Break into a career in graphic or web design
You already completed your bachelor’s degree, maybe years ago. Maybe you majored in computer programming, or maybe you majored in anthropology. Once out of school, he started at the entry level and worked his way up. But now you want something different. You want to start a career in graphic design. How do you make a 180 degree career change?
Find a certificate
Many technical schools, community colleges, and even traditional four-year colleges offer certifications in web design or graphic arts. These programs, when combined with prior professional experience, such as a bachelor’s degree and several post-college years in the workforce, can be powerful tools with which to venture into graphic design.
The advantages of obtaining a certification on a degree are time and cost savings. First, aspiring graphic designers save themselves the hassle of having to re-meet college general education requirements. Some college classes, especially core English, math and science courses, may seem easy to retake, but the hours of work they require can be difficult for adults with full-time careers. Just as important, graphic and web design certifications are less expensive. The fewer credits you get to complete an educational program, the less money you’ll spend, overall. By focusing only on design skills, certificate programs allow adult students to forgo unrelated academic material.
To find the right program for your professional needs, consider the main factors: cost, time to completion of the certificate, and breadth of skills taught. If you want to get into web design, you will need to know how to work with text and images, and you will probably need to understand how to use photo and graphic editing programs; Web design programs; File Transfer Protocol (FTP) clients; and probably some web scripting languages as well. Graphic designers may also need to know most or all of these skills, and most likely need an understanding of typography and vector graphics creation as well.
Sell your design skills
Once you have learned the skills directly applicable to graphics fields, you must sell yourself and your talents to potential employers. You will likely have a collection of projects that you completed during your certification program that demonstrate some of your skills. Or maybe you’ve been lucky enough to take a portfolio preparation class as part of the certification process. In either case, carefully examine your portfolio before you start applying for jobs. Make sure every piece you decide to include is a piece of your best work and that it showcases your talents to the fullest. If you feel that your design portfolio is missing pieces that show certain skills, you can always add them after you have finished the design program.
Keep practicing. You may not get a graphic or web design job right after school. In that case, you have to work hard to make sure your skills stay sharp. Keep doing projects in your spare time and read design instruction books and industry periodicals. Or, consider accepting freelance or contract projects to continue developing your skills and portfolio.
A great way to get started freelance is to start out as a photo retouch. Many people don’t know how to fix or edit photos, or they don’t have the time. They rely on trained retouchers to help make their family, wedding, or professional portraits look great. Other ways to dabble in freelance design include logo and branding development, or creating web pages for start-ups. Startups tend to have tight budgets, and many startups can’t afford to spend money on a design professional with years of experience. If your portfolio is good and you can sell your skills, you can work your way up to a significant load of freelance clients.
If you have a hard time getting interviews at first, or getting them, but can’t get the job, don’t despair. To many people, some of whom end up being quite successful, a time to start a career that they really love. Perhaps your resume or cover letter is not attracting the attention of a potential interviewer. If you suspect this to be the case, seek a professional to critique these items. Or maybe you are not a safe interviewer. Find a friend or family member and practice your presentation. Finally, the positions you applied for may not be a good fit – you are overqualified, underqualified, or competing with too many applicants. Keep trying, and in the meantime, keep your graphic and web design skills sharp. Soon, you will land in the position of your dreams.