get a great gig at an agency (probably due to freelance work) you can know "how the enemy thinks"
....and your agency work may be less likely to be shot down by clients....
... but remember, you probably will get an agency gig through amazing freelance work + client side experience, not just client side experiencec....
- shellie0
[sorry this is long]
You've got a little doubletalk going because you mention pride as an issue in reference to taking the job or not. To me, that gives off the aura that you do indeed think you're a better designer, even though you're right out of school. I haven't looked at your work, but you may very well be the next big designer dude. I've seen and interviewed countless new additions to the workforce, but the thing that turns me off the most is when I get the feeling they think they can't learn anything for whatever company I'm staffing for. There's a couple people I can remember that I staffed and regretted doing so, just because their snotty attitude made it impossible to get work done in a variety of ways. It's such a bullshit point of view from someone who has little experience outside of the classroom (in my opinion). But, if you don't need to work and you can afford to let your pride pick your next job, go for it. Not everyone has that luxury so live it up because that won't last forever. Maybe you'll get lucky before your support runs out and you'll never have to take that sub par job situation.
If you're right out of school and you need to work, take the job. Don't assume you can't learn anything from taking it. Leave the job if you find something better later. It's all really great experience. Everyone either gets laid off, fired, or decides to leave their first job for whatever reason, and how you deal with those situations is a great education.
But here's a personal experience that might inspire something:
I remember right around I got my first big gig (in house designer at Sony Music) I was posting here. When I go back to my first few threads, I can find it. I got such an interesting introduction to politics as a component in growth in any professional art field (including gallery and fine artists) in this huge corporate structure. It gave me a much thicker skin and probably more experience to fight my way through with a little more tact when I jumped into boutique side of creative and production studios. School never thought me any of that. And, I was able to walk away with a portfolio full of great work that set the tone when traversed into new territory. But most importantly, that experience made me realize that dollars made the decisions, and how to positively point those dollars in my direction (and I'm not just talking salary here). Actualizing your worth into a real, tangible value can give you any kind of opinion that can buy you. The only way to show value is proof. Today my career has developed into something very, very different from that job at Sony but it never would have been like this without it. Career alchemy is a lot harder than you'd think.I hope some of that made sense.
