The world of graphic design jobs is very diverse and large in retrospect.  More and more people are learning how to use their photo editing software on their computers, but does this alone qualify someone as a so called graphic designer?  Employers hiring for graphic designer jobs are looking for much more than just the editing of existing photos.  A graphic designer must be able to create and come up with new art and designs that can improve the way something looks or help to brand a specific product.  Of course photos can be used as references, but a candidate for freelance graphic design jobs needs to be able to create original and different graphic designs. 

We have a few tips for those of you that are looking for jobs in graphic design.

1. Learn Adobe Photoshop inside and out!  If you don’t know how to use it take come classes at your local trade school and learn to use this powerful tool.  Photoshop is the graphic design standard and you must be able to know your way around within its software platform.
2. Learn Adobe Illustrator.  This program allows you to create your graphics in a vector format.  This means that your artwork can be blown up as big or as small as you want without sacrificing resolution.  Most final graphic designs are in an Illustrator format.
3. Most graphic design jobs also include some web design know how.  Learn Adobe Dreamweaver so that you can understand how your graphics will work on the internet.  Depending on the size of your images the website you add your images to can become fast or slow.  Learn how to optimize your images for web content and websites.
4. Think outside the box!  Create a wide array of different art, don’t just stay within a style you are comfortable with.  Graphic designers that do very well are able to pull off many different graphic and art styles.

Having mastered these tips, you will be a much better candidate to land a graphic designer job.  Many people wonder what the yearly salary is for someone who lands a job in graphic desing.  Let us put your worries to rest as we will break it down for you.

YEARLY SALARY- Most graphic designers make from $30K to $40K per year.  This is a great job as most positions are for full time spots.  Most of these jobs also offer full benefit packages such as health, dental, and retirement options such as 401K and Nest Egg accounts. 

Why should you pursue jobs in graphic design? The main reason is because it’s a FUN job to have!  I have been a graphic designer for 5 years and love creating images that are seen by thousands of people.  It really makes you feel connected to your work and others.  Its fun to know that people will buy a product, visit a website, or read information because you dressed up the platform and made it look enticing.  If you are a creative person and love creating digital graphics, this is definitely the job for you!