Been there,

Well Amy, if your a fresh grad and young w/o the responsibilities of a family the choice is a little bit clearer than you think.

With only the basic needs in life rent, food elec, ect you have a bit more flexibility in what comes with the first few years in the real world. Potential hiring and firing, relocation.

As someone who graduated already having that “job that pays the bills” its always going to pay the bills. By doing so it will silently eat away your current tenacity and willingness to take risk. Thus you would probably find yourself sticking to that job and never taking that leap.

Now is your opportunity and now is the time.

You said “felt very confident in my work” and what changed that? nothing should change that. Confidence is and will always be key to your first and future jobs.

As your aware hiring managers, Creative Directors, etc see a lot more in your portfolio than you think. Along with that they will see things in you.

If you have not read it I would also recommend reading

Jessica Helfand
An Open Letter to Design Students Everywhere
Over at DO

http://www.designobserver.com/archives/entry.html?id=39717

And when your done pack up the portfolio while the work is still fresh and not several years old. Research the firms your interested in and fire out individualized crafted pieces that introduce you. Wait a few weeks and make some follow up calls.

All of this we both and many other designers learned in life/school. So take the plunge now while the heart is still strong for our beloved profession. It may be tough at times but when you look back in a few years from the position and firm you want to be at, the smile will be really big on your face.

Congrats on your graduation and good luck in your future endeavors.

Patrick

Hello there

well I’m a graphic design student too ,

and i feel like you when i look through others website ,, i mean its really easy , but i dont have to time to do like them .

but well you to change , and make a plane from now before you graduate

by the way , i hope i can see your work in college ,, i want to see the difference between my college and yours

Thanks Amy , and GOOL LUCK with your life

Hindsight is 20/20. Having the chance to do it all over again, the second you realized you were going to declare Graphic Design as a major, you should have sought out an internship at a design agency. I spent three years as the intern at an ad agency (during school) and at the same time an internship at a large printer (where we were still cutting film, but also one of the first to have DTP. I spent a lot of time mocking up presentation boards, scanning pictures, arranging stock photography books (I’m old) but responsibilities grew!)but that was absolutely crucial in my development. I still draw on those experiences today. So I hate to say it, but you have to start somewhere. As Patrick noted, without the responsibilities of family you are much more flexible in landing a job for the experience and not the paycheck. You have to pay your dues. When I graduated from college, the dot.com busted about 6 months prior to that. 6 months earlier graduates were writing their own checks. When I graduated there were reports of 700 applications for one design position. I ended up taking a lesser paying job but one where I knew my boss would mentor me on the ins and outs of the industry. Having been in the industry for over 10 years, it’s a constant process of growth and development. It’s a constant chase.

Some important things to realize:

1. Know production, inside and out. A designer who doesn’t know production in this day and age is a dinosaur. When you send a job to print ask the printer “was the file setup the way you liked” You’ll find some good answers.

2. Say goodbye to the ego. I think by looking around you are getting a good does of reality “I have a lot to learn!” Yes, that’s true. We all do. I still remember a quote by a famous 85 year old Japanese watercolor painter (paraphrasing: I’m just starting to figure this out).

3. BE A SPONGE. Look at everything, what not to do, what to do. I have had the opportunity to pull apart some files from very large ad agencies from out clients and can not believe how some files are built. Ask printers a ton of questions. Getting it right is very important, but also so is the thought behind the process. Go to press checks!

4. Don’t be scared to do pro-bono in the beginning. A great way to build your portfolio and learn the nuances of dealing with clients. During my intern days, I actively sought out pro-bono work to build my portfolio.

Good luck to you in your search, keep up the work in the blog, this is a great networking tool.