“Graphic Art Degrees Overrated” New Study Finds

A fascinating new study finds self-taught graphic designers with experience earn significantly more than those - with institutional training - who lack hands on experience. Turns out passion, experience, and hustle define the success of graphic designers - not advanced education.

Chiang Mai, Thailand - September 19, 2016 /MarketersMedia/ —

Peter B. Williams - author, professor, and part time blogger - recently published an extended case study he did on jobs held by self taught graphic designers versus jobs held by those who had pursued advanced institutional graphic design training. The results surprised even him.

"When I finished high school many years ago, there was no question in my parents’ minds about me not going to post secondary. I didn’t really have a choice in the matter" says Williams who - at the time - decided to major in marketing with a minor in social behavioral studies.

"At the time it made a lot of sense for young people like myself to pursue office jobs. At the time such jobs paid significantly better and of course people with more advanced education were favored. I - like many people today - assumed that never changed." Williams continued.

"It is widely accepted that the more educated one is, the more money one makes. For us old timers there is no ifs or buts about it. Which is partially why I did this thorough study: to prove this theory to a handful of young people who keep insisting graphic art degrees are a waste of time - mainly because of the rapid evolution of the internet."

Williams goes on to say that even though doing this study went against everything he believed, he made a pact with his students to come up with enough data to prove either him or them wrong.

"The results were not at all what I expected." Williams continued, "Out of the 186 students I tracked down who finished a degree in graphic design within the last 5 years, only 11 were actually working graphic design jobs. I was shocked."

His study revealed how the main reason so few of the graphic design students weren't pursuing jobs in their field was because most companies wanted at least a few years worth of experience. The second reason was because they didn't believe those jobs to be paying enough.

To keep this case study fair and honest, Williams then went and tracked down 192 full time graphic designers to ask them how they got the job, what level of institutional training they had, and how much they earned.

Williams sighed as he continued "It turns out most graphic designers are freelancers. Some earning just above minimum wage while others had incomes going well over six figures per year. I naturally expected the higher earners to be the ones that had university or college training but it turned out to not be the determining factor. In fact, one of the higher earners - whose specialty was creating eBook covers for a half dozen digital marketing companies - admitted he never even finished high school!"

"As embarrassing as it was for me - one who strongly encouraged people to get honorable degrees for everything - I lost my bet. Turns out studying graphic design is a great introduction to the field, but it is practice (lots of it), street smarts, and hustle that ultimately makes one a successful graphic designer."

To learn more about Williams or this study, check out his blogpost here: http://pbw.us/catching-up-with-technology/

For more information, please visit http://pbw.us/

Contact Info:
Name: Peter Williams
Organization: PBW
Address: 48 Punna Residence, Building B, Room 302, Soi 6 Nimmanhaemin Road, T. Suthep Muang
Phone: 993839099

Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUuK_eGBVSM

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/graphic-art-degrees-overrated-new-study-finds/133048

Release ID: 133048