What kind of advancements are available in this career? Titles in this industry tend to get handed out like it's a bake-sale. Some will call you a designer of some level. Others will call you an art director. The term senior gets tossed around far too often, and it's weight varies from company to company. There's no certifications, like accounting or computer sciences. Some people will manage-up well and make more cash than you, without more experience or talent. Remember that it is a subjective field.

As you get later in your career, you may find that your responsibilities favor management more than design. Individuals that can reign in the creatives tend to make more cash than those who run parade around the office in Berkenstocks. This is a trade-off. Creative managers will have to delegate work to others, that even includes the great work sometimes.

Ideally, managers that keep an eye on design (keep current) can become directors of entire departments. Unfortunately, a large portion of directors I've worked with over the years have sucked, entirely. They either cannot manage their ass with two hands, or they are so far removed from anything that is current they cannot be responsible for any day-to-day activities. Try this, and then this. And, if you are still with me, this.

On average is hiring done on an internal or external basis?
External hires. I have yet to run into a creative that came from the accounting department, even though some accounting can be described as creative.

What are some major reasons that prevent people from advancing in this field?
See selling below. Creative, thoughtful, inspired work is only part of the equation. The other part is sales. The big idea has to be bought by a client. That client, most likely, doesn't have a background in art. That gap has to be bridged by somebody. It may be enough to present the creative work from within the safety of a larger team that has a strict division of labor, or you may be strung out on your own, waiting for the clients' lights to flicker on.

Not everybody can stand in front of a group of people and talk about why the picture of the baby blowing spit-bubbles connects with potential customers, and some cannot perform this task with a straight face. This is why some people get bored with the field and decide to move on. They do not have an appreciation or affinity for the sales side of the job.

What do you think it takes to succeed in this field?
Balls. Confidence. You are going to run into a wide range of individuals, with an even wider range of skill and talent. The industry is subjective. Anybody can walk toe-to-toe with anybody else, as long as they think they can. That's partly a bunch of crap, and partly true. If you have some talent, and are willing to put in some time, you'll get enough of experience that you will be able to defend your work. Once you can do that, then some doors will open up.

The other thing to keep in mind is the non-art side of the industry. Talent will only take you so far. Sooner or later you will have understand business, period. If you can fill-out a spreadsheet and handle a calendar, you'll be better off than most of the painting majors at Columbia.

What is the range of income possible for this field?
The top end of the spectrum can be quite high. If you are an owner, there is no limit to what you can earn. It just depends on how much you are willing to invest. If you choose to remain an employee, you can look towards a six-figure salary as a Director with a large firm. They don't hand those positions out for free. As you get closer to it, you'll find yourself selling more than designing. Those that do not hold selling as an interest can still earn a very respectable salary that ranges from $50 - $70k. At that point you are still going to have to talk a great deal about your work, and you will most likely have to be able to direct others that are younger than you. As with any trade, there's always an opportunity to pursue extra-cirricular work as well.

What is the starting salary?
These days, around $30-$35k. It totally depends on the shop. Big places will pay more due to the size of their coffers. They'll work your ass off. Small places, and there are a number of them these days, cannot pay great salaries. They'll be on average. Benefits are also a consideration. Most of the companies I've worked for offer major medical insurance, but it is pricey. Retirement plans are a bonus.

Are there any new developments in this field?
Anything web-related. Communication designers are finally getting a handle on interface design. That has to do with proximity, being in the same office as the teams that build stuff, and better software. It used to be that in order to get a handle on how code works, you needed to versed in a large amount of very foreign material. That is still true today. The difference is that with a basic understanding of how things work and current software, you can make dent in what would have had a steep learning curve before. That's not to say software can make you something you are not. With the correct application, it can take you farther and be a more versatile tool.

This has allowed a lot of great designers to cross into the web field without a web background.

What are the most popular jobs in this field? ...least favorable jobs in this field?
(this can be on a personal level)
Everybody likes record labels and wine bottles. Problem is: record and wine labels don't pay well. Some people will take a liking to advertising. They'll learn a few tricks and makes some bank selling more crap. Others will find that type of thing repugnant and seek positions with firms that offer more refined creative solutions. The two usually do not mix well. As I've said in the past: Advertising is to Design as Pornography is to Photography. Either way, most popular jobs would be anything on the cutting edge of technology--web-based design, audio-video presentations, virtual this and that. Add to that niché positions, packaging for trendy retail, branding for restaurants or clubs, etc.

