I studied graphic design and have no work experience. What should I do if I can’t find a job?

About graphic design

What is a graphic designer? What exactly does a graphic designer do? Is there a future in graphic design? Where can we work after graduating from training school? This is a question that has always puzzled us and urgently needs to be known.

In terms of career direction, there are roughly several types of graphic designers: light box outdoor advertising business card designers, advertising designers for advertising companies, designers for decoration companies, digital designers for photo studios, and Internet marketing. Retouchers, Taobao artists, typewriters in printing plants and output centers, packaging designers, industrial appearance designers (ID), clothing designers, poster designers for real estate companies, album designers in general factories, game artists , magazine illustrator, UI designer, brand planning and promotion, design teacher in training center, etc.

Among them, I personally think that the most promising, most potential, and most helpful to personal technical growth are Taobao artists and typographers.

Below, I will introduce in detail the software that each graphic designer position will probably require, and what you need to learn. I would like to emphasize that you don’t need to understand the software to be a designer. There are still many things that need to be continuously learned at work.

In my personal opinion, light box outdoor advertising business card designers have the least future and potential, because generally this kind of company cannot even be called a company. One boss rents a single room and recruits inkjet printers and welders. Workers can raise the banner and occupy the top of the mountain. Generally, the work of this kind of company is simple. You only need to type a few words with CDR to make a light box. For business cards and the like, you can directly download the template and apply it. However, because the technical content is not high, there will not be many orders, so the salary is relatively low, and generally not More than 3000. It is recommended that students who have just learned software can go in and practice for a while, but it should not exceed 3 months.

Advertising designers in advertising companies, this job requires knowledge of a lot of software, at least ps, cdrai, pdf, cad, etc. There are large and small companies, and large professional advertising companies have high recruitment requirements. Generally, Requirements include a college degree or above majoring in art and work experience in a printing factory. It’s a lot of work and a lot of stress. Because the work you design will ultimately have to be paid for by the client. Even if you have a good idea, not everyone can understand it, so you may need to revise it over and over again, and there will be people pointing fingers next to you. This process is very painful. The working environment is not as perfect as you imagined, and overtime is commonplace. However, you can learn a lot from this position and it is very tempering. Salary depends on ability, ranging from as low as 1,800 to as high as more than 8,100. If you have the chance, it is recommended to study for 6 months. After you come out, you will be qualified for many jobs.

As a designer in a decoration company, this position may have more requirements and pressure than the previous position. It requires knowledge of pscdr ai cad 3dsmax v-ray and other software, and the ability to use CAD to make floor plans and elevations. Picture, can independently produce 3D rendering renderings. Salary is proportional to ability and workload. After working for a few years, if you can independently negotiate orders with customers, the salary will be very impressive. This is an extension of graphic design. If you feel that graphic design is not suitable for you, you can consider changing careers in this direction.

Photo studio digital designer is generally a position required by wedding photography centers. It does not require much software, and you can basically be competent if you are proficient in PS. (Those who think that you can do it just by knowing how to make beautiful pictures can play with it at the same time.) You need to know about color mixing, cutout and beautification, font design, etc. Most of the time it's just applying some templates. Large wedding centers may also need to know some post-production film and television synthesis software, such as VideoStudio, AE, etc. It is best to use a SLR camera and some photography equipment. The work is easy and the pay is ok.

The work done by online marketing retouchers and Taobao artists is basically the same, and they also require proficiency in PS. Some may require knowledge of web design software such as Dreamweaver Flash. Proficient in website backend management (this is basically very simple, just some work of uploading pictures). Proficient in using photographic equipment, able to cut out pictures, change backgrounds and beautify them, etc.

May be required to concurrently perform customer service, after-sales, network maintenance and other tasks. It is required to understand basic e-commerce concepts such as B2B, B2C, and C2C, and it is best to understand some basic maintenance work on the computer side. The workload is not heavy and jobs are relatively easy to find. There are many places to recruit in 58.com and Ganji.com. The salary is generally more than 3,500. And it has a great future, after all, e-commerce is the future trend.

Typesetting in printing plants and output centers, I think this job is the most suitable for beginners of graphic design, and it plays a huge role in the growth of beginners. Unfortunately, they generally only recruit experienced people. If you meet a company that recruits novices, don't hesitate to go. Don't look at the salary, just go. When you get out, you will find that it is easy to find a graphic design job. Everyone knows what a printing factory does. Many people may not have heard of the output center. If you pay attention, there may be many graphic and text output centers out there. (Note, this is not an ordinary small photo studio, nor a small printing agency.) This kind of position is the easiest to access the core knowledge of printing in the graphic design industry, including bleeding, layout, imposition, color separation, and rotation. , proofing, color correction, film, format conversion, design process and other important concepts are learned in school. The teacher talks about them, and you basically listen to the scriptures. You can only understand these things when you go to work. And these things are also the key to determining whether the work you design can be printed. No matter how beautiful the picture album is, if it cannot be printed, it will be a waste manuscript. Don't expect a high salary when you first join, starting around 2,500-3,500.

