either way, the last 2 months have been lackluster. i have been looking for my first post-degree job. therefore, i have been advising everyone i know who is still in college to stay in school for as long as humanly possible. creative types, i mean.
for shits & gigs last summer i was checking various websites for job postings, just to see what was out there in terms of entry-level positions in graphic design & related jobs. there were pages upon pages of jobs that, had i already received my degree and did not need to go to school full time, i could have been 110% qualified for and ready to step in to.
now, there are maybe 10-15% of those same jobs available (25% on a really week) for someone with my qualifications, aka new degree and less than two years of experience. and i know craigslist may not be the key choice for job hunting, it suits my example of the decrease. last july, there were maybe 20 pages of jobs in the art/media/design section, and less than 5 months later when i began my arduous search, there were no less than 3 pages. theres not much that we can do about it, though.
most of the jobs now in my field are mid- to senior-level positions. thus, they employers want at least 3 if not more like 5+ years of experience to qualify for a position. but my question, as well as many of my colleagues and even those not in the creative field, is how are we to gain such experience if we cant even find a place to get our feet in the door??
i say all this with one exception: web designers. unfortunately i did not have the clairvoyance in my first half of college to see where the direction of design was going. and i did not do my research either. because not only do employers want people who can design for print, but they want people who can design for the web. if you know Dreamweaver, HTML, XHTML, CSS, javascript, actionscript, PHP, and anything else in that realm, you are considerably safer than the strictly-print design folks like myself. also Flash is really big too. if you are still in school and have the opportunity, LEARN SOME OR ALL OF THOSE THINGS. even if you just get your feet wet and develop them later, it will put you ahead.
i know very basic HTML, XHTML, CSS, and Flash. I have one book that covers the first three, and another book i just bought that covers Flash only. I am basically going to have to teach myself as much more as i can so i can get a better footing in those areas.
luckily i have some interviews set up for this week, and a few possible freelance opportunities in the works. my goal is to get some work going within the next 2-3 weeks. not only for my own sanity, but because the bills are still continuing to knock on my door. and tap on my window at night.
with that, happy job hunting!!
