Hey, i'm still at school but i want to do web or graphic design when i leave school, i've been advised to start looking for jobs to do while i'm still at school then i will have more experiance by the time i have left.

Is this a good idea?

It won't hurt. You'll learn more about the business end of web design if you get employed. Stuff that you wouldn't learn by yourself.

How do i get started then?

How do i sort payment etc out?

I'm still at school...

Thanks...

:]

How old are you?

 

You won't be able to get a job, unless you're over 16. You should try putting together a basic CV, with some examples of your work, and send it off to local (web) design agencies, asking for work experience.

 

Payment would be sorted out by your employer. If you're only looking for experience/a foot in the door, I would aim for work experience, especially if you're quite young.

 

Rob

Agree with RobH, get a CV together and find a way of getting a portfolio together - ideally make your own site to display your work, prospective employers will be able to look at this.

 

Apply for all the jobs you can in the "media" type industries, you don't have to go for a specific type of job, getting a foot in the door is the first step even if it's just for an admin assistant. Once you are in and you show enthusiasm and talent it likely that your employer will give you necessary training/coaching etc.

by jobs, i meant more sites to do for people.

i thought it'd be easier to 'freelance' than find an employer...

Then i'd have a decent portfolio by the time i leave school

by jobs, i meant more sites to do for people.

i thought it'd be easier to 'freelance' than find an employer...

Then i'd have a decent portfolio by the time i leave school

 

It might be easier, but chances are you won't get much in the way of portfolio-quality work. Without experience, you'll have to compete on price. Clients that source a designer based purely on price are generally not too clued up on what design is about and what it can do for their business. That's not conducive to producing quality work, because a) you don't have the same level of commitment to them, the expected standard isn't as high and c) without experience or a portfolio, it'll be pretty hard for you to justify saying no when they ask you to stuff their design full of reflections, comic sans and bevels.

 

You'd also be going into business with no experience of business. Have you thought about contracts, insurance, liability, doing your taxes, paying for software etc?

 

If it's portfolio work you're after, you'd be better off doing 'imaginary' projects. Set yourself a brief (or ask your teacher to), and work to it. It's a better opportunity to show what you can do, and if you're a school leaver, a future employer won't hold it against you if the work isn't 'real', as long as it's good and shows what you're capable of.

You'd also be going into business with no experience of business. Have you thought about contracts, insurance, liability, doing your taxes, paying for software etc?

 

Yeah, i wondered about all that. Software wouldn't be a problem because i have access to dreamweaver, photoshop, frontpage etc at school and some of it on my mums work laptop.

 

At the moment i'm just doinf sites for people i know to get myself a new laptop, so all the sites i do there will go on my portfolio and get me moneys

Software wouldn't be a problem because i have access to dreamweaver, photoshop, frontpage etc at school

 

Those would more than likely be educational licenses - not for commercial purposes. Probably nobody would find out, but apart from the ethical

eaving the ethical argument out of it, the school could get into trouble over using the software commercially. Maybe nobody would ever find out, but I guess you have to think about what position it'd put you in if it did happen.

fair point, what about if i used my mums work laptop?

For some reason that has frontpage and photshop on... [her job doesn't involve either of these programs]

fair point, what about if i used my mums work laptop?

For some reason that has frontpage and photshop on... [her job doesn't involve either of these programs]

 

The license would be for her company's use.Seeing as you don't work for that company, and it's not for the benefit of that company in any way, it'd still be a no-no.

 

You could look into open-source alternatives. There's a photo editing app called The GIMP, I'm pretty sure that's free even for commercial use. It's a little unintuitive, but there's a variant which aims to be closer to Photoshop in terms of interface etc, called GIMPShop.

 

There's open source or shareware alternatives for most things that you'll need.

You could look into open-source alternatives. There's a photo editing app called The GIMP, I'm pretty sure that's free even for commercial use. It's a little unintuitive, but there's a variant which aims to be closer to Photoshop in terms of interface etc, called GIMPShop.

I wouldn't say GIMP is unintuitive - I'd just say that if you're used to using photoshop, it's a little like learning how to use photoshop (again) even though you can already use it! It depends on your level of experience with these kinds of programs, but I find the gimp very easy to use now I've had a couple of months to get used to it.

 

As with all of the tools we use for web design, be prepared to invest a fair bit of time getting good at using them.

If you are 15, you aren't old enough to be registered self-employed (I'm assuming ur UK based.. but if thats not the case the legalities are different).

 

If you aren't old enough to be registered self employed, then the money you receive is not legally classified as earnings. Therefore (and someone can correct me if I'm wrong) I don't see a problem with you using your mum's work license if she gives you permission. At 15 only half the legal minefield applies to you! I would steer clear of the Edu-license as thats absolutely for education only.

 

Expect to get burned if you are working without a contract, if it happens, take a deep breath and accept it as part of the learning curve. (I did it at your age and a bit older, and I certainly had my fair share of advantage-taking clients).

One good project to try is redesigning your school website (they tend to be dire and in 1998 style) and try to "sell it" to them. I doubt they'd pay for it but if they took on your design it would be a great achievement. (What out for CMS's in this though).

 

One final thing to try is getting Work Experience at any local design company. Doesn't have to be webdesign, any kind of design will be useful.

 

Anyway, good luck and use the time until you leave school wisely, it will pay you dividends.