Published on <a href="https://blog.prototypr.io/starting-a-design-career-5-cold-hard-facts-47cb2708fe1?source=rss----eb297ea1161a---4">| Prototyping: From UX to Front End &mdash; Medium</a> Zélia Sakhi 
It’s an interesting time in the design industry. Every day brings a new thread, a new discussion or a new rant about what being a designer means. While one part of the design community is obsessing about tools, processes and releasing products to market, the other is compulsively advocating for a seat at the board room table, months of research and testing, and using design as a method to disrupt organizations.
What we are witnessing is the fracture between Design Making and Design Thinking — and hopefully, the long awaited maturation of the designer’s profession. Which makes it hard for junior and not-so-junior designers alike to figure out what the hell they should be doing with the rest of their career.
If you’re wondering, here are 5 not-so-nice truths to face while you’re thinking.
<h3>Diversification is key.</h3>
<blockquote>Time to get the full quote about the Jacks of all trades: “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one”</blockquote>
I met someone recently who told me that the world changes every 7 days. Look at a week ago, and at the week before, in the design world, and you’ll realize that this is true. With rapidly changing environments, and constant evolution of the customer’s demand, it is critical to understand how to play your skill set.
What part of your profile is in high demand right now, but will cease to be tomorrow? How do you make sure that if your job disappears, you’re still the person they’ll want to keep around? Sounds dramatic? Remember that no so long ago, webmasters, flash designers and action script developers were a thing.
Explore more than one discipline. “Hybridation”, or mixing up several competencies, is challenging, but also ensures that you can limit your chances of obsolescence. It requires you to constantly keep updated on your core and adjacent disciplines.You might sometimes feel like you are not deep enough in your expertise of one area, but it actually provides your employer and customers with a invaluable flexibility. Hybridation doesn’t come in a sole flavour — business, strategy, development, visual design, branding, workshops, motion… are many ways to make your profile versatile and worth a lot more to an employer. Up to you to demonstrate how those hardly acquired skills can bring more business and you might even score an education.
<h3>Craft will only get you so far.</h3>
I have met plenty of fantastic designers, who never managed to progress in their careers or organizations, not by lack of craftsmanship, but by lack of understanding of the bigger picture. Let’s be honest, employers and customers alike have no interest in watching you pushing pixels all day long, and they will take the first chance they have to replace you with a cheaper, faster option. Thing is, that cheaper, faster option doesn’t need to be a fancy AI, it might just be a junior designer who’s way too talented for her own good.
That we like it or not, craft is being perceived as a replaceable resource. Unless you are the new michelangelo of design, craft will only take you halfway. So what else do you need?
Start by being a good professional. If you’ve spent 10 mn on linkedin recently (I am not judging if you did not) you might have seen this <a href="https://wsimag.com/wellness/21338-10-things-that-require-zero-talent">10 things that require zero talent</a> post. While one might argue that those things are, de facto, all that talent is about, they do go a long way. At the end of the day, employers and customers alike are human beings that react to you and your attitude. You’d be surprised at how much better things are when you treat everybody around you like a human being. And when you start emails with “Hello” and end them with “Please” and “Thank you”. For realz.
Be polite. Be curious. Be transparent. Be accountable. In short, hold yourself to the same standards you hold the people you work with and magic will happen. And keep yourself in check regularly. It apparently takes only 6 weeks for an employee to get demotivated (Saddest thing in the world) — so last any longer and you will be employee of the month in no time.
<h3>Sellers will go further than Makers and Thinkers.</h3>
I know this hurts. But until we fix capitalism, there will always be one, cold, hard truth out there.
The ones of us who sell design, will always progress faster than the others. A team member that sells, builds strong customer relationships, can pitch, and overall brings money back home, is an asset every.single.company.needs.
The sales team job is getting increasingly hard. Customers are more and more educated. They require people who actually practice the job to shape the projects with them. The designers who can do that will be become irreplaceable.
Now let’s be clear. Everybody hates a sales guy (sorry, sales guys). What clients love are nice, friendly professionals they can trust and discuss their problems with. Advisors that will help them get out of a ditch and not forcefully jam some upsells down their throats. Don’t be assholes.
Does that mean that amazing Makers and Thinkers will be out of jobs? Of course not. But don’t be surprised if you see a guy that’s supposedly not as good as you getting on the fast track to getting promoted or getting more pay. Company reward what they need the most, and very often, it is (unfortunately) money.
<h3>If you don’t have a network, you do need exposure.</h3>
My mom is an accountant. My dad is a dude who makes leather shoes on tourist markets in the south of France. When I started working, I worked for a small agency where we did mostly white label work, where our name was very rarely mentioned. I had zero network in the industry. I was not a design genius who was going to revolutionise the profession.
Let me tell you, this was not exactly the best start in an industry where everybody knows everybody else. Add to that a very poor sense of politics and zero fucks about social mingling, and I could as well have stayed a lone designer for the rest of my career.
Now that I am heading a sizeable team in another country and touring Europe’s award shows (which hopefully counts as having built a network from scratch), let me give you the most counter intuitive advice ever.
You know those weird emails telling you that they won’t pay you but you’ll get some exposure? Accept some, if not all of them. Of course, setting boundaries as to what your conditions are. Doing this once in a while might not get you exposure, but it will connect you to the right people.
<blockquote>Some examples: . I worked for free for a guy doing a passion project once. Led to a freelance gig that tripled my salary for 3 years.</blockquote>
<blockquote>. Made an illustration for free for a competition. That led to be asked to illustrate an article for a new, unknown magazine. Turned out to be the Verge. Got me tons of actual exposure, that led partially to my next job.
. Said yes to tons of unpaid talks. Met loads of people that led to where I am today, gave me a chance to discover that I was an ok speaker and gave me really weird but fun perks such as a VIP seat in a Rolling Stones concert.</blockquote>
Twitter, blogging, Medium, are as valid as ever. If you’re not out in the open to get seen, you are invisible. Unless mom and dad got you covered, in which case, well… just work hard and be nice to their friends, I guess.
<h3>If you don’t like changes and uncertainty, you might wanna reconsider your life choices.</h3>
<blockquote>“If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you’ll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy.” Terry Pratchett</blockquote>
I keep hearing that service and product design are fads that will disappear. Keep seeing new tools that will change the whole industry. Keep being told that AI will replace us all. Honestly, I haven’t a freaking clue about this, and no one else truly does. But what we know, is that you have embarked on a rollercoaster journey, where you job is going to mutate every month if not faster.
You will have to learn your craft over and over again. You will have to teach others about it, repeatedly, as well and they might not always understand. No one outside of the industry will ever care as much as you do. Actually lots of people within the industry will not care as much as you do. Some people will think you work for an evil industry. The list goes on. And on. And on. There will be no place for complacence.
BUT. It is going to be a hell lot of fun and learnings and challenges. If you’re reading this, you probably already know that you are up for a lifetime of learnings. Design is not a job, it’s a career. It spans over years, sometimes decades. And as long as you keep yourself in check, you have the opportunity to create a new role for yourself every other months.
Are you up for it? Because if so, I am recruiting.
With love,
/Z
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<a href="https://blog.prototypr.io/starting-a-design-career-5-cold-hard-facts-47cb2708fe1">Starting a design career: 5 cold, hard facts.</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.prototypr.io">Prototypr</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Starting a design career: 5 cold, hard facts.

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