Least favorite: mundane and average. Mops and detergent still get packaged in something. And there's more to it than you would initially think. There's fair amount of firms that have a big interest in the bottom-line and little interest in selling anything that passes as creative. You might not sniff them out right away, as I have worked for a few of them myself. Most likely they will offer stable employment. Figure out if those types of positions are something that you'd like to talk about at social parties. If it is--fair enough. If not, move-on before you cannot.

Is there a deficit/over staffing of qualified personnel in any part of this field?
 The commercial art industry is totally subjective when it comes to singling out candidates from its talent-pool. Some shops won't touch you in you have a clean haircut and meat-grinder hand shake. Others will look for creative personal that play well with others; others being people who do not speak creative. Most of the times, if you present abstract ideas with even a minute amount of articulation you will pass most of the pack by. If you can show-up for work on time you will do even better.

There will be other times when you are left scratching your head as to why you didn't get the gig. They may not have liked your stuff, or they may have taken a liking another flavor of the month that looks European.

Where is the best location to look for jobs?
Bingo, pretty much in their order of population. If you happen to be struggling to find something you like in Chicago, you might put off that move to St. Louis. If you are currently in the 'burbs looking for a job with a hot agency, you are going to have to look towards the lake.There's a few great shops out in places like Dundee, Samata-Mason, but they are remote. Chicago has a huge market for designers. The places run the gamut from cut-throat agencies like Leo Burnett and Draft to small shops where you can leave at a decent hour most nights and still have some self-respect.

Early on, you might be open to a commute from outside of the city. But these days an average commute can take over an hour. The cost of parking makes driving a distant second to public transit, as long as you are coming from an accessible area.

Are there many women or minorities in this field?
Women, yes--thankfully. Minorities, mostly asian. Everybody else is caucasian. I've worked with zero black creatives. But that's the B2B corporate world. Either way, I'm positive the lack of minorities has to with the fact that above median income, white individuals can afford to study things that may not be a huge bread winner, and potentially may present them with the notion that they suck and should try something else. Bored white kids study graphic design.

What is the typical work week for you? (in respect to your old and new jobs) Shops range quite a lot. Some will have the regular corporate activities--status meetings, one-on-ones with managers, conferences, etc. --that will punctuate the week. Others will be void of any of that. You'll be lucky to see the guy that signs your checks. Expect to have to integrate in professional environment. Your client partners, or project managers, or producers (I've always loved that title) may be wearing flip-flops and spaghetti straps, or banker blues and wielding a Blackberry. In any case, the work is project focused. You'll have a set of tasks assigned to you, see below, that can range greatly. You may be on-board from the beginning, or come in and finish things up at the end. Your role will grow the more years you have in the rear view mirror.

Depending on the demands of the project, you will work over-time. You can think about this the next time you hear about the union bosses squawking for more of this and that in their contracts. You won't have a union, or a pension, or a contract. Other than that you're a tradesmen--stuck with the suits.

What do you actually do?
That can be a mouthful. Not that the volume is that vast, the scope can be quite wide. Designers fit a number of roles. Early in the career you can expect to participate in a narrow range; make sure the pagination in this brochure works with a 64 page signature; cut these web graphics and create a naming convention that will make sense to somebody else, namely a programmer. Those who can handle the small tasks can look forward to organizing a printed communication, creating a theme for a set of communications that may include print, may include a web site; interpreting a client's business goals and developing a strategy that utilizes multiple channels of communication in a coordinated effort to realize these goals and produce objective results with subjective means.

Or, I make stuff look pretty and remind clients how right they are. Whichever is easier on any given day.

What are some rewards in your occupation?
One of the most difficult aspects of the design field is the separation of personal interests from the work. Designers, as any other artist, inputs a large amount of personal effort into the work. In contrast to other fields, art has a personal component that is inherent to the work. The trick is to keep in mind that the art is not for you, it is the ultimate property of the client. The difficult part is to swallow your pride when the client doesn't get it. Fair enough.

The reward is when they do, and it's great.

What do you like most about your field?
Puzzles. Every piece of work is something new to take apart and put back together. It's like airplanes, only somedays they are made of paper.

The other thing worth mentioning is the tangential knowledge that can be picked up in this industry. You re going to work for clients that operate in a wide range of industries. It could be non-invasive endoscopic staplers one day, and rigged-out baby strollers the next. There's an opportunity to learn more than just the day-to-day essentials that relate to your responsibilities. It can be like an auto mechanic that wakes up and finds himself in the middle of an operating room. There's slices here and there that can be quite valuable. Make sure you don't miss them.

What are some difficulties or frustrations?
See Personal Interest above.

