how many real pros here?

[Mr. X]

I was just curious... How many Kirupas users make their living 100% from graphic/web design?
And, among those who do, what kind of jobs you come across most often?
I'm not asking how much you make or something like that. I'm honestly just trying to get an idea of what's out there, to see if I'm heading in the right direction...
In case you're wondering why I post this here, I was originally also gonna ask the same people to criticize my site, then I changed my mind but somehow still felt that those questions belong here... Hope it's ok...

[eyeinfinitude]

Hey Mr. X, I'm not a pro or anything, but I do work in the printing field and I do freelance web development on the side. Your question is pretty broad so I'll try my best to answer your question.

As of right now, the printing company I'm with is doing fairly good. We're not a large company so we service small to moderate size businesses. Most of the jobs that comes in are for stuff like stationaries (business cards, letterheads, envelopes...etc) I also do brochure and catalog designs as well so it's basically small jobs here and there, but we survive by the amount of jobs that adds up.

As for the web development, last month was a slow month, I didn't have any clients at all, but this month it's picking up again. I haven't had any contracts for full sites, but I've recieved a few for site updates so it's not too bad.

If you're planning on going into Graphic Design or Web Design then I suggest that you get your portfolio together and start out small. Take any job that is related to your field even if it doesn't pay well at first. Just work and gain experience and then move on to a better job or work freelance if you choose.

I'm not sure if that is what you wanted to know so if you want to know something more specific then please ask. =)

[subquark]

make a 100% of living or use a 100% of living to do this?

Actually, I am a gelogist by day, college professor by night and flash wannabe by free nights and weekends. I'm also 40 and wanting to really change my career. As far as getting paid, I get maybe an average of one gig a month doing a bit of cleaning up on other people's flash work (that's scary, but then there are some really crappy flash people out there, I mean stuff like lining up their scroll bars, putting text on whole numbers, optimizing their stuff in their library) and simple actionscript work for already made e-learning apps (kids stuff, not corporate training).

So, last year I made 2.5% of my total income from this (gee, maybe that means I'm for ****!?!). But spent way more on programs (I hate piracy) and hardware (I hate hardware).

[fez]

subquark-i spent more than three minutes waiting for your footer to load. it never loaded. but i did enjoy throwing that little thing around

[morse]

lol i have stared at that for so long...
























[it never loads]

[subquark]

hmm, it's only 969 bytes!?!? must be my economical hosting (read: cheap!!!)


//it never does load - hehe . . .

[reverendflash]

I have made my living at designing websites, logos, presentations, etc. for around 5 years...

The jobs vary from a simple logo to a year long website project. It all depends... Every gig is drastically different from the last. I just made a buttload of money for changing the text twice in 1 .fla... Also recently I ended up spending about 3 times the hours on a project than I ended up getting paid for... soooo....

I don't know how to answer your question....

Revhttp://www.aulman.com/rev.gif

BTW - subquark: Phil & I are also in the 40 club...

[Marz]

I make my living by doing one of the following...

1. Web Programming (asp, html, dhtml, javascript, vbscript, php, ...)
2. Computer Programming (c++, c, visual basic)
3. Networking (low class.. nothing extremely fancy)
4. Odds and Ends.. COmputer Repair and Computer Maintenance..
5. Video Game Programming :)

But yeha.. Every so often when the times are rough I help paint and do grunt work for a local company... I did them a favor by fixing their main database computers and so they let me work whenever I want with Masonry or Architectural Blue Print Reading. I typically do about 40 hours of work there every 2 months... Paid unde rthe table $20 / hr ;)

Anyways.. :)

[subquark]

What!?! I thought I was the only one over 24 here! What a relief, I thought us old farts were elsewhere.

I love flash and it's creativity. I see you went to culinary school! That's a tough life! Lots of hours!

[eyeinfinitude]

I'm turning 25 in a few days so I'll be joining your ranks of old fartiness (not a real word)!!! :P

[morse]

Oh man he changed the footer just to make me look like a ******* :(

[reverendflash]

Originally posted by subquark
I see you went to culinary school! That's a tough life! Lots of hours!

The school was an 18 month party with food & wine...:hangover:

The business sucked big time...

'tis why I design stuff now...

:crazy:
Revhttp://www.aulman.com/rev.gif

[UncleGuito]

Oh yeah, well IM ONLY 14 HAHAHAAH!!!!!!!!!
HALF AND MAYBE EVEN A THRID OF YOUR AGES!!!

I like to make flash, but usually in my spare time, since im in high school ( which i have a 3.7 in), i play video games. Im getting more and more into flash every day :bad:

[LoungeActx]

I'm 19, and I've been doing small contract work for the past 2 years. It began really small, and I hated it. Trust me, when you start out, you get clients that don't know what they want, but they know what they don't want, only after you've given it to them.

Lately though, things have been looking up. I didn't have to work for the first time during winterbreak, because I got a job doing work for a Pharmaceutical company. With that I made a lot of good contacts, and this summer looks to be a very promising one...

:) :) :)

[eilsoe]

Age: 20

occupation: vague web design at a community "school"...



