Out of the biz, looking for other possibilities

[GoodPeopleFlags]

As of last week, I'm unemployed. Long story and I'm not going to go into it, but suffice it to say that I'm happy. So... what now? It's exciting and scary! I thought I would post this to see if anyone might have some creative ideas for directions I haven't thought of yet.

I'm 42 and been in the sign biz since late 1989. I started my graphic design degree in 1993 but dropped out in 1995 to start my own sign shop. I had that for 10 years and I'm not interested in owning one again at this time. In 2005, I went back to working for someone else. In 2008, I moved far away from ther and went to work at another sign shop, where I've been since last week. In 2010, I decided to go back to school and finish my degree. I have 3 classes left but 1 of them is only offered in the fall and the other 2 are only offered next spring, or else I would take this time to finish them up.

I would prefer to work in the corporate world and have applied at a few places. I've gotten in touch with some contacts and put the word out that I'm looking for work and also available to do freelance design work. So, I'm thinking of pushing the freelance thing, but I've never worked for a design company so I'm clueless when it comes to the operations of that type of biz, the contracts, deposits, what the client expects, etc. I thought today about offering vinyl lettering / graphics installation and wrap removal on craigs list.

The thing is, I have so much experience in the sign biz that I would like to be able to use that knowledge and experience in some capacity. I thought maybe some of you here have been in a similar situation and could give me some ideas on what or what not to do next.

Sorry so long! Thanks for reading!

 

[signswi]

It's a tough thing to say but at 42 with no agency experience unless you're a wizard at motion you probably won't find agency work. That's not to say it's impossible, just not likely. Entry level agency jobs don't really exist as they're called college internships. And then after internship is a few years doing whatever the AD tells you, usually photo prep (color matching and object color shifting, perspective correction, etc.) and creating clipping paths, after that is generally time as a production designer and THEN you get into some original work and have a small voice in direction/pitch concepts.

With freelancing you need to get up to speed on the business side of things FAST or you'll be stuck with super annoying small time clients. You need to get your contracts in order, your billing system, your lead generation, your follow up processes, your pricing structure, etc. as soon as you possibly can. Freelancing is running a business of one, you'll spend maybe 30% of your time actually designing. It's a rough deal unless you're super comfortable wearing business and design and marketing hats 24/7. An alternative may be partnering and forming your own small agency but without agency experience it makes prospecting and pitching unknown territory.

Do you have an online portfolio we could crit for you? What's your skillset? You're a sign guy so I'll assume most of your work is specialized in the signage fields, what all does it include? You can take two paths with freelancing: specialist or generalist. I'd recommend specialist for you, build up your personal brand to be an expert in your niche and plumb it for all it has.

 

[2B]

Best of luck in the job hunting,

the only suggestion I can offer is to be open for whatever comes your way. With this economy there is no telling what job offers will come your way.

The freelance approach would be a good way to keep connected to the design world, as there are plenty of sign makers whom can use the creative eye of a designer.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Very very hard in the agency world. Not that easy. Not impossible, but not easy. I think Freelancer might be the best route to take in this particular situation.

I agree with signwi, go the specialist route.

 

[GoodPeopleFlags]

Although an agency would be cool, that's not what I meant by "corporate". In this town, there are alot of large government / military contract corporations that have graphic design positions. Places like Marshall Space Flight Center, SAIC, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, etc. I found 3 large companies with graphic design positions and I've applied to them. In the meantime, I thought maybe I'd see what I can make happen so I'm looking for some creative ideas that I haven't thought of.

I totally agree with what signswi said in the 2nd paragraph. I don't want to be a freelancer and look like I don't know what I'm doing and as far as freelancing goes, I don't know what I'm doing.

Yes, I have an online portfolio but I need to update it. Probably won't share it here publicly because you guys scare the hell out of me!

 

[signswi]

So you're looking for in-house. I personally love in-house work but your love of it will be 1000% dependent on the corporate culture. I'm someone who needs a lot of freedom to explore into multiple disciplines and launch my own initiatives and sometimes a big corp is far too big a ship to turn quickly. If you get into interviews make sure to interview them, it's a two way street, and do your due diligence with people you may know working there to suss out if it's a good fit for your personality.

That said it's really rewarding doing work for one company for years on end, slowly evolving their market position and brand. Agency and freelancing can be really schizophrenic in comparison (though if you set up recurring contracts as a freelancer, which you can in certain niches, it can have a similar effect).

The other advantage in-house is that you have coworkers and an office. Not to mention benefits. It makes a big psychological difference over working alone in your PJs...which is why, if you do go freelance, I highly recommend coworking.

 

[Rick]

I would rather flip burgers than work in-house. Did it for a while, have a few friends who do it, quite a few dislike it. You are usually stuck with a format that can be impossible to change, get crap from non creatives, impossible deadlines, your hard work sometimes thrown out for whatever reason.

On freelance, it's a lonely existence, which is why I frequent forums and have a large list of fellow designers to turn too. But learning the business of freelancing (and design firm) is easy as all the design business books say pretty much the same thing. And there are quite a few freelance books out there to read.

Maybe you can make it to the HOW design conference, they have in-house, freelance and designer portions of the conference that might get you pointed in a direction.
http://www.howdesignlive.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=28153&tabid=43817&

What I do suggest is finding a designer or design firm who can take the time to review your portfolio review and maybe guide or suggest what direction to take or pointers on making your career experience what you want. I have done this and got great feedback.

Another thing, instead of the sign business, do you have enough experience to get into environmental graphic design. It's still basically signs, but in a much larger scale.

 

[Gino]

Don't know what to tell you, other than good luck in whatever it is you find...............


You do realize that eating and keeping a roof over your head doesn't necessarily mean being creative, it's a necessity. Maybe while you're at it, you can look around and see if there are any other sign shops in your area which might be hiring....

 

[GoodPeopleFlags]

You are usually stuck with a format that can be impossible to change, get crap from non creatives, impossible deadlines, your hard work sometimes thrown out for whatever reason.

Sounds like my last sign shop job!

Thanks for the tips, everyone! I'm updating my website today. Luckily I have a great guy who can pick up my slack for a short time and I have enough savings to get me by for a couple of months.

 

[signswi]

I would rather flip burgers than work in-house. Did it for a while, have a few friends who do it, quite a few dislike it. You are usually stuck with a format that can be impossible to change, get crap from non creatives, impossible deadlines, your hard work sometimes thrown out for whatever reason.

That's why I say interview the company and find a culture fit. I had one in-house gig that was the best working experience of my life and it went to the worst working experience of my life when the (amazing, still a mentor) head of marketing left and a new head came in who was a total nightmare personality. Culture is everything.