New to this world, and have so many questions (:

[Tepazi]

Hi there, I just started to get into PS lately and I am planning to become a graphic designer. I'm an Israeli living abroad. And I have many questions

I found Daniel Scott on YouTube, watched and practiced his ‘PS Basic course’, and I'm about to finish the ‘Advanced select course’ as well, I find both really helpful.

I am considering signing up for an annual subscription on his website ‘Bring Your Own Laptop’ to take the full Photoshop advanced course as well as Illustrator course and probably also InDesign course, and maybe more

Did anyone learn graphic design through his courses? Any pros? cons? other recommendations?

• I checked out some job offers on Israeli sites and I can see that about 95% are looking for designers that will physically work at their office, and that’s not what I’m looking for. Do you think it is easy to find junior graphic designer jobs 100% from home?

• Another thing that concerns me is the requirements on these sites, for example:

‘Print design, experience in closing files for printing’, ‘Construction of product portfolios for the company's suppliers abroad’, ‘Knowledge in downloading graphic materials for printing’, ‘print production, catalogs’, ‘Knowledge in online design’, ‘creating designs in AI and exporting on XD’, ‘designing Wix websites’, ‘knowledge in web design and landing pages’, ‘knowledge in Figma’, and on, and on…

Please forgive me for the poor translation from Hebrew

My question is, do you think a few PS and AI courses should provide me the knowledge for all/most of those requirements?

Do you believe I could find a job as a graphic designer after taking a few courses? (not sure yet if I want to be a freelancer or working from home part-time, but it has to be a job from home).

• I am learning PS and I will learn the other software myself, but I will work on any project together with my girlfriend which used to work as an executive producer in the television and advertising industries for many years. my question is, how will it look in a portfolio? Do you think it’s fine to apply for a junior graphic designer job as a two-person team? Do you think it can be a problem? Or look strange in some way? If yes, do you have any suggestions?
• If I am learning quite fast, and believe we can create a great portfolio, is it a reasonable expectation to started working in that field in about 3 months?

Thank you so much! Looking forward to your responses!

 

[ushere]

Do you believe I could find a job as a graphic designer after taking a few courses?

there was a similar thread recently.. https://www.photoshopgurus.com/forum/threads/certification.73620/

the only thing likely to get you a 'proper' job in graphic design is a stunning portfolio, and even then, it'll probably only be on a contract basis. you've decided to jump in just as the whole industry has become more of a gig economy than most.

i don't think any ps / ai course will even begin to cover the 'technical' aspects that come with preparing work for distribution; either for printing, web, tv, whatever. each has its own, very specific requirements, and for commercial purposes, they are not for bending or breaking - you absolutely have to know what you're doing.

i wish you ever success, but be warned, it's a hard road...

 

[IamSam]

Do you believe I could find a job as a graphic designer after taking a few courses? (not sure yet if I want to be a freelancer or working from home part-time, but it has to be a job from home).

No.
Learning the software is only one small aspect of the entire industry and will never qualify you as a graphic designer. The term "graphic designer" is used far too loosely today. Today's world is filled with easily accessible free to subscription based software that people learn minimal basics on YT/internet and call themselves graphic designers. YT Ps tuts stifle creativity with the same old cringe worthy effects done over and over again. We call them "copycat" tutorials. Just because you learn some basic skills with the software, does not mean you are capable of design work. I used to advise people who wanted to be artists, that I could tell in just a few seconds if they would be successful. All I needed to do was to ask them to draw a ball or any inanimate object sitting at the table with a pencil and I could tell if they had the chops worth perusing an art career.

As I have stated on this forum before, success is a process with definitive steps that must be followed. Most persons want to skip these steps and go straight to the "pay me" stage. It never works that way. I think you should examine yourself for the very first step in the process and that is do you have the underlying natural skills to make a living as a graphic designer? Are you willing to put yourself through an accredited school? Can you create an impeccable portfolio filled with original works (not copycatted) that are above and beyond others? Training and portfolios will open doors to the better paying jobs. (By the way, keep your portfolio off the internet) Also, any outstanding creative work you generate and post online will be immediately copied.