Gonna start the 3d education soon.. maybe.. if I can scrape together the 25.000$ it costs...

[lava]

eh, I havent started doing anything for money yet, but I'm going to get started sometime this week... I'm setting up a professional site, just got my domain name, etc... I'm planning to do a couple of sites for free, do some templates, put an ad on the paper, and study Miva Merchant and XML... I think if I figure out Miva I should get some business...
oh, and I'm 20, but I'll only be doing this for a couple of months, cause I need to go back to school

[Makaveli]

Originally posted by morse
Oh man he changed the footer just to make me look like a ******* :(

! :bad: :P !

subquark......wtf is that anyways, must be one of those vague scientific things i didn't pay attention to in school

[c!rYx]

I'm 17 and got just started in this buisness. I did some pages for friends and now I'm planing to get a more serious website and work with some people together in a small team.

Interested ? :)

[eyezberg]

c!rYx ?
Could you say that for me out loud?
:P
Ein seltener Deutscher, willkommen hier...

I did a seven months training for webdesign & multimedia between jobs (Flash, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Director, Premiere, 3D S Max etc..), that was in 2000, then worked for a small start-up for a few months, then all the start-ups here in France, and most of'em in the rest of the world, became start-downs and disappeared, so now I'm doing something completely different ( this (http://www.clubmed.com) ) and only code at night and on weekends, when the kids give me a break..not 40 yet, but only 2 years left :-\

[lostinbeta]

I am interested in Web/Graphic design, but just so you know, there aren't many people fishing for them in my area (Philadelphia, PA) so no jobbies :(

And Eyez: Its not THAT rare to have a German here... it's just a bit more rare to have a German speaking German. And as you know.. my German sucks... so I just qualify as German, and not a German speaking German. Does that make ANY sense at all because I think I confused myself.?

[eyezberg]

LOL, that's ok, you non german-speaking german who qualifies as german still even though being a US citizen (i guess?)

As for myself, I'm a 99% phrench (boworred from phil) speaking german.. :P (some english to..happens..)

[lostinbeta]

Yes exactly :!: Even though that really makes no sense you still got the point :P

[RenaissanceGirl]

I've been graphic designing for two years now... I spent half of my time at my last job doing web design and the other half print design. I have a new job now as a web designer / internet marketing.

[Kitiara]

Well, I do. Or am.

I've been working full time as a web designer and developer ever since I left University in '99. So four years now. Worked for three companies, and am currently employed as the web developer for Churchill Insurance in Bromley.

I do design and programming, although I don't have any design qualifications. Just a plain old BSc in Computer Science. :)

[eyezberg]

That's the girls!
Well done. Take your female art sense,
combine with some good coding knowledge,
and show the boys who's better!
If I were you, I'd start a webdesign business with just women!

[Kitiara]

Hehe... I guess I'd freelance as well as my 9 - 5 if anyone needed stuff doing and were willing to pay.

But I've found that since I'm a woman, people don't take me seriously. :-\ Like, I can code in C, C++, COBOL, Java, JavaScript, Pascal, Visual Basic, HTML, ActionScript... stuff like that, but a lot of people still feel the need to explain to me what a domain is, in case the woman doesn't understand... :sigh:

Pah. Imbeciles the lot of them. :)

[LoungeActx]

LostinBeta-

You'd be surprised at the amount of people hiring in the Philadelphia area, my last contract job was in Princeton...

But there are a lot in the Philadelphia area...keep looking...

=) =) =)

[RenaissanceGirl]

Originally posted by Kitiara
But I've found that since I'm a woman, people don't take me seriously. :-\

Amen to that!

[lava]

alright... where's all this discrimination against women? I've never seen anything like that... or have felt like treating anyone like that...
Seriously, people talk about discrimination and stuff, but I never see it... I know a LOT of women who are MUCH smarter than I am (and I AM pretty freaking smart...) and they're always getting the awesome jobs...

maybe I've always lived in good areas.

[lostinbeta]

Originally posted by LoungeActx
LostinBeta-

You'd be surprised at the amount of people hiring in the Philadelphia area, my last contract job was in Princeton...

But there are a lot in the Philadelphia area...keep looking...

=) =) =)

Ok, then they just don't want me then :P And isn't Princeton in Jersey?

[RenaissanceGirl]

Originally posted by lavaboy
alright... where's all this discrimination against women? I've never seen anything like that... or have felt like treating anyone like that...
Seriously, people talk about discrimination and stuff, but I never see it... I know a LOT of women who are MUCH smarter than I am (and I AM pretty freaking smart...) and they're always getting the awesome jobs...

maybe I've always lived in good areas.

Yes, I can tell just how "freaking smart" you are since you don't seem to be convinced that discrimination exists. :P If women aren't discriminated against and they really ARE gettiing the awesome jobs, then how come (in the US) women tend to have lower salaries than men?

[lava]

I'm not discrediting the statistics... all I'm saying is that it doesnt happen around me... Whenever people say that women are being discriminated against, I always think "REALLY???" I mean, things like that just haven't happened around me. And that's a good thing.