The creative field runs the gamut of firms and individuals you can work for, from large firms that run everything through the same washing machine, to small shops where there are no titles. If you work for the former, you may find that creatives get the side-ways looks in the corporate lunch room. If it's the later, you may find yourself in a place that has a noticeable lack of protocol. The creative card gets played a great deal. But I'm a Creative can leap out of a designer when they are presented with a timesheet, or a project budget. You are either this person or you will have to deal with them. I am not sure which is worse.

How flexible is your schedule? Can you work at varied hours?
That depends. Currently I work for an asshole that cannot think further than his finger can reach for the CAPS-LOCK button. He has the most draconian sense of time entry of EVER come across. Other places have shown a certain schedule flexibility towards people with funny accents and brooding demeanors. Early on I worked 70 hour weeks. No shit, I had an even forty in Wednesday afternoon. Which brought me to $10 an hour. At that time in my career it was alright. Do that while you can as an investment in your future career. Later on, you may have other concerns that are not compatible with this schedule.

At this point in my career, I work a full-time gig and have a side business that adds a few months extra salary, annually. Add to that the fact that one needs to spend additional time learning new techniques. Oh yeah, and you have to spend time selling all of it as well. My varied hours are all varied infront of a computer and screen that is as big as my television. When I am done with that, I stare at things that do not make any sense until they do.

What are some major responsibilities in your field?
On the ink side of things, a great deal of it boils down to mistakes and their avoidance. Typos are harder to fix when there are 65,000 brochures laying around in a warehouse. Project budgets can get blown because you didn't understand the client's perspective in the first twelve rounds of creative. And no, they won't like paying extra because of this.

Beyond that, there is personal consciousness that designers may or may not subscribe to. Much of our talents can be used for means that may not be that attractive, or admirable. Think big tobacco accounts, or credit card clients. You may have to decide if your powers are used for good or bad. It's not end-of-the-world stuff by any means. But you may come home from work one day and realize that a good portion of the jun mail you just through away came from people like you. You get to choose what you create.

What are some reasons people may be fired from this field (deadlines, lose accounts)?
I'd love to say the creative field is notorious for debauchery and swindling. Ordinarily that is not the case. Kids and adults get fired from jobs for the same reasons anybody else, either their performance or the company's. More times than not, I've seen good people get tossed on their ass because the leadership of the employer more closely resembles a bake-sale than a communications firm. Most likely the companies you work for will be entrepreneurial and that's ok. Some of the best work out their comes from places like that. Know that some days you may have to earn that check, and if you don't...well, you don't. The bubble went bust.

How and when did you first learn about this career?
That would have been from my high school guidance counselor. As things turned out, I was afflicted with senior-itis sometime during my sophomore year. As the college entrance exams approached, I was considering a career in the chemical engineering dept. at UofI. I took the ACT and did quite well, dealt four-of-a-kind on the first hand. Combine that with my HS transcripts and it was exactly not enough. The counselor mentioned that the Ag Dept. was a good back-door into the school. A quick transfer after so many credits would get me into Chem. Eng.

It was also brought to my attention that NIU was a solid state school, which fit the budget, and they had a nice art dept.

Couldn't be that hard, could it?

How did you get your start?
I interned for Golin Harris consulting in Chicago during the summer of 1995. It was an internal creative service that was actually paid. I wore the same two suits every other day for three months.

How would you advise someone to start building a career in your field?
You are going to start at a low salary. Accept this. I started out making less $k's than my years of age. If you make it through the first four or five years, you will begin to even out. Don't think about the micro-managers that are making six figures, while they cannot make a decision between cornflower blue and sky blue. You are learning a trade that is based in art, and science. And you get to wear jeans to work.

Take the job that intimidates you most. It has the most to teach you.

What job experiences would be a stepping stone into the career?
Take anything that is remotely related. I work at the college newspaper in the classified department. Then I took a temp position with an electrical manufacturing company, creating wiring diagrams and instruction manuals for a designer that was on maternity leave. Those positions, combined with the internship gave me a sliver of technical ability that may have been a factor in landing my first job. Who knows?

Computers are everything as of now. When I was in school, they had just broken into the field. Our curriculum at NIU allows students to explore both digital and manual approaches to the industry. I chose the former, and have never been at a lack for technical capabilities since then.

But today, that is the norm. Computer skills are easy to come by, because everybody, including over-inflated soccer mom that aspire to have an e-commerce site with the contents of their closets, is utilizing the web and offline communication channels. The real skill is aesthetic. Learning why things look pretty is more important than making them such.

If you were to starting out again, would you do anything differently?

