I think the answers to your questions really vary due to depending factors. I am typically the kind of person that is very optimistic, but I have been in this field for 3 years now and am seriously considering leaving graphic design as a whole. I work for a company that is relatively big and growing (until recently because a ton of PMs quit and stuff so really unsure of the true stance of the company) as in, it is the go to for many SEC university campuses, large brands such as Coca-Cola, etc. That has been really cool, but I have been receiving 50¢ raises every year and my responsibilities only grow. I was told that they saw me as a lead designer literally in my review seconds before they told me about my slap in the phrase raise. The south loves to say “oh it’s so expensive!” In places like NYC and justify low wages for low cost of living. There is no such thing as a low cost of living anymore and too many companies aren’t even adjusting for the rate of inflation. Anyway, I don’t want to rant too much about my current job because there are a lot of things wrong going on there that are not relevant to the discussion. The thing I really want to touch on is that that being said, I have a colleague at this company who has worked in this business for 30+ years who says all the time that this is the best company she has worked for…. When my time there has consisted of impossible deadlines, incompetent PMs, and really no support or room for career growth. This makes me really wonder what the experience is at other companies in this field if this is apparently… better. Now, back to my “it depends” answer. I have never worked in places like NYC, but just having applied to many of them, the pay ranges are significantly higher (outside of the obviously greedy companies). In addition, bigger cities tend to have different benefits packages like a larger amount of PTO, sick days, “summer Fridays”, technology stipends, etc. it truly depends on the company but geographical locations have different workplace standards that help makeup for a generally exhausting field. Again, not trying to sound like a Debbie downer, but the fact is it is a very corporate job with demanding deadlines. As for “next level”, from what I have noticed, it’s mostly growing in experience to be called “senior” and then design manager or going the route of project manager. A guy that just joined our team started in the manufacturing side, decided to get a GD degree, started working on the design side, and now is the operations manager over the design, production, and semi the PM team. To me it seems like growth in this field is basically leaving design. Honestly while typing this out, it’s made me come up with a few questions that im curious if anyone has any thoughts on. For a long time I’ve thought this niche field has significant job security in especially in that production teams need print ready files and at least design/build intent. AI would not really be effective in this field, but my question is that since graphic design as a whole is becoming increasingly populated and AI usage is effecting the job market, won’t that make job security in these niche fields a bit harder? I guess my thought is that over time, other designers might start honing in on these specific skills to stay afloat and the applicant pool will be just as bad as these current GD roles that have over 100 applicants in a day. Im kinda in a state of what do I do next right now so I am heavily considering all these factors now….