As a graphic designer who's also struggling to find a job, I've seen quite a few people suggesting looking for other career pathways and save oneself from this unsteady creative job market... My question is, what kind of jobs would those be? Genuinely curious. If you're also someone who has a degree in design, what other job could someone in a similar position consider?
Thanks so much!

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If you're good at what you do, the answer may not be "something else," but "something more." The best designers I know have a strong T-shape, and have grown beyond graphics. Push the craft as far as you can, integrating other capabilities & perspectives.

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Yup exactly! I’ve worked as a freelance / contract creative in London for 7 years. From my experience, you exactly right, but I look at what the market is demanding. Currently I’m seeing a lot of jobs in Brand Design along with Motion or Motion Design as a skillset. December / January is usually quiet in the freelance market. Things will pick up usually from February. My advice to young creatives, talk to recruiters, get your book looking ace, get your Cv looking ace. Your CV and Folio must become your brand. If you don’t have one, learn how to make one.

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I have no real idea. I don't know what other industries my skillset would transfer into. I've been thinking about staying in design but pivoting into something I think is more in demand, like UI or UX.

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Yes, it absolutely is. Stick with it

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There are a few job functions that are graphic design adjacent. I know this because I did them all on the way to becoming an AD.
- content creator or strategist (create narratives based on what you’re passionate about or what you know best and create content across different formats that tells that same story. Newsletter / Blog with video content and articles. A website or social channel)
- events coordinator (requires a lot of creative skill to coordinate, set up, and break down all the elements across multiple touch points and great people and project management skills)
- UX or product beta tester (requires communication and an eye for detail to articulate what is missing and highlight what is most helpful for you as a user).
- photographer (portraits or events) it’s a competitive market but not impossible. Great way to network and show eye for visual composition.
- entrepreneur (build your own brand) you can sell on Etsy, street fairs, or using a website to start. Maybe you have artwork or characters you’d like to put on merchandise. Maybe you want to focus on a certain audience or community. Regardless of your goals, this can be done if you do your HW and start small.

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Learn the ish out of AI and learn to make boards, frames, learn deck design (Keynote and ppt) and you'll be very useful during pitches and bids. Design is the most sellable and more profitable function of creative but you need to be good and fast and have multiple skills.

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Im looking at project management roles

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I’m a graphic designer with 25 years of experience and I think your easiest pivot would be UX/UI design and product design. I was laid off from a creative director role 4 years ago and UX is where I landed. Was hired as graphic designer, but my role got shifted around and now I’m on a UX design team. I don’t love it, but it pays way more than graphic designer. I do feel like there are more jobs in UX and product design, although a bit over saturated with others looking for this same type of career pivot.

Another option is to get really good at motion design and video type work. I mean really good. I see a lot of jobs for that and it seems really fun. I have yet to master it.

Also digital marketing, content creator, content manager, website designer.

In the meantime, your best option is probably to start your own gig. Become a digital design agency and work for yourself. But this requires a ton of hustle - something I don’t have mich of anymore. But I made a lot of money doing this my whole career.

Always be working on your portfolio and creating new passion projects to show.

Consider taking short term contract gigs as well. These could lead to full time while gaining new experience and keeping your skills sharp.

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I once tried to find a job at costco...(gd degree)

My head seems to be all over the place lately while shooting for the stars hoping for another design job. I’m dabbling in Real Estate Wholesaling trying to get comfortable with my verbal skills, I’ve applied to numerous warehouse jobs and now even trying to make a few bucks as an Roadie and Uber eats driver. Smh.

If you're a SENIOR designer struggling like that, we're all doomed. Time to become a nurse or something that AI can't replace yet... Good luck, dear friend. We'll get through this and find a good job!

I'm thinking about taking up dog walking.

I'm considering working with computers. It's always been a fun hobby of mine to tinker with computers and gadgets. Just never considered it until now with this economy.

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