1. I settled for a job once, after a lay-off/freelenace period. I was there for over a year and learned nothing.


2. Asked for at least $5k more at every merit increase meeting. You can always go lower.


3. Actually studied in HS and made the cut in the Engineering Dept. at Champaign-Urbana.


4. Join the military.

What are some branches or job opportunities in your field? What are the jobs available in this field, which have you had?
Designers usually start with similar skill sets. Then their experiences tend to pigeon-hole them for their careers. Squeaky girls get the perfume packages, smelly guys with long hair tend to get the rock posters. There are opportunities in each direction, some more than others. If you think you've been pegged by a certain label, you probably have. Move on to another position if it bothers you. Getting stale is part you and part job.

That didn't answer the question. Sorry.

Is there necessary education or training for this field? How long, how extensive?
Four years of under graduate education is normal. Additional post-graduate work is a plus. However, given the subjective nature of the field, work experience is more highly weighted than capital letters on a resume.

There are actually two schools of thought in this industry. The first approach is from the artistic side of the fence. Standard training involves fundamentals: life drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, art history, etc. This can be offered a s apart of four-year curriculum that also includes gen-ed's. What shakes out of this is your run-of-the-mill BFA. Also in this group is a more refined art school that has more of a focus on the arts, and usually less focus on the gen-ed's. Art Institute of Chicago is a good example. Both approaches hold the trade of graphic design, or visual communication, as an art. Both approach design holistically, with an understanding of how the verbal and non-verbal combine to form effective communication. Technical skills are acquired along the way, but they are not the desired goal.

The flip-side of that is exactly the opposite: the art of design as a trade. These are individuals that have migrated from other related fields: pressman or pre-press technologist that understand ink and paper, with a focus on current technologies such as color-correction, photo-retouching, etc.; back-end technologists, most likely interface builders. Their approaches are more single-faceted. One can produce printed materials, the other pushes pixels around and understands abstract code. They both rely on technical expertise to produce their work.

To compare the two is similar to comparing an architect and an engineer. Both build things, just not for the same reasons.

What educational institutions would you recommend (art school, 4 year university, tech school etc.)?
Four year university with a strong emphasis on art. For Illinois, NIU or UofI at Urbana. It is important to keep in mind that graphic designers have to be versatile enough to apply their skills to numerous sectors, or industries. A curriculum that does not expose students to other disciplines is not helpful. Business classes provide artists an opportunity to understand business vernacular. Science and math courses give exposure to analytical mindsets. Sociology and Comms can provide an brief understanding of behavioral sciences. And so on. Learning how to perfectly render a nude in twelve different medias is quite an asset. Learning who you may be presenting that finished nude to is more important. Unless your intent is to keep it to your self.

What is weighed more in the field; education, experience or a combination of both?
That depends on whom is one's employer. MFA's are not all that common. Honestly they will not get you as far as a good Eastern Block accent. On more than one occasion, I have been appalled at the Laissez-faire approach to employees that are on the European schedule. I digress. Experience, as much as you can get. Take the job, jump in the trench. When you climb out, be able to tell me what you did and why. Then tell me you'd do it again.

Education can provide a firm foundation with plenty of room to grow. Experience will turn it into a mid-level high rise, complete with six levels of retail tenants, high-end residential living, private parking, bomb shelter and free cable television.

Not every experience will fit each candidate the same way. I have no funk; never will. Every once in a while a project will come by and it has the chance to go funk; it's asking for it. I cannot do it. And I know I will get hammered by some light-weight that gets inspiration from walking around barefoot through the office. This is acceptable. Not every job will constantly offer opportunities that are exactly what you want to work on. Try to find a position that is 65-35. The bad news is that the 35 is what you want to do. The 65 is the part that makes you better at it.

{ Next up--Part Two: Job }

I spent some time this weekend installing a rotisserie on the grill. I've been hanging on to the college grill for quite some time. I've replaced the main burner twice. I just cannot see spending gi-normous amounts of cash for an iron box with shelves and a handle. Seriously, some of the rigs I see in Home Depot are outrageous. Mine's a basic Coleman with three cooking levels, a left and right main burner and a side burner. Honestly, I've never given the side-burner much activity. The flame is barely visible, and with it being slightly exposed to the air, I find that it goes out more than I care to futz with. Plus, I usually have something going on the range inside.

Above is the schematic. It's an odd-shaped rig that resembles a rhombus. It's not too big and has three cooking levels. The bottom level is fixed and the upper two work on a hinge. I find that the bottom level is a scorcher, only good for quick veggies and maybe some seared fish. The second is just about right and the third let's you get away from the heat. Not bad for $100.

