I recently attended a meetup where a panel of speakers was taking questions from the crowd. One question that stood out to me was, “How do I get into design?” The lady who answered grabbed the microphone, leaned in, and whispered with a mix of humor and truth, “Don’t.” She then added, “Design is a terrible career, especially in the current job market.”
Her response puzzled me. Why would she say such a thing? My experience as a designer has been nothing short of amazing. It has opened doors I never imagined and taught me invaluable lessons. I always encourage those who are truly passionate about design to pursue it. Who am I to stop someone from following their dream? Reflecting on this experience, I felt compelled to share my thoughts in this post.
The current job market
The current job market is undoubtedly challenging, particularly in the tech sector. This reality forms the basis of the second part of the speaker’s argument. The past few years have been tough for most industries, especially tech, with a significant number of layoffs. The situation has become so widespread that there are now dedicated websites tracking these layoffs.
According to a recent TechCrunch article, the tech industry alone has seen 60,000 layoffs this year, which is staggering. And that figure was as of August 15th. Other websites also track these numbers, and I’ll include links to them in the footnote.
Layoffs
These layoffs have had a ripple effect across the job market, including on salaries. The days of easily negotiating high salaries are gone. With so many qualified individuals re-entering the job market, competition has intensified. If you’re a junior, this makes the situation even tougher. Even highly qualified candidates may face rejection since companies can afford to be pickier with their ideal candidate.
Additionally, many talented freelancers and contractors are eager to take on work. This global competition, combined with current market conditions, leads many companies to prefer hiring freelancers and contractors, as they pose less risk compared to permanent full-time employees. For instance, if you no longer need the talent, you can simply end their contract.
Job Growth & Correction
While the job market may seem to be shrinking, it’s important to recognize that this is part of a broader economic adjustment. Pre-COVID, growth in the tech sector was fairly steady. Then came the period of easy money and lockdowns, where people were spending more online and companies were raising insane amount of money for unrealistic valuations, leading to a surge in demand for tech talent. Companies began hiring rapidly, often more than necessary. As economic conditions tightened, the market started to correct itself, which is not unique to tech; many industries are facing similar challenges.
Investors are now more cautious with their investments since interest rates are higher, and their money is safer in high-interest areas like banks. With less money flowing in, they’re more selective about where they invest. Additionally, with high inflation in some countries, both companies and individuals are tightening their spending, making it generally harder to generate revenue.
Barrier to Entry and the The Bootcamp Myth
Tech jobs have traditionally paid well, and the barrier to entry is relatively low compared to other professional industries. However, this perception leads many people to spend thousands on online courses and bootcamps, training for a few weeks to a few months, believing they are now job-ready. This is a myth. Like any other profession, it takes around 10,000 hours to become a skilled designer. No single course can prepare you to be a designer in just a few weeks. At best, you might learn 10–20% of what is required and expected of you. The rest you must learn on the job and through your own efforts: putting in the hours, doing the work, continuously studying, learning, keeping up with trends, and more. It might take weeks, or even months, to land your first job. Your expectation shouldn’t be that you’ll immediately start using the tools and design cool things.
Because the barrier to entry is low, thousands of people enter the job market each year, often after completing similar courses that encourage them to create the same projects, exercises, and portfolios. In 2022 alone, nearly 60,000 new bootcamp graduates entered the U.S. market, not including university graduates. With so many new entrants and the 60,000 people who lost their jobs in 2024, competition for available roles is intense. This influx of applicants, many with nearly identical resumes and portfolios, makes it incredibly challenging for hiring managers to make decisions.
When companies hire junior employees, they are investing a significant amount of money and resources to train that person, hoping that their contributions will eventually justify the investment. This means companies are taking a risk when they bring on junior staff, which is why junior roles are rare. You have to find a way to stand out, whether through a standout portfolio, being active on social media, writing, speaking, mentoring, or having a specific skill set that sets you apart from others. Identify and leverage your unique advantage.
Why Is Design for You?
First, you need to figure out your “why.” Why do you want to become a designer? It’s okay if money is one of your motivations, but it cannot be your only one. You need to love technology, problem-solving, and building things. You need to have a passion for learning new things and keeping up with trends. Dedication to this craft is essential if you want to be successful. Understanding your “why” will also help you articulate your passion and purpose in your resume, portfolio, and interviews.
