2005 Graphic/Web Professional Outlook
kidtone (114 points) | Fri, 2005-05-13 16:39This article is in the latest issue of Communication Arts. Awesome outlook for our profession.
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Designer or Software Engineer? The big question in my life at the moment.
This sure has made it harder for me :(
Excellent! Thanks for posting!
Wow, I hope things are this good or better when I enter the field after college! :-D
The problem with freelance rates is a lot of potential customers expect to spend $10 - $15 per hour. ;-)
I still feel overall salaries are a little low compared to other professions. Sure, we art engineering anything, but graphics cna make or break a business. I think we are being overlooked as a whole..
On an unrelated note. Do any of you have Tiger yet? I find it annoying that I can't zoom out in Photoshop anymore, as the keyboard shortcut brings up spotlight. Very annoying..
You can change or disable Spotlight's quick key combo in Preferences.
T.T.—
Yes, possibly annoying but easily fixable. All you need to do is go into your Keyboard control panel and change the Spotlight shortcuts to something else.
For instance, here are a few I've changed over the past couple days:
• I changed my Spotlight Search Window shortcut to Control + S.
• I changed my Spotlight MenuBar search field shortcut to Control + Spacebar.
• I used to have Show/Hide Dock changed to Command + Control + D, but Tiger has reserved this for the Dictionary lookup, which I'm sure I'll be using a lot. So I changed my Show/Hide Dock shorty to Control + X. I could have kept my old Show/Hide shortcut and changed the Dictionary Lookup shortcut.
Try these for starters...they may work comfortably for you as well. Try it out: Left little finger rests on the Control key, and you can easily reach "X", "S" and the Spacebar with your index finger.
The point I'm making here is that you have a lot of room to customise the Shortcuts so they don't conflict with other things you're used to. All you have to do is explore the Keyboard Preference Panel and do a little reading in the Help Menu in the Finder. Look in the Mac Help Index for "Shortcuts."
Yeah well, it would be nice if it was true. ;)
I remember in college (I was already married and my husband was working as a graphic designer already) a guy in my Speech class spoke up in class about how he was thinking of getting into Graphic Design because they make "a ton of money". After I got done laughing at him, I said matter-of-factly, "No they don't". And he kept telling me they do... and I told him, "Where do you get this idea? My husband is a Graphic Designer and that is the degree I am getting and I can tell you right now, it's not for the money".
He told me it was in some magazine.. that somewhere in California they are making $40k. I pointed out the fact that we're in freaking Indiana and in California $40k is probably what people at McDonald's are making because it costs such an incredible amount of money to live there.
Meanwhile, according to that list... an entry level designer can expect $32k starting out, here (everywhere I've interviewed and where I interned) it's more like $10/hr... which is around $21k. Which, you know... that wouldn't be so bad if there was a possibility of me getting a job this CENTURY!!!! :)
My first job out of school paid me $10/hour, I was at home in Massachusetts, working 10 miles south of Boston, where supposedly salaries are higher then the norm. Before I left I was up to 12 an hour. I was out in Ohio working for $16/hour and now I am actually in Cali making $22/hour and I dont see much of a difference because as Pokie pointed out, Cali is damn expensive!
Taylor, Out!
That I am a production artist and not actually a designer.
I always get a kick out of these "salary surveys" and "reports" because in 20 years of seeing them, I've yet to see one that is remotely accurate anywhere but the highest-end ad agency. Take about $10,000 off each one and you're in the neighborhood.
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BUT if that's the case. How do they do these surveys? They just ask the top 100 agencies and don't take into consideration any of the smaller ones?
Actually these prices are about right in our part of the world (Middle East). I'm afraid it's not the case in Hungary. Maybe 50% of it. :(
or is that really blury... I can't make out a single digit in that first post with all the wages.
That's just you. I can read it fine.
Try clicking this: http://www.shanehollenback.com/table.jpg
For the article:
http://creativebits.org/files/graphicdesign.jpg
yeah, in Hungary you are happy with 20$/hour
Does anyone know what's the difference between Web Developer and Web Programmer?
This may or may not be true but here's my theory on this survey;
It's put out by Communication Arts. Communication Arts is an expensive, somewhat high design class magazine. People who read CommArts are more refined designers. Therefore, the people responding to the survey probably make more than the average designer.
I have had 3 design jobs so far. First one, while in college, I made horrible money but I needed the work experience. They wouldnt know CommArts from TV Guide. I embarassingly say I made about 18k a year there. Second job was a little better but the people I worked with also wouldnt of known CommArts from TV Guide. Thisplace was full of ruffnecks and hillbillies, to put it nicely. I made a little more there than at my first design job.
Now, I just recently landed a really great web design job. The people I work with are worldy and classy and they already had a subscription to CommArts. But, I digress, even at this job I dont make nearly as much as the survey says for a web designer. About 20k less. I just expect with time and more work experience for my salary to rise greatly. But, for where I live (TN), 30k isnt bad and it's good money for me.
And yes, I'm pretty sure that the survey numbers are from CommArts readers as every now and then there are surveys inside the magazine that they want you to send in.
WOW!!! I sure as hell think that my wages in Lincoln, Nebraska are waaaaaay LOW. Gosh darn it. I must agree that a lot of people are under the impression that Graphic Designers get paid booku bucks but that isn't the case. I joined the field mostly for my love of design and creativity but partly in the hopes that I would make a decent living. I sure as heck have realized that I need to get out of the midwest if I ever want to reap the fruits of my hard work in school and out of school.
I have been in the field for about 2 and a half years now and have worked quite hard to get to where I am now but I honestly feel it hasn't started paying off just yet. YEA I know I am impatient but gosh darn it I wana make the big bucks. Alright, yea I am a lil greedy but who isn't :)
OK maybe I get ahead of myself a lil more than I should :) But If these are the wages in the middle east then darn it I think I am going to move to the middle east Ivan :) So Ivan are you literally saying that those salaries in USD match the salaries in Bahrain?
Yes. Generally they do. Of course much depends on luck and timing. Also, unfortunately it's important what passport you hold. Asians get paid much lower than Europeans, South Africans or Americans. This however is slowly changing and nationality is getting less important and skill and experience takes over as it should be.
Yea I have heard of discrimination in pay based on your passport. Thats unfortunate but thats good that it is changing.
Let's not forget females always make less than men as well.
Ive made 40-72 doing web design/production for myself, .com's, corporations, etc. It always varies BUT if you are getting a good job DONT sell yourself short.... demand what your worth, mention these salary "guides".
Tai
I think these numbers are pretty close but it takes some luck to get that 30k entry level position, once your there the bigger salary's come with experience and more training. I got paid anywhere from 10$ to 15$ an hour forever until i landed my current job.
Anyone have similar stats for the UK or any insight into how this compares there or in the rest of Europe?
I'm also a little confused about some of those titles. Many of them are pretty ambiguous.
I hadn't been in the freelance game in quite a while (too busy with my full-time job and "fun" projects), but when I saw what many of the better designers are charging per hour, I decided it was time to get back in it. I couldn't believe that many people are charging $50 an hour for design work and up to $90 an hour for backend development. Holy brown spotted cows!
At any rate, this is something to be happy about for those in the web design profession. We're finally being taken seriously for once.