Update
So, I haven't actually posted in here for a very long time, mainly because everything that's been happening has been occuring in such tiny little pieces that they never seem important enough to put up all by themselves. I've been thinking about it recently, and there actually is a lot that I could post about right now that I would want to look back on in the future, even if nobody else reads it.
So, first of all, I'm still deliriously happy dating David, and am 100% sure that I'll be just as deliriously happy 50 years from now. I'd say more, but I know a lot of people don't like all the gooey lovey stuff, so just assume I said every sickeningly sweet cliche out there and you'll probably get the gist of things.
As for myself, I took a buyout from my company after a year of working for them because 1) The new girl actually wanted the job and was going to be fired and 2) There were no advancement opporunities and frankly I know people making more money than I did who were working in jobs that required nothing more than fluency in English and a work ethic. There were things I liked about the old job, but, well, I outgrew them and was simply overworked and frustrated/bored 10 minutes after walking through the door.
For fun, the main 10 complaints I have about the old job:
1) Transparency was never allowed. In any design.
2) In my first 6 months, I was forced to take the fall in my review so that it wouldn't impede someone else's career advancement.
3) We were forced to work on Editorial computers and were using Adobe products that were out of date, when we were allowed to have them at all.
4) I had a single 17" monitor to work on.
5) I had to drive 3 hours a day to get there and back.
6) They were planning on moving even farther away sometime in the near future (it has apparently happened)
7) The off-season projects were mostly busywork that had deadlines that were often inflexible.
8) You never knew when a project was "priority" unless you specifically brought it up, and even then the responses were usually vague.
9) They did not believe in "limiting" a designer with the knowledge of who their AUDIENCE was.
10) The boss was very fickle and often changed his mind about things. I always had to wait until the afternoon when he was busy to submit work to him, because otherwise I couldn't get past my first project until he became too busy to essentially recreate it to his style of design. I know that this one sounds like I just had a style confliction with my boss, but I confirmed it with all of the other designers and they agreed heavily. He was a huuuuuuuge perfectionist.
Currently I am going to the local community college to grab some knowledge and a certification in Web Development. I researched the job market, and this is really the only way to go. There are too many graphic designers out there that know Photoshop but can't do much else with the web, and since I am very capable and fascinated by php, css, html, javascript, ajax, xml, and mysql technology, I figured that it would be a great idea to cultivate that.
Especially since that would allow me to apply to about 30 more jobs a week that all offer at least 10k more than my old job yet still allow me to design.
I took a while to decide on that path, though. I was hoping that David would get into a college and I could perhaps move near him so I could see him more often, but now I don't think I could afford that, and my community college is actually one of the few that offer some of the very specialized courses like AJAX.
I'm starting school in January, and I really hope that this works out.
In other news, I'm just... failing at my websites. I start out really strong, but they take such a huge time investment that it's hard to start something and then finish it within the timelines I set for myself. I end up just getting overwhelmed and upset, and then I try to rush it at the end and just... fail. I'm trying to get my enthusiasm back, but for some reason, I just can't. As soon as I try, something in my real life occurs that's much more important and steals my focus away, and I have to start all over again.
So, first of all, I'm still deliriously happy dating David, and am 100% sure that I'll be just as deliriously happy 50 years from now. I'd say more, but I know a lot of people don't like all the gooey lovey stuff, so just assume I said every sickeningly sweet cliche out there and you'll probably get the gist of things.
As for myself, I took a buyout from my company after a year of working for them because 1) The new girl actually wanted the job and was going to be fired and 2) There were no advancement opporunities and frankly I know people making more money than I did who were working in jobs that required nothing more than fluency in English and a work ethic. There were things I liked about the old job, but, well, I outgrew them and was simply overworked and frustrated/bored 10 minutes after walking through the door.
For fun, the main 10 complaints I have about the old job:
1) Transparency was never allowed. In any design.
2) In my first 6 months, I was forced to take the fall in my review so that it wouldn't impede someone else's career advancement.
3) We were forced to work on Editorial computers and were using Adobe products that were out of date, when we were allowed to have them at all.
4) I had a single 17" monitor to work on.
5) I had to drive 3 hours a day to get there and back.
6) They were planning on moving even farther away sometime in the near future (it has apparently happened)
7) The off-season projects were mostly busywork that had deadlines that were often inflexible.
8) You never knew when a project was "priority" unless you specifically brought it up, and even then the responses were usually vague.
9) They did not believe in "limiting" a designer with the knowledge of who their AUDIENCE was.
10) The boss was very fickle and often changed his mind about things. I always had to wait until the afternoon when he was busy to submit work to him, because otherwise I couldn't get past my first project until he became too busy to essentially recreate it to his style of design. I know that this one sounds like I just had a style confliction with my boss, but I confirmed it with all of the other designers and they agreed heavily. He was a huuuuuuuge perfectionist.
Currently I am going to the local community college to grab some knowledge and a certification in Web Development. I researched the job market, and this is really the only way to go. There are too many graphic designers out there that know Photoshop but can't do much else with the web, and since I am very capable and fascinated by php, css, html, javascript, ajax, xml, and mysql technology, I figured that it would be a great idea to cultivate that.
Especially since that would allow me to apply to about 30 more jobs a week that all offer at least 10k more than my old job yet still allow me to design.
I took a while to decide on that path, though. I was hoping that David would get into a college and I could perhaps move near him so I could see him more often, but now I don't think I could afford that, and my community college is actually one of the few that offer some of the very specialized courses like AJAX.
I'm starting school in January, and I really hope that this works out.
In other news, I'm just... failing at my websites. I start out really strong, but they take such a huge time investment that it's hard to start something and then finish it within the timelines I set for myself. I end up just getting overwhelmed and upset, and then I try to rush it at the end and just... fail. I'm trying to get my enthusiasm back, but for some reason, I just can't. As soon as I try, something in my real life occurs that's much more important and steals my focus away, and I have to start all over again.