Selecting an Occupation

I choose the occupation “Graphic Designer” more specifically that which is related to printed graphics. This is a field which has captured my interest and my passion. From an optimistic point of view, I will build a creative and successful career path in this profession. I believe that I have already built a strong foundation through my academic achievements and will want to make use of these to fulfill my career goals. SECTION I: OCCUPATIONAL RESEARCH From the website version of the “Occupational Outlook Handbook” of the Bureau of Labor Statistics under the U.

S. Department of Labor, the occupation of the graphic designer is well elaborated. The nature of the work of the graphic designer involves a total production that involves the use of colors, animations, textures, graphics, shapes, and the same to convey a greater message to the people (U. S. Department of Labor). They are involved with almost everything that has a visual impact to the society such as television credits, public relation messages, signs, printed materials, and others (U. S. Department of Labor).

They help make the world by placing the right shapes at the right places for the world to have a general picture and common understanding of the messages conveyed by these shapes. Almost everyone knows that a sign which includes a cigarette with an “X” over it means that the act of smoking or consumption of cigarettes is provided in the particular place and situation. Moreover, the graphic designers shed light to topics which can be best understood through graphics. The job of the graphic designer starts when they meet a client for a certain project and would ask for the preferences (U.

S. Department of Labor). When an agreement is reach, the work starts with the aid of software or can be done manually (U. S. Department of Labor). With the nature of the occupation, the graphic designers may have the option to work in a large firm where good working conditions are at its maximum level, work at home as a freelance, or work as consultants (U. S. Department of Labor). The conditions vary from each of these groups and the pressure to please clients comes as they have the need to maintain a steady stream of clients (U. S. Department of Labor).

With the changing needs of the present times, the expectations from the graphic artists also heighten. As they serve the purpose of connecting the clients with the general public through graphics, they have to be well-versed in different fields such as studio art, principles of design, computerized design, commercial graphics production, printing techniques, and Website design for the technical part (U. S. Department of Labor). In addition to this, they have to enroll in supplementary classes which include, but are not limited to art history, writing, psychology, sociology, foreign languages and cultural studies, marketing, and business (U.

S. Department of Labor). Just like the trends for other occupations, the demand for the graphic designer will continue to increase as graphic-intensive technologies are being developed continuously (U. S. Department of Labor). However, business process outsourcing in overseas countries is creating problems for other graphic designers but the fact remains that the demand should be near the graphic designer for it to be able to meet its needs and interest (U. S. Department of Labor).

Graphic designers also play with a very competitive salary where the median for the entry-level positions is at $32,000 in 2005, $42,500 for staff-level graphic designers, $56,000 for senior designers, $60,000 for solo or freelance designers, $90,000 for design directors, and $100,000 for graphic design owners of firms. In a recent interview with Whitney Fong, a graduate of an art school in Boston who had a major in Graphic Design, she shed light on the value of graphic design artists. According to her, being a graphic design artist is a great job because of the variations in work that it offers.

However, the deadlines provide the negative aspects of the occupation. Furthermore, she emphasized the need to have a very good portfolio that contains the best work, which will actually be a graphic design artist’s ticket to employment. A typical day for her is usually a day of thinking new ways to bring creativity in a project and discuss things with the boss. With these, she also mentioned the need to have good communication skills because of the frequency of communicating with clients, peers, and superiors.

There is no suggested handbook for a learning graphic design artist but the American Institute of Graphic Art is a very good source of information. Upon consideration of the schools available for me to pursue my studies, I chose to put the Art Institute as my first choice. I have considered these after visiting the appropriate websites and after gathering information from my colleagues. SECTION II: ANALYSIS Personality Upon taking a test, I found out that I belong to the ISTJ Personality Type.

From the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality profile, the ISTJ is described as quiet, serious, and earns success through the characteristics of thoroughness and dependability. A person with an ISTJ type of personality is also practical, matter-of-fact, realistic, and responsible. Upon making decisions, an ISTJ decides logically and is persistent in finishing it despite the distractions and problems that might be encountered. Moreover, the ISTJ sources out pleasure from keeping everything organized and in their right places for all aspects especially with their work, their home, and their life.

People belonging to this personality type often value tradition and loyalty. The abovementioned description of the ISTJ fits the personality I have especially in relation to work situations. When it comes to designing, people consider me as a perfectionist trying to go into every minute detail of my work to make sure that it passes my standards. In addition to this, I keep everything organized and I prefer to put everything in their proper place. I also like to do things ahead so as not to resort to cramming, that would further result to a substandard quality of work. This is especially true with designing.

