On Being Confident in your Creative Value
Knowing your value and developing confidence to negotiate a salary or an hourly rate as a freelance or full-time creative is not something you’re likely to learn in college, so I want to address this. It’s important, for you, millennials, to know your worth.
So here’s some advice from a Gen-X creative that’s been in the industry for a long time. Learn, learn, learn, and be confident in what you bring to the table, and never settle for something that devalues your skills.
I think the catalyst for this post is when I see jobs for designers posted, with a laundry list of expert skills, expecting to pay under twenty bucks an hour. No…actually, no designer, especially in California or New York, should be paid under that.
Dear Young Designers:
If you’ve read this far, you probably got the gist of what I’m saying. If you’re fresh out of college with an art or design degree, you ought to be worth at least $20 an hour around the country as a sub-contractor, or similarly about 40k per year for a full time gig at an agency, or at a company internal creative department.
If you’re in a California or New York metro, then due to cost of living, I’d say $25 or 50k is entry level. Don’t settle…but don’t be lethargic and expect anything handed to you either. You have to work hard at it to make the entry level grade, and there is a lot of competition in this world of digital design.
Even when you don’t have an active project, assign yourself creative. Good design takes practice, years of it. Make sure your portfolio is in order before you waste time applying anywhere. Work in the areas of your natural talents, your interests. If you like Netflix, learn video editing, motion graphics, UI design. If you like adventure sports, design something relevant to that. Unless your student work is jaw-dropping, award winning, then I’d recommend expanding your portfolio into areas that you’re passionate about. Don’t do spec work, but maybe make some cool concept-oriented projects around your passions? Let’s see, I’m a designer who loves to travel, and really enjoys tantalizing food…then contact some of your favorite restaurants, ask if you can do some culinary images, and create a web site for a mock-restaurant for your portfolio, especially if you want to add that type of client to your resume.
If you took a job for $15 per hour, complete it, follow though, gather your pride, polish your portfolio, and ask for $30, take $25 if you must, and work up from there the rest of your career.
You’re worth it…the world needs creatives, and creatives need confidence. Rest assured, that if someone is posting something less than that, it’s not an opportunity for growth, it’s an exploitation.
Dear Agency Owners:
What does it say about your own value, or the value of your agency, to yourself, your community, or your client base, when you ask for an experienced designer for $15/hour? It says you don’t value your own worth, it reflects back on you. If you’re only willing to pay someone barely more than working at a burger joint, then you are probably slinging burger-level creative.
Please be clear, and say in your job post, “Entry Level Production Artist” or “Entry Level Designer”. Because let’s face it, that’s all you have budget for.
Then how many hours of your time will you spend training someone, pulling that time from tasks with ROI for your agency? Then when your young designer grows their chops, guess what…the’ll get that job for double what you’re offering for a real company, offering something valuable or real
I always paid sub-contractors for my accounts at least a living hourly. I suggest the same if you want to generate some real creative capital and be a part of a valuable design economy.
A Fantastic Resource for Both Sides
One of the very best tips I’d gotten in the world of design pricing and value, was from a mentor many years ago. Order your copy of the Graphic Artist Guild Handbook…for pricing and ethical guidelines. It’s invaluable, really, and helps you along the path to being an ethical designer, and an ethical business person in the industry.
