Does Professional Degree Matter to become a Web or Graphic Designer?
0If you are here today, it is obvious that you want to make a career in graphic designing, but you just do not know where to begin from. Most importantly, you do not know if getting a professional degree is important or not. Well if that is what you are here to figure out today then yes, you have landed on the right page. Today we are going to explain it all to you in detail whether you should get a degree or not.
For starters, the answer to your question is “no”. You do not need a professional degree or any other academic graphic designing background to pursue this field. All you need is skills and not some ordinary skills, in fact, the ones that can help you stand out from the rest of the web and graphic designers.
On the other hand, there is absolutely no doubt in the fact that getting a degree in graphic designing is great and it can add a lot of value to your skills. Especially if you want to get hired by a reputed web development company and land on a well-paying job, a degree in graphic or web designing can be quite useful for you as you can then work on their internal projects.
If you search the internet, you will probably see people with different opinions and divided stances. Some say that a degree is extremely important while there are some people who just believe in skills. At the end of the day, it is your choice and your decision. To help you, what we can do is we can jot down the pros and cons of getting a professional degree in web or graphic designing. This way it will be easier for you to make a decision and get started with your career.
Pros of Getting a Graphic Design Degree
- Value
Getting a degree will add more value to your skills and people will perceive you as a professional person. The reason is quite straightforward. At the end of the day, you will be spending years learning web and graphic designing just to get a degree. Right now, there are several web designers waiting for people to hire them but what they do lack is the value that a degree can add into their portfolios. In such a situation, if you want to be noticed in the crowd and get hired for projects, one after one then yes, a degree can help you here. A person with a degree will always be preferred as compared to someone who does not have one.
- Credibility
You will appear more credible in the design industry and the top design firms will be more than happy to take you up and hire you for their projects. People will develop this sense of trust in you and your work because of your academic history in graphic designing and this can come in handy especially when you are working on a big project.
- Well-Paying Jobs
Just what we said earlier, with a degree the huge designing firms will welcome you with open arms. In other words, you will be able to land a well-paying job easily. Not only this, in fact, even in the freelancing world, people will prefer hiring you over someone who does not have a degree because you will be more qualified and more experienced.
A lot of people out there do not know this that an average web designer with an educational degree, working for a reputable company can earn thousands of dollars every month. Because as we told you this before that the demand for graphic and web designers will just increase with time. On top of it, if you learn the latest technologies like AI and machine learning and incorporate their use in web designing, you will be making money at a skyrocket pace because these technologies are the future of the world.
- Portfolio
Your graphic designing degree can be a great add-on in your portfolio and believe it or not, this does matter a lot especially if you want to work in the field and get employed as a development staff. Even if it is the year 2050, an educational degree will still help you add a lot of value to your portfolio and this can take you places. Especially if you are looking forward to work in some reputed company (be it local or a multinational), securing the highest post then yes, without any doubt, a degree really can be useful for you.
- Trust
A sense of trust will be developed in people who will hire you for their projects. Whether you work as a freelancer or in some company, the addition of an educational background and specialization in web or graphic designing will help people trust you more with their projects. Believe it or not, this matters a lot. Especially when we talk about people on platforms like Fiverr and Upwork etc, they consider a degree in graphic designing a big deal and chances are that they might as well end up giving you a great tip if you invest proper effort in a project and bring them the outcomes that they are expecting from you. I mean just think about this: will you act on an advice given by a doctor with a degree or a person without any sort of degree claiming to be a doctor?
- Experience
Last but not the least benefit of opting for a professional degree is experience. Yes, you read that right! With a professional degree, at least you get feedback from the seniors and from your instructors on the work you have done and this can do wonders to your skill. Getting the feedback, learning new tips and tricks and learning the use of latest technology in web designing, all of this can make a huge difference in your work and that is precisely why a degree can be beneficial for you.
This experience can help you polish your skills at a whole other level! Constructive feedback is what helps people get better at their skills and this is an undeniable benefit that you should think about. Now let us discuss some cons to a professional degree.
Cons of Getting A Graphic Design Degree
- Expenses
The very first and the biggest con of getting a professional degree is the cost that comes along. Of course, you will not be able to study if you do not have the money to pay the fees and this is where the problem begins. Even if you have the money to pay the dues, you will still suffer from a minifinancial crisis because a college degree is never cheap.
On top of it all, you must pay for four consecutive years or a minimum of two years which is a long time. So, for someone who has to manage the fees himself, it can really be difficult to opt for a professional degree/education in web or graphic designing.
- Time
Time is money and if you are someone who has to manage a job along with his degree, things can get pretty difficult. It is four years of consecutive efforts and learning and this can be tough for someone who has to manage his family and other expenses. Yes, you can always consider online courses to become a professional graphic designer but again, it is going to require some real time effort and focus which is hard for some people when they have other errands to run.
- Grade Maintenance
At the end of the day, it is not just about getting a degree, in fact, you have got to secure good grades too and that is another thing you should be worried about. Maintaining the grades, securing good marks etc, with your professional life, you will have to manage all these things too and they can be a big time burden especially for someone who is already running a business or doing some job at some company.
All of it together can become hectic and the worst part is that you do not even know if after all the effort you will be securing good grades. It is important because if you are getting an educational degree in graphic or web designing, you should at least have good grades on it, right?
Final Thoughts
These are the pros and cons of getting a degree to become a professional graphic designer. Our suggestion here is that if you have the kind of time and money to spend on a college degree then go for it without giving it a second thought. But if you do not then there is nothing to worry about because you can always use the internet to learn more, polish your skills and get hired by people for their projects. On the other hand, getting a degree can help you land on a well-paying job that is the need of the hour for everyone. It all just depends on you and what your needs are. A degree, however, is preferred and recommend!