I do not find any of the above descriptions to be in disparity with my personality. I think that in one way or another and given the situations, they would most likely be the same for me. However, I did some more research regarding the ISTJ personality at http://www. personalitypages. com/ and it revealed that the most common career paths of ISTJs are Business Executives, Administrators, Managers, Accountants, Financial Officers, Police, Detectives, Judges, Lawyers, Medical Doctors, Dentists, Computer Programmers, System Analysts, Computer Specialists, and Military Leaders.

Surprisingly, I do not see my interests in any of these professions and it is a bit far from my chosen career, which is to become a graphic design artist. Values As I have listed the values which I always give much priority and those which I least prioritize, I was able to rank them in order. My top five always valued are status, family, work with others, knowledge, and work-life balance. The concept of status encompasses the dignity that and individual holds in relation to the position currently held and its relation to others.

I look forward to a work which provides me the greatest amount of respect from others and for myself because people are able to appreciate the things I do. Also, I expect a sufficient amount of salary from the work I do. For my family, I would choose a work which does not demand a lot of time from me for me to be able to look after my family and personally take care of their needs. For the third one, if my work would keep me locked in front of a computer, then it would refrain me from working cooperatively and interactively with other people.

As with the knowledge aspect, I could easily access the library and other sources of information to keep me updated on the things that I need to know about my field. Lastly, to maintain work-life balance, I have the flexibility to choose a job which lets me decide how to make my way through tasks and would leave me much time to spare for my own personal growth. In opposite to this, I have my eight things I value the less. These are physical challenge, power and authority, influencing people, working alone, spirituality, change and variety, competition, and working under pressure.

In relation to my career, the values that I would probable need are the last three which are change and variety, competition, and working under pressure. Since the work of the graphic design artist involves creativity, it is essential for the artist to meet the changing demands of the society. Otherwise, the outputs of the graphic design artist will become boring as each of them adheres to a single path and does not want to change and try variations. Next, there are really a lot of good graphic design artist who graduated from prestigious universities and a re joining the workforce.

The competition becomes tight for everyone has their own way of doing things to create their own portfolios. As said earlier in an interview with Ms. Fong, it is very important to have a good portfolio in order to get into a good employment. The portfolio would show the world the masterpieces of the graphic design artist and would therefore show the skills in the said field. Each graphic design artist tries to show the world their work for they have their own level of talent in making graphic designs. Thus, the need to excel and the dignity that each holds for their job creates a very tight competition for all.

Especially so that the stream of demand does not show to be steady unlike electricity and food. The demands change everyday and the artists have to keep up with this. Lastly, the graphic design artist has to live by the fact that there is pressure exerted on them while working. This could sometimes get stressful for there are specific deadlines to meet coupled with the stringent requirements of what the client wants for the output. The graphic design artist does not do these for himself/herself and therefore has to meet other people’s expectations especially for those who are still on the entry-level positions.

The demand would also bear pressure in terms of quantity and quality. Interests Upon taking the Strong Interest Inventory assessment, the results showed that I belong to the artistic group. I have the highest score for the Artistic part with 42 points. The description of a person who belong to the artistic group includes aspects such as interests, work activities, potential skills, and, values. According to the strong interest inventory profile, the interests of a person in the artistic group lie in self-expression, art appreciation, communication, and culture.

The work activities include composing music, performing, writing, and creating visual art. Furthermore, the artistic group is characterized by values of beauty, originality, independence, and imagination. Lastly, the potential skills that might be possessed by a person from the artistic group are creativity, musical ability, and artistic expression. After a review of the description of the artistic group in relation to my career option, I think that the interests are really suited for me such that self-expression, art appreciation, art communication, and art culture are part of the work that the graphic design artist has to be interested in.

These are involved in the work process of a graphic design artist. Furthermore, I think that the values suit the values that the graphic design artist should have. As for me, I believe that I possess these values especially when it comes to working as a graphic design artist. On the other hand, the work activities listed does not fully encompass the things I wanted to do. Among the things listed in the strong interest inventory profile, the only item that I find related to me as a graphic design artist is creating visual art.