If you're looking for a position in any design firm, chances are you will be beat out by anyone with a degree. A Bachelor's degree or certificate from an accredited trade school is usually considered essential to actually becoming a graphic designer that's qualified for a graphic design position.

Do you think it is easy to find junior graphic designer jobs 100% from home?

Not any that pay well. Don't quit your regular day job. You will be in competition with literally millions of other "designers" from the India/Pakistan area alone not to mention the rest of the world! They are quoting fair work at very, very low prices. The big paying jobs are looking for "non-internet" trained designers with degrees, immaculate portfolios demonstrating impressive underlying skills.

is it a reasonable expectation to started working in that field in about 3 months?

Well..........not really. However, I reserve judgement here until I have seen your work. Remember, doing free edits here on PSG is not design work. You need to post some of your graphic works if you want a direct answer to this question.

 

[Tepazi]

Thank you so much @ushere and @IamSam, I really appreciate your help!

@ushere, “I don't think any ps / ai course will even begin to cover the 'technical aspects that come with preparing work for distribution; either for printing, web, tv, whatever. each has its own, very specific requirements, and for commercial purposes, they are not for bending or breaking - you absolutely have to know what you're doing.”

So is there another way to learn these things? (other than by work experience, as I see it as an initial requirement for many jobs).

@IamSam, I’m not interested to go through regular studies. I’m pretty confident I have the skills to make a living as a graphic designer, and I believe I can make an outstanding original portfolio.

Are there any other professions that you would recommend to consider? such as UX designer, UI designer, AfterEffects, something else?

 

[ushere]

@IamSam, I’m not interested to go through regular studies. I’m pretty confident I have the skills to make a living as a graphic designer, and I believe I can make an outstanding original portfolio.
Are there any other professions that you would recommend to consider? such as UX designer, UI designer, AfterEffects, something else?

So is there another way to learn these things? (other than by work experience, as I see it as an initial requirement for many jobs).

there's a great many text books that cover the technical aspects of all commercial production - they make for dry, boring reading, hence the reason people ask for real world experience... there is NO shortcut to gaining experience, other than actually doing it ;-(
i have, over the years, worked with a great many people who have had a great deal of confidence, and no real world experience (mainly in the video / tv production field), and i can honestly say that not a single one of them made anything of their hopes and aspirations. on the other hand, i've also worked with numerous individuals who progressed through the industry, many of whom started off as simple gofers, paying attention to everything that went on around them, asked questions when they didn't know, and always listened to good advice, and slowly and steadily built up trust and respect, thus opening many doors for them.

there's no way i, or anyone else for that matter, could recommend a career path without knowing your capabilities - both technical and creative. and again, you are looking at professions that have become closely tied to the gig economy, thus pitting you against an ever-increasing labour pool of well established (and poorly paid) freelancers. to get a better idea, visit sites like freelancer.com and have a look around at the jobs being offered and the portfolios on show. it's a tough, badly paid world out there....

 

[IamSam]

@IamSam, I’m not interested to go through regular studies.

This is unfortunate. It should at least be a consideration. It's also a little insight.

I’m pretty confident I have the skills to make a living as a graphic designer, and I believe I can make an outstanding original portfolio.

In addition to what @ushere commented above, I would like to add that I'm not being negative here nor am I trying to discourage you in any way. I admire that you have confidence. However, per the cognitive bias that Dunning and Kruger described, you simply don't know what you don't know. I have known many highly confident and outstanding people, both educated and others who were self taught, who failed to make a career for themselves in the industry because they were overconfident and had underestimated their own abilities. It's definitely a major challenge.

Again repeating myself and @ushere, there's no way I can really offer you exact advice until I see some of your original works. Even some hand drawn concepts could give us some idea of where you're headed. Only after I see some examples of your work can I really advise you to throw in the towel or dive in and go for it.