Finding the right fit after graduating is difficult. Students tend to place a lot of stress finding an incredible innovative design firm to begin their future design careers. If they do happen to, more power to them. However, graduating comes with an entirely new set of issues and inner conflicts left to weigh and debate. Like many students, having spent the past four years of my early adult life solely committed to a great love, school, I felt as though I had missed out on numerous things my peers had enjoyed, an active social life, the freedom to go out on a weeknight (let alone a weekend!) to name a few. I was not eager to jump right back into committing the entirety of my time to one thing. On top of this, like many of you I am quite certain are now, by the time graduation and the student show rolled around, I was exhausted.

I did not have the time to send out the numerous self-promotional materials I had created in my portfolio class while I was in school, I figured I would wait until after graduation to really attempt to set up interviews with the many companies I had researched. Luckily for me, I happened to meet with a company that became interested in me during a CCS portfolio day. Shortly after classes had ended, and before graduation and the student show I received a phone call from the company I am currently working at today. They wanted to hire me. I obviously, took the position.

This firm was not on the list of Chicago based firms that I had previously been researching. In fact, I had not heard of this company until I saw the list of firms that would be present at portfolio day. As it turns out, the company I am currently employed at is very small, two owners and I am one of three employees. My bosses are designers, both also graduates of CCS from a few decades prior to my graduation. There are many, many perks to working at a small agency, however, I think most importantly is that I never once have to work with an account person.

Due to the fact that my bosses are both designers, they almost always try their hardest to set up realistic deadlines. They understand and value the design process because they too earned BFAs not degrees in accounting or business. They also respect their employees, they want their employees to have a life outside of work. This is not to say that I have never stayed at work later than 5pm, I have on occasion, however it happens so rarely and I know that my bosses are incredibly appreciative of it, that really I don’t mind.

What I stress to all of you when looking for a job after college is the importance of interviewing your employers as much as they are interviewing you. Ask about their process, take note of their personality, what they value in an employee. Numerous friends of mine have gone on to work for places that completely take them for granted. They work them like machines, late nights and little to no compensation. Some of them work for companies that are regarded as some of the best in the industry, others are hardly known. Some of them are doing work that they love and there is nothing they would rather do more, and for them, that’s great.

I am not saying that this will satisfy my love of design forever, and as difficult as it will be to leave employers that have become my mentors and friends I am rather certain with in a year or two the time to move on will come. I am not adverse to working more than 40 hours a week, I realize that the goals I would like to achieve in my life in regards to design will come at a higher price than that. I am however, incredibly grateful for the opportunity to learn more on the business end of the industry while simultaneously being able to breathe for the first time in four years.

quatzu52 (1:57:14 AM): f***ing exactly, post that

Rberesh says, “it isn’t a choice anymore, when I am tired I sleep.” That has been my philosophy this semester and, although it is healthy and logical and sane, it has only gotten me into a bigger hole. I wish the 41 hour marathon I anticipate pulling tomorrow were for the same pure and good reasons they used to be for my sophomore year. It won’t be though. I will slap some shit together, resulting in the bare minimum. How does that benefit anybody?

Maybe graphic design is one of those things that just cannot keep pace with the rest of the world and retain its quality. Just because the turnaround of information, culture, and technology is exponentially accelerated in our present time, it does not follow that quality can do the same. You cannot force-age good whiskey.

Speed equals crap, we should know this by now. Just ask Nickelback.

Graphic design does not control my life. I dig it, or at least I used to, but if I wanted to be a rock star, I would have become a Rock Star. When the job puts me through the ringer as much as school has, I will not put up with it and I will move on. I’ve lived poor for a long time, and its much better than living nervous.

The more frustrating part is the fact that we have to rush through the projects that are SUPPOSED to be our best; our exemplary collection, the work that represents US and who we stand for as designers. But we sometimes have to slap it together and turn it in to avoid a late grade. I’ll probably spend just as much time touching up old projects and making them “portfolio ready” as I did conceptualizing for them.

The only problem with this is when you know you’re going to stay up late, taking a break means you’re going to stay up even later, but I’ve found that it’s worth it for my mindset. I’ll sleep when I’m dead, so I’d rather not be miserable while I’m alive.