Also, the skills include items such as musical ability, which I do not have, and creativity and artistic expression, which are part of me and my chosen occupation. The reason why the list includes things that is not related to my chosen occupation must be because it tries to encompass every field that could possibly fall down under the artistic group. As with my other interests that are not included in my work such as cooking or reading novels, I would try to find a part-time work that would satisfy this or do it at home with my family.

I believe that it is still important to fulfill other things which I want that are not included in being a graphic design artist to remove the monotony of work. Also, the occupation does not involve a lot of tedious writing such that I could practice this at home like the other two mentioned above. Skills As of the moment, I possess eight (8) skills which I see as related and needed in my chosen occupation. The list I have made includes designing, portraying images, visualizing, innovating or inventing, generating ideas, improvising, and working with numbers and with teams.

I believe that I could really use all of these skills I have earned in carrying out the tasks of my chosen occupation. Indeed, one has to be able to designing, portraying images, and visualizing because these are technical skills that serves as the foundation of the occupation. Moreover, it has been mentioned earlier that the demands and requirements from a graphic design artist also varies because of the different needs of society and the dynamism of the present times. Therefore, it is very necessary to be able to have skills such as innovating or inventing, generating ideas, and improvising.

These are skills which are related to creativity and uniqueness in doing work. I can not imagine a graphic design artist who just copies work from another colleague or from other people. In graphic design, one plus one may become five as needed and with the help of creativity. One is not expected to follow the path that a certain person takes. Also, a graphic artist is expected to work with numbers and work with other people at times. The world is filled with numbers and a graphic design artist can not escape this.

The straightness of the line depends on numbers; the fineness of the texture depends on numbers too. In addition to this, graphic design artists may be asked to work on teams for a collaborative project. In this situation, they are expected to get together and be physically present from brainstorming until the end of the project. Personally, these are skills which I would be able to utilize fully in my course of work. Also, I do not think that any of those in the “must have” skills are immediately necessary for my work. Moreover, I think that none of my skills will go down the drain when I pursue this career.

As mentioned above, I am able to dissect each part of my work that is related to the skills I have. Each skill has a role to play and they all serve the purpose that is intended for a graphic design artist. Likewise, I still have to gain some more skills that might be needed for my work. As technology advances at such a rapid pace, new software are being introduced to make the work easier. I need to learn this software that includes Adobe, Illustrator, Flash, Dream Weaver, and related software. One can not live by using the typewriter while everyone enjoys the benefits derived from a laptop or a desktop.

Just the same, a graphic design artist can not do everything manually when there is already software that could make the work easier and with the same quality. The possibilities are endless for the software provided by the different companies. Summary For me, this class is able to achieve the shared purpose of coming up with the decision on what occupation I am more likely to fit in and would really like to do. This would save me from the expenses of trial and error or simply shooting nowhere and hoping to hit the right spot. It meant my preparing my career path and laying down the needed foundations for my chosen occupation.

In addition to this, I was also able to learn the things that are necessary and demanded from my chosen occupation. More specifically, I was able to match my skills, values, interests, and personality with those that are expected from a graphic design artist and I found out that there is a match between the two sides. Upon taking all the assessments required of the course, I came to the conclusion that the occupation related to design is something I really want to pursue. It captures my interests and my skills. I could not imagine being in a job that I am not interested in.

I would not feel a sense of fulfillment for that matter. For me the most important thing that I have learned in this class is the eight (8) skills that I possess. Identifying this is important for me because it will show the job best suited for me in relation to other aspects. From this, it reaffirms that I am really suited for a career which is related to design or art. These are the careers where I have a greater chance of succeeding. Therefore, choosing a career in design is a very good choice. As for learning about my values, I realized that my chosen occupation demands values that should be enhanced further.

I should start learning the values of adaptability to change and variety, competition, and working under pressure. These are some of the things that I will encounter in my chosen occupation. I can not avoid this and will have to deal with them at one point or another. Therefore, I have to prepare myself for these things. In addition to this, I have certain interests that have to be fulfilled. These interests involved those things that are needed to be done by a graphic design artist. However, I have other interests such as spending time with my family and others that I know have to be placed somewhere else other than my work.

I would find ways to realize these interests and break the monotony of work. Lastly, I have values that I dearly possess. Among these are status, family, working with others, knowledge, and work-life balance. There are those which are not entirely related to work but I will manage to get them prioritized together with my work. Work Cited Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition, Graphic Designers, on the Internet at http://www. bls. gov/oco/ocos090. htm (visited November 26, 2007).

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