Worried about majoring in Graphic Design

<p>Have any of you people ever worried about the future occupations of landing a career in Graphic Design? I mean I love doing art and Graphic Design and Web Design work but i'm scared I won't find a job immediately and it may be low paying and job security in Graphic Design won't be good since there will be others who are better than you who will kick you out of your spot.</p>

<p>From what I can tell, if you go into traditional graphic design ( print work) then it would be a fairly low paying job and not have a lot of job security. This could, however, change if you can start up your own business and do some marketing.</p>

<p>Web design is a different deal. If you become really good at it, which means that you not only know HTML but you become very proficient with flash and animation then you can make a nce living. From what I see, web designers,who are good coders, are significantly better paid than graphic designers. You might want to check out Univeristy of Cincinnati's program in Digital Design,which is a combination of graphic design, web design, animation and computer programming.</p>

<p>Ditto to taxguy, for sure. He has a great suggestion, to incorporate the technical side as well, including flash, php, ftp, xml, html/xhtml, asp, .NET, javascript, content management, database work, and whatever the latest tools/languages are. This will set you apart from all of the other less-capable graphic designers and also give you premium pay.</p>

<p>According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the general salary range for a web designer is $51,750/yr - $74,520/yr. For freelance work, college students can charge $25-50/hour, more for professionals. With all of the technical skills listed above, you can rise to the top of the heap.</p>

<p>////Ditto to taxguy, for sure. He has a great suggestion, to incorporate the technical side as well, including flash, php, ftp, xml, html/xhtml, asp, .NET, javascript, content management, database work, and whatever the latest tools/languages are. This will set you apart from all of the other less-capable graphic designers and also give you premium pay.///</p>

<p>It is true it can set you apart, but very few graphic design programs will teach you server-side programming and database management. Plus, only a minority of students will likely enjoy the more technical aspects/programming of managing Web-based content. Regardless, applications like Dreamweaver are making it much easier to develop sites so that JavaScript, for example, becomes virtually invisible to the designer. </p>

<p>Nonetheless, the primary role of a designer remains unchanged no matter what the medium. Graphic design makes information accessible to people in a manner that empowers them to make better decisions. Accessibility per the Web is largely dependent upon an understanding of "traditional" design skills as well as interaction design. A good design program teaches design first and foremost. Most Web-development companies use a front-end designer and a back-end developer working in tandem. It is not necessary to minor in Computer Science.</p>