Too Many Design Graduates?

I have chosen to answer the ‘Too many design graduates?’ question for this part of my Blog I will not be able to answer this fully because I only have 750 words. I decided this question because this is something that worries me, wondering whether I will be able to get placements and where I will end up in a few years time, will I get a job a job in design or end up in totally somewhere different. It is something that is big at the moment as well as it was in previous years. The creative industry is the fastest growing sector but not fast enough for the amount of students the universities are churning out each year. “The UK now produces 15,500 design graduates a year, nearly half the entire European total” (Creative Review, January 2004). 

After researching into this question I found a hard-hitting article from Ian Cochrane saying that design students should seek different professions. This was worrying to me because I really enjoy the subject and would one day like a job in it.

“There are still too many people coming out of design courses, and there simply aren’t the jobs for them’. He recommends that students enter alternative occupations and gain experience outside the design sector. Look for jobs in industries that have vacancies – I mean, if you want to design restaurants, it is good to have worked in one or two,’ he says. Branding guru Michael Peters concurs, saying, ‘There is too big a supply of young designers and far too many people doing mediocre work.” (http://graphichug.com/2009/01/28/avoid-design/)

But is this the only option that design graduates have? Not necessarily. I know from research myself you do not have to go into a design agency to have made it. There are more opportunities that having a degree can get you. You could work freelance and then a company that you work for might want to take you on permanently. Its all about getting your foot in the door with some companies and show that your willing, always helpful, even if it means doing odd jobs and brewing up it all counts. I attended a talk at college with Anthony Smith from Music, a Manchester design agency who only started up 18 months ago and got an insight into how he coped with getting a job after studying. It was good to hear his story because he came out of education in 1989 when the country was also in a kind of recession. It took him a year to get a job and said that if you really want to get a job then stick at it and it will pay off even if it takes time.

Getting a job in today’s climate is hard but getting one in a sector that simply ‘doesn’t need you’ seems even harder. From a 3rd year graphic design students opinion I am put off from even trying to get a job (people always want experience but if nobody is willing to give you your first placement this will seem even harder) in the design sector to be honest but I know if I love the subject I have chosen to study and stick it out something will come along. I will just have to be patient and persistent and keep myself out there and in touch with the agencies I like and would like to work for. Craig from Music came in and gave a talk saying that you have to know what type of designer you are whether it be ideas based or more visual. This made me think about which one I would be because it helps when applying to agencies so you get in one that works like you. From this year I have decided that I'm stuck in the middle as I like everything to visually look great but I have also been pushing myself to be more ideas orientated.

It also worries me that I will not be good enough and that people will not want to take me on for a placement or if I get one I won’t be able to keep up or be good enough on a Mac :S  think I better get some practice in!

There are other good jobs that having a degree could help you get. They might not be the jobs you ideally want but it could pay the bills until a design job comes along. From working in Debenhams I know that having a degree aids you in getting onto the management-training program, this might not be design orientated but in the current climate it’s a good job to have and working your way up you can end up on a good wage. You could also go onto teach design instead of working in an agency. This job could be just as rewarding if not more. By teaching you can pass on your own experience and ways of working onto the next generation of designers.

Thursday 2 April 2009