Packaging designers, mostly for electronic audio-visual gift products, design the packaging of various products. PS CDR are the two most basic ones, and some may require CAD drawings. The most commonly used command is precise cropping of the picture frame. After the design is completed, send it to the printing house.

Industrial Appearance Designer (ID), this position is also a very promising one. The reason why I didn’t mention it earlier is because this position has slightly higher requirements and is a bit special. You need to conceive the appearance of the product yourself. For structures, it may be designed to industrial design. The most commonly used one is PS CDR. It would be better if you know CAD PROEUG 3DSMAX rendering. This work usually takes place before the mold design in the factory. The work needs to be realistic. It is better to have a foundation in art or sketching. There are basically no size requirements. Judging from the watch design students I teach, those with several years of work experience can easily earn 5K-7K salary. Unfortunately, we generally only recruit people with work experience.

Fashion designer, this is not recommended for beginners of graphic design. Most of them learn software in training schools, and rarely have knowledge of clothing structure and plate making. Every line is like a mountain, although this is also a category. Branch of graphic design. Requires proficiency in PS, CDR, CAD, etc.

Poster designers for real estate companies. Real estate has always been hot, and the bosses are rich. They are all trying to trick the people anyway. It is also very common to hire someone to design posters and various promotional materials. Of course, some are outsourced to advertising companies. Once you have done this job, it is very easy to find a new industry. Because generally people who can design posters know how to match colors overall, highlight the theme, and create an atmosphere. Commonly used PS CDR, etc.

General album designers in factories, many beginners do not know this, such as a power supply factory or a motor factory, they simply think that this kind of factory does not need advertising design , actually it is not the case. After a company becomes bigger and stronger, external publicity and business transactions between companies will inevitably require a professional person to handle graphics and text. It is difficult for ordinary clerks to be qualified for this kind of work. Need to design albums, desk calendars, LOGO, slogans, logos on machines, etc. The software used is such as ps cdr ai cad pdf, etc., and you also need to know how to scan, copy, print, etc. It is relatively comprehensive. In most cases, you do not need to design new materials out of thin air. It is likely to be a copy of existing materials, and the work is relatively easy. The salary ranges from RMB 2,500 to RMB 7,000.

Game art is usually done by students from professional art schools. It involves a wide range of areas and requires high professionalism. It is not recommended for students who have graduated from training schools to engage in this type of work.

Magazine illustrators design illustrations for some magazines or novels, including cartoons and realistic ones, and also require art skills.

UI designer, UI design is a relatively trendy and new job, usually dealing with human-computer interaction, such as the design of mobile phone work interfaces, icons, etc. Programming code is generally not designed into it. The salary may be relatively high and the requirements may be high.

Brand planning and promotion, this is a semi-professional change in graphic design. Generally, after doing design for a few years, you have your own design ideas and ideas, and you can consider doing brand promotion. At this time, you don’t just use computers to design. Pictures and texts will involve some knowledge about business, film and television, Internet, etc. Experience requires proficiency and the salary is relatively high.

As a design teacher in a training center, this is also a path, and it is also the most direct way to consolidate the software you have learned. The salary is not as high as most people imagine, and because it is a service industry, the working hours may be long. No vacation. The job requirements are not very high, as long as you are proficient in software, have good psychological quality, and have a good service attitude. After all, training schools outside are not as professional as those in universities, and there is almost no theoretical knowledge. It is aimed at adult education. The theory is difficult to understand at first and difficult to apply in work, so teachers in general training schools do not need to teach too much theory. The salary is proportional to the number of software you know. The advantage is that as long as you are willing to work hard, you have time to learn more from other teachers. The disadvantage is that if you don't really do graphic design work, it is difficult to improve your professional knowledge, and all you know is the surface of the software. Salary ranges from RMB 2,000 to RMB 7,000.

In general, the graphic design industry is still very promising, because there are a lot of job opportunities, and the working environment is by no means comparable to that of ordinary workers who work overtime day and night. But, if you want to make a fortune, stay away from graphic design. Go out and turn left at the intersection, set up a sesame seed stall, that one may make you rich.

Also, if you want to learn graphic design well, in addition to having an excellent professional teacher, you must also work hard and learn more! Don’t be cheap when looking for a school. You get what you pay for. The cheaper the tuition, the less you will learn (because the low tuition will not allow you to hire professional designers to teach you). In addition, you have to endure hardship when you learn, and it is easy when you do it. It will be difficult at the beginning, but if you persist and persist a little longer, the road will get easier!

In the next article, I am considering writing about some specific work contents and processes of the graphic design positions I have entered.