A Jobless Recovery, Illustrated

India ink & watercolor lampblack wash on bristol board (click here to see how this was made)

I'm going to be frank: Job prospects for graphic designers and illustrators seem pretty bleak at this point, not for want of openings so much as decent remuneration. Entry-level jobs and freelance offers aren't necessarily difficult to find, but paid, full-time entry-level positions are definitely more elusive.

Part of the problem, I believe, is that upward mobility in said field tends to be rather slow, which creates a surplus of graduates looking to enter the field. There are also significant barriers to entry for non-majors: Most ad agencies won't even look at, let alone entertain,C.V.s from, say, political science concentrators, and it takes a lot of networking to secure a post in creative departments. Add the recession to the mix, and you can see just how pessimistic everything seems.

Oh, well; it can't last forever...right?