Graphic Design Careers

Graphic Design Careers

Graphic Design Career Paths

What one career has a hand in virtually every place you look? Graphic design. Designers work on the websites you visit, the ads you see, the movies you watch, the games you play, and the packaging for the products you buy. And while an eye for design can't necessarily be taught, most graphic designers have attended an art or design school to get where they are in their careers. StraighterLine can help you get there too—in less time and for far less money.

Graphic Design

Graphic Design: Work for Others or Work for Yourself

With a career in graphic design, you have the choice of working in advertising, publishing, public relations, media, industrial design, and a range of other industries. And while most graphic designers work for a company, in 2010 nearly 30% of them were their own bosses. If you’ve got a creative soul, the flexibility to flourish on your own is a major plus. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for graphic designers was $43,500—which would rank in the top 10 professions if broken out separately. In terms of job growth, it’s about average, projected to grow at 13%.

Create a Variety of Jobs with a Graphic Design Degree

A graphic design degree expands your options to include a diverse palette of creative careers that can extend to leadership positions in highly creative organizations like advertising agencies and industrial design firms. Here are just a few jobs you can get with a graphic design degree:

  • Art Director
  • Creative Director
  • Drafter (Architecture and Engineering)
  • Film and Video Editor
  • Graphic Designer
  • Industrial/Product Designer
  • Marketing Manager
  • Multimedia Artist/Animator
  • Technical Writer
  • Web Designer

Graphic Designers Click with Online Courses

It might have been different in the past, but these days, most people who want to become graphic designers are already using computers to create their art. And if you’re not, you will, from Photoshop to Illustrator to Flash to Corel Draw and—the list goes on and on. If you can use these programs to create art, then taking online classes is no big deal.

Save Big When You Start with Online Courses from StraighterLine

When you do enroll in art or design school, don't you want the ability to take as many creative courses as possible without wasting time on required general-education courses? After all, you’re not going to design school to study history or algebra.

That’s where StraighterLine can help you out. Our courses earn transfer credit at any of our partner colleges or through the ACE Credit service to over 1,800 colleges and universities in the United States, so why not take your basic classes from us so you can focus on creative courses when you’re in design school—and save precious time and money along the way?

Get started now! Your graphic design career is just a few courses away

Graphic Design Careers Through StraighterLine

Here are the StraighterLine courses and electives you might need to pursue your graphic design degree:

Beneficial Resources

Useful Links for Graphic Design Degree Seekers