Is it important to get a job right away with my recently earned Graphic Design degree or can I wait?

Question

I have a graphic design degree earned last February. I had my first child in May last year. I have been a stay at home mom and I would like to try and stay home with him for awhile longer but don't want my degree to be out-dated by the time I'm ready to look for work. I am considering trying to get some freelance business, but it is tough with a new baby. Any ideas are appreciated! Thanks!

Answer 1

If you can afford it, wait as long as you can.
You'll have many chances to get bored and tired at work. Enjoy your freedom while you can....
The only legitimate reason to start working sooner rather than later is when you need money.

And don't buy into this "getting outdated" stuff. You'll catch up when and if you need it.... or you'll master another skill... or, maybe, you'll decide to stay at home, and be a full-time mom.
Your degree is supposed to help you leave your life the way you want, not define it for you.

Answer 2

Well, you're staying home right now and you're ok sooo....

I would go for that feelance business but do it small time right now, just to bring in enough to pay a few extra things or have some more financial freedom. You could even send your resume around to different companies with a cover letter that says that you are looking to work from home because of your new baby.

People might connect with you and your situation.

After you send your resume around (by fax), you call and ask for the manager or who would look at your resume, and you talk to that person (if possible). They'll probably need you to send your resume again if they are interested in you.

You can do something other than work all day and keep your child in daycare. Did you ever think about building websites and getting some affiliate cash rolling in? Do you know how? Good luck.

Answer 3

The best jobs will look at your portfolio, but there are a lot of excellent portfolios out there. If an employer catches you lying then yes, you probably will get fired. A lot of schools will be willing to negotiate credit for outside activities and so forth -- if you are talented and successful you look good in their promotional materials. It's kind of a tough call: if you are getting work now you must have an excellent portfolio. But you are up against some incredible portfolios period. And there ARE idiots out there who only look at GD diplomates, or diplomates in general when all you need to do is design well. If you're well-placed for now stay where you are and use your time to research and get the best deal you can for a degree is my advice, because in this career you can be up one day and down the next, and HR offices are mostly cruel idiots who shouldn't have ANY say about who gets hired for this.

Answer 4

My best suggestion would be to get a free website and practice your skills there while raising your baby. When the time comes that you need to enter the workforce, you can list your site as an example of your work. You can also turn this into freelance work for fun or profit.

I do webmastering for friends, and I'm currently helping a graphic artist go from creating wallpapers to learning diplay tricks that web design allows.

Best of luck.

Answer 5

Coming from a graphic Designer.... You should start looking for jobs now, because chances are it will take you about a while to land a really good gig anyways. Competition is extreme in this business, and the market is relatively small, so start looking now, chances are that you will need to go to a few interveiws before you you get hired. Plus, you don't want to be rusty, I used to be able to design websites w/ DreamWeaver, but my current position doesn't require web Design, So I haven't used it in like 2 years, and I couldn't tell you where to even start now, I forgot how to use it!!

Answer 6

That should be fine to wait, if anyone asks about it on your Resume just tell them what happened. You could do some personal drawings and whatnot to show people when you do go for a job.