- Hey everybody, this is Roberto Blake
of robertoblake.com helping you
create something awesome today.
So today we're gonna have an interesting conversation.
Are design jobs going away?
This is really scary for a lot of people.
You've got outsourcing, you've got
crowdsourcing, you've got websites like Fiverr.
What is the real incentive for
anybody to hire a designer anymore?
That's what a lot of you are telling me.
A lot of you have this concern,
and the thing is, you're right to be concerned.
It's been commoditized, if you will.
Design has been commoditized, you have
all of these ways to get around
hiring a designer to do actual design work,
and it's affordable for some people.
Small businesses are getting crushed out there
and they're looking for ways to cut costs.
Everyone is shrinking their art departments
and their staffing, and it seems like
the only design jobs are with established companies
in the Fortune 500, and those jobs are hard to get.
The market's more saturated than there's ever been.
If you're a new designer trying to
get a job in the marketplace, there are people
who have five and ten years of experience
that are finding themselves back into the
job market and you're competing with them,
you're not just competing with
other people that have your same level
of experience or are former students.
So I get it, there's a lot of angst out there
around this, and yet it's never been
a better time to be a designer.
Yeah, traditional design jobs are going away,
but you know what, traditional employment
is going away, factory workers are
out of business now, like, I mean this is a new world.
We're not always gonna be excited
or happy about that, but instead of seeing
a problem, as creatives, we should always
look for things as an opportunity.
In the past, it's been that you get a
nine to five design job, and then you work
at that, you build up your reputation
and your skills, and then at some point,
maybe you're able to go off and
freelance, and do stuff on your own.
That's usually been the path that a lot of people take.
Now, I've been telling people to kind of
go the opposite route of that.
It's actually probably easier for you
to entain a job and an income if you start
at a freelance level, because, here's the thing,
the few people that are left that are hiring
don't want to hire someone who has no experience.
They don't want to try you out.
They don't want to take a chance on you,
and the only way for you to get experience
is to do actual work, so doing freelance work
actually matters a lot if you want to
try and get an established nine to five
position later, because you'll have real work
in your portfolio, not just school stuff.
You'll have real client recommendations,
people who paid real money, and can tell someone
who's gonna write a check, what the deal with you
actually is, and what the experience
of working with you is like.
So, are design jobs going away?
Yes, they really are, but so are
almost all of the other professions.
There is a shrink in the marketplace
in this weird way, and technology has
a lot to do with it, and a lot of
other factors, like the global economy, have to do with it.
This is a bigger conversation than
we usually have on the channel.
However, that doesn't mean there's not
an opportunity for you to still
make a living doing what you love,
and doing the thing that is suited to you.
You absolutely can, it just may not come
in the form that you're expecting,
or that you've been conditioned
to expect or to want for yourself.
You might have to actually, um, you know,
have some skin in the game first,
be a freelancer, and work your way
into an in-house position by delivering
for one of these clients, and then maybe
they have an opportunity to hire you full time.
Or part time, you might have to do an internship.
You might even have to do bloody spec work.
The point is to put yourself in a
position to have an opportunity.
And I know that a lot of people are gonna
whine and cry in the comment section
about spec work being the devil, and everything like that,
and they really need to get over it.
If you're playing the short game
and you need money right now, of course
spec work doesn't pay your bills,
of course it doesn't put food on your table.
If you're in a real desperate situation
where that's exactly what you're worried about
in this moment, then fine, don't do any spec work.
But if you need an opportunity and
you're not gonna be out on the
streets next week if you do some work
for free, then do some work for free.
Don't do it at the expense of your family.
Do it at the expense of not playing
Call of Duty or watching Game of Thrones this week.
That's what I would say about it.
I think that the reality of the situation is
that you need to position yourself
to get the work that you want,
and that means sometimes doing
unconventional things, whether it's
leveraging social media, which I did
an entire 45 minute stage talk on
that I'm giving you guys up here
on the channel for free, by the way.
Or maybe it means freelancing before
you get a nine to five job, or again,
maybe it means doing some work
for free somewhere, maybe it means
doing an internship, maybe it means
using your existing network of contacts
and doubling down and asking for work.
You have to take responsibility for your career
and you have to take responsibility
for your own success as a creative professional
and as a human being in life, I can't stress that enough.
So, the jobs are out there if you want them
and if you're willing to do what it takes to get them.
That's what it all boils down to.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this conversation.
If you have questions or you want to
tell me about what you're going through
in the job market as a designer or
creative professional, let me know in the comment section.
Are you someone who is struggling
with getting a job right now?
Have you found that freelancing is feast or famine?
Is it helped you to be able to get a job
in the past, or is it how you got your current job today?
Let me know in the comments, I want to hear your story.
Anyway, like this video if you like it.
Don't forget to subscribe.
Check out the other awesome content on the channel.
Remember, graphic design videos are usually on Monday.
As always you guys, thanks so much for watching,
and don't forget, create something awesome today.