A little careers advice
Discussion
I've always worked in Customer Services, started in pensions but after 8 years and being let go due to "staff re-orginisation" I ended up in a call centre. After a year I managed to get a job in IT support with a software company. This current job I've been working hard at for the last 17 months and it's starting to pay off. Unfortunately being out of a job for a while then only working part time for a year has left me with an albatross of debt around my neck.
After a few conversations with my wife the agreement seems to be that it's more about enjoying what you do than the money, although the cash doesn't go a miss.
I'm lucky to have a talent for art and design and (mother in laws words) soak up information like a sponge. The dream career has always been web and graphic design, and now I have a hunger to pursue these fields. Unfortunately I'm in no position to give up work and go back to college, however my current job is full time over 3 days and I have 4 days where i'm sitting doing nothing.
Basically I'm looking for some sage advice on where to go with this, i'm currently rattling through the Adobe Classroom books and I'm under no delusion that I have a long way to go, but any advice would be fantastic
After a few conversations with my wife the agreement seems to be that it's more about enjoying what you do than the money, although the cash doesn't go a miss.
I'm lucky to have a talent for art and design and (mother in laws words) soak up information like a sponge. The dream career has always been web and graphic design, and now I have a hunger to pursue these fields. Unfortunately I'm in no position to give up work and go back to college, however my current job is full time over 3 days and I have 4 days where i'm sitting doing nothing.
Basically I'm looking for some sage advice on where to go with this, i'm currently rattling through the Adobe Classroom books and I'm under no delusion that I have a long way to go, but any advice would be fantastic
my advice - go and do what you "want" to do - life is short - balance it up against paying the bills - many "artists" go through their whole life without a pot to piss in!!!!
Its a very subjective route.
As for the talents that you have, I would be inclined to get a "second" (unbiased) opinion before darting off in a particular direction - maybe go and see a couple of clients and do some gratis outline design work for them - gague their honest feedback.
Perhaps post it here on PH!!!
My MIL thinks I am an angel - but we all know thats just not true!!!!
khushy
Its a very subjective route.
As for the talents that you have, I would be inclined to get a "second" (unbiased) opinion before darting off in a particular direction - maybe go and see a couple of clients and do some gratis outline design work for them - gague their honest feedback.
Perhaps post it here on PH!!!
My MIL thinks I am an angel - but we all know thats just not true!!!!
khushy
Have you asked your current employer for more hours or considered looking for a full time IT support role?
Obviously, it is hard to comment without knowing how much you earn, but I would have thought an entry level web design job would be the same or less than what you are currently on and with little room to progress unless you move into a more technical development role - which is not necessarily where your skills or passion lies.
Don't forget, you will also be up against hundreds of web/graphic design graduates who have a stronger academic background and possibly even some work experience.
Sorry to be a Debbie downer, but it's pretty tough out there.
Obviously, it is hard to comment without knowing how much you earn, but I would have thought an entry level web design job would be the same or less than what you are currently on and with little room to progress unless you move into a more technical development role - which is not necessarily where your skills or passion lies.
Don't forget, you will also be up against hundreds of web/graphic design graduates who have a stronger academic background and possibly even some work experience.
Sorry to be a Debbie downer, but it's pretty tough out there.
Boba Fatt said:
I'm lucky to have a talent for art and design and (mother in laws words) soak up information like a sponge. The dream career has always been web and graphic design, and now I have a hunger to pursue these fields. Unfortunately I'm in no position to give up work and go back to college, however my current job is full time over 3 days and I have 4 days where i'm sitting doing nothing.
I think you are looking for excuses not to get off your arse and do something. You have 4 days a week (or 2 days if you still want a weekend) and you claim to have skills that are perfect for some freelance work from home.Go and register on a site like http://99designs.co.uk/designers and start designing. Aim to have a couple of designs a month accepted and you'll be earning an additional >£500/month.
