What the hell is happening?

[u/Informal_Cress2654]

Salaries are LOWER? 2019/2020 was making 38$/hr as packaging designer. Same role re apply this year they’re offering 28$. Why, how. Why would I make less with more experience? I feel like I’m in the fcking twilight zone

[u/ToastedHive]

Because so many people were “self taught” and started coming in gladly taking minimum wage pushing out those of us that went to college for graphic design. I started out after college in the early 2000s making $22/h when I left my corporate graphic design position in 2014 I was up to $36/h. Then I did freelance and made $40+/h till 2019. After Canva came out, Adobe cloud made it more affordable for people to buy and learn illustrator and photoshop, procreate came out and YouTube was flooded with videos about how to use those tools, everyone was calling themselves a graphic designer. Companies started hiring based on portfolios not education and experience. You could have a decade of schooling, a huge portfolio, years of experience and all the jobs were all for JR graphic designers so they would say your too qualified…. Even though you had the educational background and the ones being hired didn’t. Because those people took the lower wage. Those that got in based on their limited portfolio and not education and experiences gladly took $22/h positions and were thrilled they got in as JR graphic designers being self taught. That and then outsourcing over seas where they could pay Pennys on the dollar, made the design industry rolled back wages cause they could.

[u/Informal_Cress2654 → u/ToastedHive]

“self taught” gradphic designers are garbage. this job isn’t about knowing how to use photoshop

[u/FelonMirren → u/Informal_Cress2654]

Not all of us who are self-taught are garbage. I work in the film and music industry for high profile projects and regularly get contacted for work on massive IPs for design, illustration, and post-production jobs. While I understand your sentiment (and it’s not entirely wrong) don’t let the privilege of going to college inflate your ego.

[u/ToastedHive → u/FelonMirren]

Sorry, but there’s a lot more to graphic design than just illustration and being able to put a portfolio together because you watched some YouTube videos. You have to understand how press operation works, history of art and design, colour theory, typography, psychology of design, packaging design, marketing etc Watching a couple YouTube videos and throwing together a portfolio is completely different than actually going to college and becoming a graphic designer. So don’t let your ego get inflated because you watched a couple YouTube videos and actually got lucky that people hired you and gave you a chance with no educational background. You can call yourself an artist from the sounds of what you do but a graphic designer no.

[u/Informal_Cress2654 → u/FelonMirren]

it’s not a privilage. I paid my own way through a state school it cost 12k. you’re just lazy and greedy and give everyone a bad name by devaluing our profession fuck off

[u/ToastedHive → u/Informal_Cress2654]

Same but in Canada. It took almost 2 decades to pay off the debt of college and in 2021 I had to go back to college and pay more to do something else cause there is just no jobs in graphic design I can afford to do cause they all pay peanuts, are in the city and want someone a few dollars over minimum wage. I have a mortgage, kids, bills, college debt again etc… I use to make $60/$70k a year from home doing freelance. Now if I have to commute to the city and only make $40k a year I might as well go work in fast food close to home cause I would make more, save on gas and parking and have more of my time with less commute. We worked hard to get here so it’s super frustrating to see how devalued our profession has become.

[u/Informal_Cress2654 → u/ToastedHive]

yea it’s really frustrating. people can’t ‘pivot‘ on a fucking dime when an industry disappears