[pinx]

Originally posted by eyezberg
LOL, that's ok, you non german-speaking german who qualifies as german still even though being a US citizen (i guess?)

As for myself, I'm a 99% phrench (boworred from phil) speaking german.. :P (some english to..happens..)

i've had four years of french and want to take more. originally from croatia though.

[pinx]

Originally posted by Kitiara
Hehe... I guess I'd freelance as well as my 9 - 5 if anyone needed stuff doing and were willing to pay.

But I've found that since I'm a woman, people don't take me seriously. :-\ Like, I can code in C, C++, COBOL, Java, JavaScript, Pascal, Visual Basic, HTML, ActionScript... stuff like that, but a lot of people still feel the need to explain to me what a domain is, in case the woman doesn't understand... :sigh:

Pah. Imbeciles the lot of them. :)

yeah the other day i was talking to this kid in my advertising media class and he's like "so where do you work" and I said "swanson russell associates (advertising marketing agency in town) as a web editor" and he's like "oh yeah, so you can do all that computer stuff" and i said "well not all of it, but i know quite a bit of it" and then he started asking me all these questions to find out exactly how much i know. i was getting pretty pissed off and i'm like "dude, what is the point of this?" and he's like "well, i don't meet a lot of girls who work on the web so i'm trying to figure out if you're not playing with my mind". WHAT THE ****!!@!@!@!@!@@!!@@@!!!@!

[c!rYx]

I don't get it why lost is not really getting jobs... You are so d*** good ;p

Sind hier wirklich noch mehr Deutsche?!?

[LoungeActx]

yes. Princeton is in New Jersey...but you know as well as I that from Philadelphia you can see New Jersey, and 15 minutes up 95, you cross a bridge...and bang...you are in Princeton.

Not too far...why are you soo cynical about the place you live?

Most of the jobs I have worked on came out west of Philly...mostly out by King of Prussia, and Valley Forge...but again...Philadelphia vicinity...try bailing out of your 6th Period math class in high school..to give a storyboard presentation at a design firm...that kinda sucked...



:rambo: :rambo: :rambo:

[lostinbeta]

That depends on where you live in Philly. I live about an hour from Princeton I believe. My sister used to work there and it took her an hour to get there, but im not sure where in princeton she worked or how she got there.

I am cynical about this place because I hate it here...lol. I hate cities, I am more of a peace and quiet, leave me a lone, don't tresspass or I will shoot you kind of guy. Philly is definitely not the kind of place for me.


Oh, and did you hear about the little girl that was shot and killed because the guy that shot her THOUGHT she started a snowball fight with his daught, but she didn't.

And about the other guy that was found gutted, the murderer removed his heart, lungs, liver, and ribcage with tools that easily sliced the bone. Then he left him face down in some rubble in an area kids play around.

These both happened in the past week or two.

Hmm, wonder why I dont like it here :sigh:

[LoungeActx]

i heard about the heart one...and yes...that is twisted. But it is individuals who do that stuff. Not everyone...:-\

[lostinbeta]

Yeah, I know it is just individuals, but it seems lately more and more individuals are getting more and more twisted around here anymore.

[LoungeActx]

thats society...

[lostinbeta]

Society Sucks.... :P Oh well.... :-\

[Marz]

I don't know Ren Girl.. Maybe it's just your lcoation.. All the women I know around here that are my friends have better jobs than the men.. Bringing in salaries that I wanna get...

I'm actually getting low on the clients.. Haven't had one for 2 weeks now and that's getting scary.. Work sucks lately.. And I've had to do odds and ends jobs around here just to make off good..

:(

[Marz]

COme move here in C-Burg then Lost.. We don't have any shooters here or disgruntled people.. hehe :)

[lostinbeta]

Hmm, no shooters, disgruntled people, and fair treatment of men and women. Sounds too good to be true =)

I love it in Maryland, my cabin is in Earlville, MD. Do you know where that is Marz?

(going completely off topic... sorry)

[Marz]

Hmm Can't say I do.. What's it close to?

[lostinbeta]

Middletown, and Cecil County I believe.

[Marz]

I think I'veheard of there.. Hmm

*lol*.. Sorry headache is screwing with my memory :)

[lostinbeta]

LOL, it's cool. Let us stop straying off subject then :P


Anywho... back on subject. Any other pros out there?

[lava]

where in maryland is that? to the north? I've never heard of it.
oh, check out my professional site... hopefully I'll start raking in the big bucks soon... I'm not done with it though...
lavaland (http://64.207.154.246/)

[Kitiara]

Whenever people say that women are being discriminated against, I always think "REALLY???" I mean, things like that just haven't happened around me. And that's a good thing. Oh it's not everyone... Most people are really cool about it, like you guys. :) You just get one or two people with their heads stuck up their arses who think that computing is a job soley for men. Dunno why.

Not sure how my salary compares to a mans' either though. Doing that same job with the same amount of experience. It's a very taboo subject, just not done to discuss how much you earn.

[sintax321]

i wouldn't call myself a pro but i do make my living 100% from Design be it graphics, web or what ever.