Why should finding junior design jobs be this hard?

I am aware, and agree, that anyone entering the industry from the bottom, must have incredible perseverance, determination, luck, and most of all a lot of talent, but these days it seems this is not enough.

After recently being made redundant from a very good London consultancy, prospects are not looking good.

With a year’s work placements at top London consultancies as part of my degree course, gaining a first, as well as a number of positive comments and help from influential figures in such groups as HGV, it still took me over seven months to get that particular job.

And I was one of the lucky ones, in that recruitment consultancies took me under their wings, because of previous experience.

With the market the state it is at the moment, with virtually nobody employing juniors, how long is it going to take this time? Maybe two to three years perhaps?

It’s hard enough living in London for a week without a job. Being paid less than the minimum wage doing work placements barely covers the rent.

I know many wasted talents who have been unable to fulfill their ambitions and have had to choose a vocation unrelated to graphics. One friend of mine who won the first prize in the Royal Society of Arts student packaging awards has had to make do with working in the design department of a cutlery manufacturer.

Maybe with the time on my hands I should travel around the universities dissuading students from spending three years doing a course for which there is only a one in 15 chance they will ever get a related job.

I am passionate about design, but there is only so much you can take. I knew it was going to be hard, but not this hard.

Robin Arnold

arnold_robin@hotmail.com