[quote]Have you asked your current employer for more hours or considered looking for a full time IT support role?
[/quote]
Sorry, I already work full time, I do 12 hour days to cover the US, we're UK based but the software is for the US market
[quote]I think you are looking for excuses not to get off your arse and do something.
[/quote]
Quite the opposite, I'm looking for other peoples experiences as I don't want to pour myself into this for nothing and be back here in a couple of year time asking for more advice - I'd already thought about the freelance approach, my problem stems from low self confidence
[/quote]
Sorry, I already work full time, I do 12 hour days to cover the US, we're UK based but the software is for the US market
[quote]I think you are looking for excuses not to get off your arse and do something.
[/quote]
Quite the opposite, I'm looking for other peoples experiences as I don't want to pour myself into this for nothing and be back here in a couple of year time asking for more advice - I'd already thought about the freelance approach, my problem stems from low self confidence
Which ever route you take you'll be at the bottom of a long ladder. IT support usually leads to desktop and hardware support, networking, infrastructure and then project management and beyond.
Web design usually leads to HTML/CSS coding, front-end web development and then larger scale back-end or application development, project management, business analysis etc.
You say it's not about the money, but somehow I doubt you'll want to stay on an IT support/web designers salary for ever - so I would pick which path above appeals the most and go from there.
If you do choose the design route, then try to get some freelance work in order to build your portfolio, which definitely give you an advantage against those with more formal qualifications.
Web design usually leads to HTML/CSS coding, front-end web development and then larger scale back-end or application development, project management, business analysis etc.
You say it's not about the money, but somehow I doubt you'll want to stay on an IT support/web designers salary for ever - so I would pick which path above appeals the most and go from there.
If you do choose the design route, then try to get some freelance work in order to build your portfolio, which definitely give you an advantage against those with more formal qualifications.
You find yourself in a fairly common position unfortunately, and I agree with you, it's not that easy to fathom a way ahead, and certainly not without some support. I am taken with your honesty about low self confidence, which is a common complaint, but not one that many own up to, so you're ahead of the game already.
You will not really get what you need from a forum; you may get a feeling of solidarity and a few snippets of encouragement, but the issue is quite complex and requires investment of both your own time and that from a mentor/coach. To help identify a way ahead, you would have to lay bare everything there is to know about you, everything; your finances, family commitments, hopes, competencies, values etc, etc, and only then could you begin to really identify the possible from the less possible. Hope this helps a little. Happy to help further if you want to PM me. Good luck!
You will not really get what you need from a forum; you may get a feeling of solidarity and a few snippets of encouragement, but the issue is quite complex and requires investment of both your own time and that from a mentor/coach. To help identify a way ahead, you would have to lay bare everything there is to know about you, everything; your finances, family commitments, hopes, competencies, values etc, etc, and only then could you begin to really identify the possible from the less possible. Hope this helps a little. Happy to help further if you want to PM me. Good luck!
You seem to be in a similar situation to me not so long ago. To cut a long story short I worked in IT support for 2 years for a large outsourcing firm, enjoyed the people and the commute/facilities but hated the job and the low wage that 1st line IT support gives.
I often applied to web dev jobs but was turned down due to lack of experience. I started to do work on the side, first for friends and then friends of friends etc. While this earned good money, the kind of site I found myself making would have been of no use to a serious web design company. They prefer the use of modern database driven CMS.
I eventually found the job I am currently in as a web developer by accident. After a row with my other half and me saying "well if you think it's so easy to find a job, why don't you find me a job?" I had a response back from a local company asking for me to attend an interview. This company has nothing to do with IT itself but its IT department needed a developer.
Apologies for all the waffle, but the point I'm trying to make is don't get too depressed and 'woe is me'. Review your CV over and over, seek advice from others (like you are now) and try a slightly different angle of attack. Think of large local firms that may have internal IT departments and apply to those places stating how your presence there will be a benefit to them.
