Do I Really Need a Degree in Graphic Design to Start a Career?

High school students who are interested in a graphic design career may wonder if it's essential to attend a college, university or design school to earn a degree or a certification in graphic design or liberal arts.

Although you may excel at sketching or painting (or other forms of artwork), or you can use Photoshop, Illustrator or Flash like an expert, many professionals advise beginners to attain a college degree or trade certificate.

Working as a graphic designer is not just about using your creativity with certain software packages. You need to know how to visually solve problems, as well as meet the needs and requirements of a client. A client or employer does not necessarily hire you to create something spectacular, but rather to sell the product, service or idea in a way that visually captivates the client's target audience.

Attending a reputable graphic design school, university or college will help mold and shape you into a solid, versatile, knowledgeable graphic designer.

Although you could learn on your own, you will need to discipline yourself. The reason being: you will need to handle and learn about many roles of a graphic designer.

You will need to learn about design theory, typography (art and style of printing) as well as the history of art. Learning about the history of art will help you see for yourself what a good or bad design was, historically.

Although you may find it difficult to prioritize these programs, you should realize a good graphic design program is all-encompassing: the syllabus has everything you need to learn to become an expert designer.

You may decide not to attend a graphic design school, university or college to obtain your degree or certificate, but you will miss out on many opportunities.

You could miss out on establishing important "inside" connections that will land your first job. Sometimes employers partner with schools, colleges or universities to solicit students for permanent employment or internships.

You will not be able to spend time with like-minded people -- you will miss out on the teamwork side of training. This can be extremely important if a graphic design studio hires you. It is essential that you can work alongside others.

Also, attending a college or university offers a wealth of knowledge -- classmates and teachers can answer all your questions. Plus, you can receive feedback on your work, as well as have your work critiqued. You will learn and grow a lot faster than if you study on your own.

If you learn graphic design by yourself, you may not make informed decisions if what you are producing is good or bad. Plus, you won't be sure that you are on track, or that you have hit the mark during the progress of a design.

Many schools, colleges or universities will include hands-on work experience, where you spend time within the working confines of a graphic design business. This could help you in the future, and the company may offer you a position because you have finished your work experience training with them.

Many of these programs are aimed towards helping you to produce a good quality portfolio, which you can present to prospective employers in the future. Your portfolio can showcase your best work to sell your talents to any potential employer.

Although you can create your own portfolio if you train yourself -- and you may fill it with the best design work possible -- many employers will not consider a designer who does not have a degree in graphic design.

Even if you are good enough at what you do, a potential employer prefers to know that you understand the processes of graphic design completely. Employers also want to know that you will not have difficulty working with others, and more importantly, they want to know you understand the various aspects relating to design, including:

1.Design Principles
2.Art and style of printing (typography)
3.Color
4.The art of selling something to a target audience

As well as attaining a degree, many teachers at these schools, colleges or universities, provide students with a reference also. This will help any future employers know that you have a solid foundation of design skills and principles on which they can build and succeed in their chosen career.