November 18, 2005
Designer Career Pyramid
I went to Richland College last week to speak to a portfolio class about some things i’ve learned in the past 5+ years in the design field. Titled “10 things I wish they told me” (pdf) I went over things that I noticed students “missing” when I was in school.
One new slide i added (i also gave this talk at ATI earlier this year) was a model I call the “Designer Career Pyramid” (pdf). I wanted to show what I think is a somewhat typical growth/career chart was for a designer.
Starting at the bottom, in school you learn may different types of design - from video to print. As you move “up” the pyramid you start to narrow your skills to a particular design area that interests you. As you continue “up” you move from doing these things to thinking and directing these things, until at the “top” you become a expert at whichever part of the design field you’ve decide you enjoy most (hopefully!). I also added a pay scale to this model, more for the students, as I think college kids really want to know what they can make someday - these numbers were not really researched, but I think it’s possible.
I’ve had this idea in my head for awhile, but have never put it down on paper before. Download the Designer Career Pyramid and see for yourself.
January 4th, 2006 at 6:12 pm
Have you ever heard or or read Berger’s Ways of Seeing? I found it to be a very interesting read regarding how we look at things and see the world around us, a topic I’d never really considered.
February 28th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Designer Career Pyramid
A neat little diagram mapping out a designer's career. I do not know if it is really fitting for most but I can see it work for me (after adjusting it a bit). One must notice that (this being a pyramid and all) it gets rather thin towards the top….
March 1st, 2006 at 11:35 am
Well, that’s depressing. I should be making a LOT more money by now ….
March 7th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
Hey, my hour rate is $40, but my annual revenue is much less than $80K… Do you really work 9 productive hours each day?
March 7th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
Someone out there is making $40 a hour for a 40 hr work week - I’m sure not, but I’m sure someone is
Traditionally if you’re freelancing you would charge much more then a “hourly salary”, your freelance rate could be as high as $150+ if you’re an expert in your field. Plus - you could be put on a 2+ month 8 hour a day project - and then bookend with another project if you’re skills are in demand.
Again - these dollar amounts weren’t really researched in depth…
March 9th, 2006 at 9:53 am
Well, I am sure, that noone of those, who charge 40 dollars per hour, is working 40 hour a week. They would either burn by now, or, what’s more likely, begin to charge more. I mean, if they are already smart enough to load themselves with 40 hours of work…
March 17th, 2006 at 10:20 am
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April 12th, 2006 at 11:39 am
I’m 5 years experienced web developer, but still 15$/month. Oh my eastern salary