Design is a challenging career. It’s not just about learning Figma and adding drop shadows to elements. To be a truly good designer, you need to be a great generalist in many areas and an excellent specialist in one or a few areas. You need to understand visual design, colors, typography, layouts, human psychology, business, data, selling your ideas, teamwork, patience, empathy, research, a bit of programming, technology, and multiple software tools. Additionally, you need to learn about the specific business sector you enter, whether it’s fintech, medtech, AI, social media, eCommerce, or any other field. Each of these disciplines requires additional knowledge and understanding.
Reality of the Job
The reality of working as a designer is often different from what people expect. The glamorous part — creating cool designs and solutions — might only make up 20–30% of your job. The rest involves research, fixing bugs, managing stakeholders, patching together quick solutions to meet deadlines, selling your designs, working on feedback you might not agree with, and much more. Understanding this reality is crucial to managing your expectations and career growth.
Definition of Talent
“Top designers are talented.” While this isn’t untrue, it’s important to discuss what talent really means. Most people who excel at what they do weren’t born with that talent; they developed it over time through consistent effort. My advice is to set aside time each day to study and improve your craft. Whether that means replicating UI designs from Dribbble, researching a specific area, reading an article or a book, or watching a tutorial, you need to put in the effort to cultivate your talent.
Social media has conditioned us to believe that success happens overnight or that some people are just naturally gifted. The truth is, talent is earned through hard work, obsession, and, most importantly, discipline.
Everyone Will Have a Different Experience
When you ask for advice, you’ll receive different answers to the same question. People have different experiences and perspectives. Some are optimistic, some are realistic, and others may be negative or pessimistic. It’s crucial to filter the advice you receive and focus on creating your own path and experience. If you ask the lady from the panel, you’ll get a very negative “don’t do it” response. If you ask me, I’ll tell you that I can’t see myself doing anything else. I absolutely love what I do and wouldn’t change it for the world. If you’re passionate about design, I believe you should absolutely pursue it and give it your all.
Ignoring Feel-Good Comments
Earlier, I mentioned the importance of filtering advice. While it’s essential to stay positive, it’s equally important to avoid the trap of feel-good comments that can be misleading. I’m not a fan of social media posts that say things like “You can’t expect one designer to do x, y, z,” or “You can’t expect designers to build a portfolio while having a full-time job,” or “This isn’t fair, and that isn’t fair.” While you can read, like, and comment on these posts, keep in mind that they often get attention because they provide a false feel-good moment. Ultimately, these posts are useless, untrue, and can be harmful to your career.
Here’s a reality check: as employees, we provide value to our employers and their businesses. The more value you can offer, the more valuable you become to that business. As a result, your pay will increase, your position will improve, and you will receive more opportunities. It’s that simple.
And here’s another reality check: if you don’t do it, if you don’t keep your portfolio updated, if you don’t learn the extra skills, if you don’t put in the work, someone else will. And that person will likely get the job. It’s not rocket science; it’s simple math and simple business. Focus on making yourself as valuable as possible.
Role of AI
I’ve heard the argument that AI will take your job many times. While it’s a complex topic deserving of its own discussion, I can say with confidence that your job as a designer is safe for now. AI is changing some aspects of design, but this has always been true throughout the history of the field. Just as WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace didn’t eliminate the need for web designers, AI won’t replace the role of designers but will likely change some of the tasks they perform.
AI is taking over some of the repetitive tasks that juniors used to handle, which were a great starting point for understanding the basics. Now, designers are passing those tasks to AI, which means juniors need to meet a higher standard to be useful. So, continue learning your craft and adapting to new tools, but don’t worry about AI taking your job anytime soon.
Where from Here
Design is an excellent career for someone who is truly passionate about it and wants to work on projects that make a meaningful impact on the world. Design is a vast discipline, and mastering it takes years. Don’t expect to become a “Designer” after just a 6-week bootcamp. Design is challenging, and it requires hard work to excel. If you love it, stick with it, put in the effort, find ways to stand out, and improve your craft every single day. If you do, you will find work and, hopefully, achieve great things.
What will likely happen is that many people who trained to become UX Designers or Researchers will continue to improve their skills and portfolios and eventually land a job. However, a significant number may end up changing their career paths if they’re unable to secure a position. Unfortunately, some talented designers might be among those who shift careers, which is a shame. On the other hand, some individuals may have entered design for the wrong reasons and will move on to something they are truly great at.
In today’s market, it’s important to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Whether it’s through your portfolio, networking skills, the range of skills you’ve mastered as a designer, or something else, distinguishing yourself is key. If you’re good at what you do, you will eventually find work. Just stay persistent and hang in there.
Thank you for your time,
Ari
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Layoff Websites:
https://www.trueup.io/layoffs
https://layoffs.fyi/