I often applied to web dev jobs but was turned down due to lack of experience. I started to do work on the side, first for friends and then friends of friends etc. While this earned good money, the kind of site I found myself making would have been of no use to a serious web design company. They prefer the use of modern database driven CMS.
I eventually found the job I am currently in as a web developer by accident. After a row with my other half and me saying "well if you think it's so easy to find a job, why don't you find me a job?" I had a response back from a local company asking for me to attend an interview. This company has nothing to do with IT itself but its IT department needed a developer.
Apologies for all the waffle, but the point I'm trying to make is don't get too depressed and 'woe is me'. Review your CV over and over, seek advice from others (like you are now) and try a slightly different angle of attack. Think of large local firms that may have internal IT departments and apply to those places stating how your presence there will be a benefit to them.
Yes, you are on the bottom of a ladder. But nobody says you can't jump up, or onto a different ladder...leverage what you have...create your own niche...
Take a look at your backside in a mirror and repeat after me "Now THAT is potential goldmine I am sat on"
I worked with a UX guy a while back on the redesign of a Pensions Admin system front end, to make some of the simpler admin tasks a lot quicker (change of address took about 20 minutes !).
So hard to find people that can do a job like that. Pure arty design types see numbers and faint. Pure techies never quite get the usabilty angle (a billion Indians and you think you could find ONE that can do elegant design). Business types like me can do the "user journey" but not the touchy-feely design bits, I can wireframe at a push but am not that good.
Here is Richard's Linkedin description of his role :-
Agile environment, iterative approach to design, test, and design re-test.
Scrum and user based Workshop’s
Working closely with Project architect, System Architects, Business Architects.
Currently under taking a SOA approach to restructure
Realization of the User interface from wireframes from business use case and System use case
Definition of site structure.
Creation of site maps.
Definition of global & local navigation & contextual links.
Creation of wire frame designs.
Working with Visual Design to create final designs.
And from another financial services (this time private banking) role :-
Responsible for the design and prototyping of applications, . Deliverables include: UX design workshops, storyboards, interaction design, (personas, wireframes, prototypes in Axure RP Pro), visual design, expert reviews and Agile UX support.
IMO you have a big advantage over someone with no previous experience, and you could look to leverage that if you wanted to. It could prove very lucrative in the end.
Boba Fatt said:
I've always worked in Customer Services, started in pensions but after 8 years and being let go due to "staff re-orginisation" I ended up in a call centre.
So, you won't faint at the mention of Employer/ee contributions, Section 32 or AVCs, understand user interaction and experience, have technical and artistic design skills.... Wow !Take a look at your backside in a mirror and repeat after me "Now THAT is potential goldmine I am sat on"
I worked with a UX guy a while back on the redesign of a Pensions Admin system front end, to make some of the simpler admin tasks a lot quicker (change of address took about 20 minutes !).
So hard to find people that can do a job like that. Pure arty design types see numbers and faint. Pure techies never quite get the usabilty angle (a billion Indians and you think you could find ONE that can do elegant design). Business types like me can do the "user journey" but not the touchy-feely design bits, I can wireframe at a push but am not that good.
Here is Richard's Linkedin description of his role :-
Agile environment, iterative approach to design, test, and design re-test.
Scrum and user based Workshop’s
Working closely with Project architect, System Architects, Business Architects.
Currently under taking a SOA approach to restructure
Realization of the User interface from wireframes from business use case and System use case
Definition of site structure.
Creation of site maps.
Definition of global & local navigation & contextual links.
Creation of wire frame designs.
Working with Visual Design to create final designs.
And from another financial services (this time private banking) role :-
Responsible for the design and prototyping of applications, . Deliverables include: UX design workshops, storyboards, interaction design, (personas, wireframes, prototypes in Axure RP Pro), visual design, expert reviews and Agile UX support.
IMO you have a big advantage over someone with no previous experience, and you could look to leverage that if you wanted to. It could prove very lucrative in the end.
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