The rotisserie is an after-market deal. It clamps onto the sides of the grill, as shown. The trick is that the hinges on the inside grates poke through the outside of the grill at just about the same place the brackets have to be located. The other isse is that the height of the brackets have to be high enough to allow whatever you are cooking to rotate over the brickets. If they are too high they will impede the hinges when the grates are used. Since the brackets are not removed when the spit is not in use, they need to find a place that works with the hinges.

I got everything set-up, due to the hinges I was not able to get the spit level. The left-hand bracket is not identical to the motor-side bracket. I have no idea why.

The other issue is with the burners and the spit bar. The bar has a coupler in the middle, which initially, I thought was a good idea. The clamps slide down the bar but will not slide past the coupler, due to its diameter. You cannot just slide the bar through the meat, once the clamps are on. Keep that in mind for a second.

The burners are left and right controlled. My usual set-up for non-direct smoking goes like this:

• Right burner high flame, left burner off.
• Smoke-box right side, filled with damp hickory.
• As the cook progresses I can usually get by with a low flame on the right, with just enough heat to keep the wood smoking.

When cooking with a fixed spit, I have to reverse the item to ensure even heating. As opposed to the front-back burner set-up which would provide even heat, left to right and front to back with the rotation. My left-right set-up means that the side closer to the heat will obviously get done faster.

Today, I did a bird that smoked for about three hours, with a turn after 90 minutes. The bitch is that the coupler interferes with just slipping the bird off the spit, floping it around, and sliding it back on the bar. I had to slide the bird as far down the bar as I could and unthread the coupler before I could spin it around. Then I had to re-join the coupler and re-position all the clamps. Kinda a pain in the ass.

But, smoked meat is always worth it. Next-up is pig, in what ever format fits the spit.

I picked up a book that Savage mentioned quite some time ago, Innumeracy by John Allen Paulos. It's not current by any means. I've always considered myself numerate, though I must admit it has been quite some time since I've had to solve for exponential variables, and what-not.

Quick side note: My wife and I took an online GMAT pre-test, back in 2001, I think. Things are spicy around the seed household on a Friday evening. It took us three hours and I found myself trying to rationalize and solve equations like that from scratch, without remembering how to actually remove a variable from an exponential factor. I tried this and that with numbers I could handle in my head. Soon, immense pain set-in and I had a new appreciation for Pathagorus. Anyway...

An interesting concept came out of the book that reminded me of a conversation I had with either Bergeron, or Savage. I cannot recall which. But first, a warm-up...

Say you walk by a roulette table that has a display that reads seven consecutive reds. What's the chance that the eighth spin will result in a red? Quick math for eight consecutive reds results in this: (18/36) x (18/36) x (18/36) x (18/38) x (18/38) x (18/38) x (18/38) x (18/38), or (18/38)^8. 18 being the number of reds out of 38 roulette slots. 8 being the number of attempts. Simple enough, right?

I get .00025 or .025%.

So, you might be considering putting your money down on black at this point. Clearly, twenty-five thousandths of a percent are pretty damn good odds; fabulous by most standards. Obviously, the roulette wheel is not a conditional probability; every spin is independent of the last. So, when you walk up to the display and see the seven previous reds you may forget that and think about the probability of the eight red. You also forget that you walked up to the table after the seventh spin, and they've all been red. So, you are already here: (18/36) x (18/36) x (18/36) x (18/38) x (18/38) x (18/38) x (18/38). What's the probability of the eighth spin being red, at this point? You bet: 18/38. Almost even money.

Warmed up yet? Good. I recall a conversation that went something like this:

Them: A certain medical test is 98% accurate.

Me: Yeah...?

Them: But it can give false positives that are close to 20%.

Me: Whaaaaaaa? No way.

I may have been innumerate at that point in my life and not have realized it. Which might be ignummerant. Either way, here's the skinny:

The test is 98% accurate, as stated. So out of 10,000 trails it results in 9,800 positives and 200 negatives. What happens if a condition is added to the mix, like our roulette example above? Then, the condition was that we walked up to table with seven previous reds, that greatly increased the probability of an eighth. Add to the test the condition that .5%, or 1 out of 200 cases, are confirmed positives among a population. How does that change your probability of actually being a positive, if you received a positive result?

Try this: .005 (.5%) x 10,000 = 50. This is the number of real positives in a sampling of 10,000. But we're looking for false-positives, so those 50 are removed from the 10,000 that are given the 98% accurate test, yielding 9,950. How many of those will be false? 2%, right? Which is 199 (9,950 x .002). Add that number to the known condition: 50 out of 10,000 are positive. You get 249. Your chance of actually being a positive out of all the positive results is 50/249, or about 20%.

I know, I was lost too.