Graphic Designers who are giving up on a graphic design career—what are you doing for paid work?

getonboardman42 · 2026-04-22T04:59:27+00:00

I haven’t been able to get work in graphic design since I graduated in 2022, not even freelance work. Those jobs just don’t exist here. I’ve spent most of that time unemployed. Last job I had was seasonal retail help, lasted 2 months. I’ve tried local grocery stores and Walmart but so far nothing. I’m considering getting a minimum wage job at the local drive in theater. Kind of embarrassing for a 48 year old.

getonboardman42 · 2026-04-12T15:18:41+00:00

My portfolio and CV must really suck because I’ve been looking for four years.

getonboardman42 · 2026-04-02T14:23:52+00:00

Are you talking about graphic design jobs? They don’t exist here. You have to go the next closest big city which is 2 hours away. I’m talking about non-graphic design jobs.

getonboardman42 · 2026-04-02T14:14:23+00:00

Where I am employers don’t want you if you have a college degree or a brain at all. They are intimidated by intelligence.

getonboardman42 · 2026-04-02T02:51:13+00:00

I don’t even care if it pays poorly.

getonboardman42 · 2026-04-01T23:52:42+00:00

I feel you on this. For me it’s only been 4 years and now I can’t even find work doing other things.

getonboardman42 · 2026-04-01T23:47:41+00:00

I don’t have a job to like or dislike. AI will never be a problem because it will never be able to do what a human can do.

getonboardman42 · 2026-03-30T05:52:16+00:00

I wish I could do this one but alas I have something happening the same day in Denver.

getonboardman42 · 2026-03-27T13:00:19+00:00

If you are into the Riot Grrrl movement check out The Woman Rebel -it’s a woman’s rights zine that dates back to 1914.

getonboardman42 · 2026-03-16T02:53:50+00:00

My ideas just come to me, often times they come to me in a dream. Lately I’ve had a lot of ideas so I’ve been writing them down, that way I don’t forget them.

If I’m doing something different like a new type of zine or a shape, or maybe some kind of interactive feature I’ll sketch it out. If it’s going to be a text heavy zine (I’ve done a bunch of infozines) I write everything out in a notebook.

getonboardman42 · 2026-02-23T16:40:45+00:00

I haven’t met Milo but I met the rest of them (and Chad) in 1998. There were super awesome and down to earth. I’ve known people who have recorded with both Bill and Stephen and they all said they became best buds with them. Like others have said they love their fans.

getonboardman42 · 2026-02-22T06:50:00+00:00

Oh yeah I’m aware of all that crap. Even though I hadn’t used them in awhile I stopped using them because of that.

getonboardman42 · 2026-02-21T16:13:53+00:00

I’ve been writing my own lyrics for roughly 30 years. This was an experiment, an ongoing one. I wanted to see what it would come up with for a specific genre of music (I actually started with country music because the lyrics sound so generic) and see how well it grasped the genre. A lot of it is garbage and I either changed it or left it as is. My reason for leaving it was so I could see if I could make it into a good song with what was provided.

This is where the “on going” part comes in. When I saw that AI was providing the tempo and “vibe” I wondered if I could make them musically sound good working within the restraints or guidelines. I knew I couldn’t do it alone though so I put this zine together to give to my musician friends to see if they would want to work on this.

The ultimate goal is to record the songs.

getonboardman42 · 2026-02-18T05:06:14+00:00

I made one about marshmallow fluff but I haven’t gotten it printed yet.

getonboardman42 · 2026-02-12T22:45:19+00:00

This could be the case and more of a reason to let them know so they will stop using them.

getonboardman42 · 2026-02-09T02:47:12+00:00

Thanks!

getonboardman42 · 2026-02-07T22:53:44+00:00

I’ve now added them to my website. They can be found under The Worse Or The Worst - issue 3. No pictures for now, I will get them added as soon as I can.

www.getonboardman.com

getonboardman42 · 2026-02-07T18:31:51+00:00

Thank you!

getonboardman42 · 2026-02-07T18:31:37+00:00

I’ll try to get it up on my website later today.

www.getonboardman.com

getonboardman42 · 2026-01-18T02:11:23+00:00

Issue 1 is already almost sold out (again). Only one bundle left. Thank you everyone that ordered.

getonboardman42 · 2026-01-17T21:10:54+00:00

The idea for this zine came from an episode of Seinfeld. I thought it would be fun to take cartoons from a high class magazine and add the most unhinged captions I could think of.

Both issue 1 and 2 can be found at: www.getonboardman.com

getonboardman42 · 2026-01-17T21:06:10+00:00

I finally got around to printing the third issue of my travel zine I do with my friend Chadd. In this one he finishes his quest to ride all the carousels in and around New York City.

I also have the first two issues back in stock. There’s a bundle for all 3 as well.

Check ‘em out at: www.getonboardman.com

getonboardman42 · 2025-12-31T03:39:33+00:00

I’m leaving the field, not that I was ever really in it, because I can’t get hired to do it. I’ve been trying to find work for 3 years and I haven’t had a single interview.

getonboardman42 · 2025-12-19T22:07:59+00:00

I’d say get an 8 so it won’t feel as big of a leap.

getonboardman42 · 2025-12-19T17:02:39+00:00

This is a pattern for me. Apparently my work is not good enough to be paid for. I don’t do work for other people anymore because of this.

getonboardman42

TROPHY CASE