Managerial/Customer Service Careers. 

With these careers, you’re considerably more likely to work with people and personalities—either managing employees or dealing directly with clients.

Art Director/Creative Director

Job Description: The art director or creative director is typically one of the senior-most design positions at any design firm or advertising agency. Usually, this is considered a management position – an art director’s job is to focus on the big picture ideas and leave the small stuff to those employees they have working underneath them. A print art director will make all the executive decisions as to what a final print campaign design will look like, but he or she may never actually work on the design themselves. Additionally, most design work that goes through the system has to be approved by the creative director.

Why You Need to Know Print: An art director might not get as hands-on as other print designers, but you will still need to know a lot about the medium to be able to successfully implement your ideas within it. An art director might not need to fuss about the nitty-gritty details like ink colors and paper textures, but you’ll still need to know enough so that when your employees come to you with their final choices for inks and stocks, you can make an informed decision.

Experience/Education: You must be highly skilled to achieve the level of an art director or creative director, with at least six or more years of on the job experience and a bachelor’s degree in design. Any additional certification, experience or education can also help greatly improve your chances of employment.

You’ll also need some experience in leadership, which you can usually obtain while working as a senior-level designer. For the most part, this is typically a job that you will work up towards by starting at senior or mid-level jobs and putting in the work to make it to the top. There are occasions, however, when an employer might need to look for an outside hire to put in the leader seat.

Estimated Salary: $62,750 to $177,500 annually

Pros:

• High paying, highly prestigious jobs with nearly unlimited creative freedoms
• Only focus on the big picture, allowed to delegate smaller tasks

Cons:

• Extremely stressful job with a lot of responsibilities and creative pressures
• More focused on leadership and big-picture aspects, which can be disappointing to those who like to put in the design work themselves
• Hard to obtain a position-requires extensive experience and in many cases, your only option is to get hired into a lower level position and work your way to the top

Print Shop Customer Service Representative

Job Description: A customer service job can be an excellent way for a print designer to get a head start on a career in the print industry. Print shops need representatives who understand the printing process and know enough about design to be able to help customers make choices for their project. They also serve as a liaison between the print shop and the customer, helping to ensure the customer’s artwork is print ready and communicating with the customer if there is an issue with their project.

Why You Need to Know Print: A customer service representative needs to know his or her product-and in this case, that product is print itself. You need to be able to help customers with their artwork, answer their print-related questions and stay on top of the latest print options.

Experience/Education: This is an entry level position that usually only requires minimal experience, but the more you know, the better your chances of finding a career in a print shop. Much of the training is done on site, but most employers will want you to have some experience with handling customers and making sales. Other than design savvy, you will need good interpersonal skills as well as working knowledge of the most popular design programs.

Estimated Salary: $38,850 annually

Pros:

• Entry-level job with plenty of opportunity to grow and on-site training
• Flexible hours
• Possible income incentives from commissions, sales bonuses and so on

Cons:

• Not a lot of actual design work to do
• Can be a high stress job dealing with customers and keeping up with changes to products and policies

Print Shop Manager

Job Description: A print shop manager is the person in charge-either because they own the business or because they have what it takes to keep things running smoothly. A print shop manager’s responsibilities include sales, marketing, public relations, hiring and managing employees, working with vendors and more. In short-a print shop manager is expected to do anything and everything it takes to keep the shop in business and profitable.

Why You Need to Know Print: Once again, it’s all about knowing your product. You simply can’t go into running a print shop without experience with print and print design. Not only that, you’ll be the one in charge of hiring and managing any print designers the shop might employ, so you’ll need to know what makes for good print design and who doesn’t make the cut.

Education/Experience: You need, at the very least, a two or four year degree in business to be a successful print shop manager. Even then, to be successful, you never really stop learning about the business-from books and seminars to conventions and conferences, you’ll have to keep up with the latest trends, technology and business practices to stay competitive.

Estimated Salary: $108,070 annually

Pros:

• Control your own business and be your own boss
• There is great potential to make a lot of money if the print shop is successful

Cons:

• Highly stressful job that requires a huge investment of time-prepare to work nights and weekends if that’s what it takes to stay afloat
• Can be a high-risk opportunity, especially if you decide to go into business for yourself

Technical Careers

You’re less likely to do any actual graphic design work with these jobs, but they still require a fair amount of print design knowledge.

Prepress Technician

Job Description: A prepress technician works in a print shop and helps facilitate the beginning stages of the printing process by preparing the materials to be printed. This involves a bit of editing work to help ensure that what’s being printed matches the client’s intended design. A prepress technician also helps to look for errors so that they can be fixed before the beginning of the run.

Why You Need to Know Print: A prepress technician works directly with print, so you obviously need to know what constitutes a good print job. A prepress technician should be able to spot print errors before they happen, which means knowing a lot about what kind of print errors are common. You will pick up a lot of knowledge about print while on the job, but the more you already know, the more valuable you are.

Education/Experience: Some certification may be required and some employers might want an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in design. But for the most part, this can be an entry-level position where on-site training is provided.

Estimated Salary: $23,351 to $51,373 annually

Pros:

• Can be a great way to get your foot in the door working in a print shop
• Often entry-level position with training provided

Cons:

• Job field may be shrinking now that many print shops have the ability to print directly from a customer’s design file
• Can be extremely stressful job—it’s your duty to catch errors before a print job happens. If you fail to catch an error, it could mean wasting an entire run of a project

Print Production Operator

Job Description: A print production operator is responsible for helping to bring a printed design to life by operating and maintaining the necessary machines and equipment. A print production operator has to ensure that the job is running smoothly and that the quality of the final product is sufficient.

Why You Need to Know Print: Although this job is a little more on the vocational side, you still need to have strong knowledge of print design. For example, a good print production operator should be able to tell if a print job is getting too much ink (or not enough) and adjust accordingly.

Education/Experience: This print job requires specialized training and certification on all printing equipment used in the shop. Most of the time, this will be received as on the job training, but some print shops will require you to have this experience ahead of time. Some basic print design knowledge is also useful to help ensure print quality, but no formal secondary education is required.

Estimated Salary: $40,237 annually

Pros:

• Plenty of opportunities for advancement
• You don’t need to have a college degree to start working
• Get hands-on experience with the printing process and the opportunity to learn more about the print technologies available

Cons:

• Can be a noisy, stress-filled work environment
• Printing technology is ever-evolving, which means you’ll have to stay up-to-date with new technologies on a regular basis

Print Finishing

Job Description: Print finishing is a technical occupation where you help with the assemblage of a print product by either binding together the paper, folding it into its shape (such as a folder or binder) or performing other minor tasks to help complete the print job.

Why You Need to Know Print: Print designers know how print media works-how it folds and where it binds. This is a crucial skill in print finishing, as making a mistake can ruin the final product for the client. A print designer has to be able to look at a flat canvas and imagine how it looks when it’s folded into shape, which makes it easier to actually perform that task.

Education/Experience: This is an entry level job without many requirements, though a background in print design can definitely help you get a foot in the door. Mostly you will receive on-site training and certification in any of the equipment you might have to use.

Estimated Salary: $24,000 to 36,000 annually

Pros:

• Not much experience is required, and many print shops employ several finishers, which makes it easier for you to find a job
• A good opportunity to learn more about the printing process and printing technology
• Easy to move up in the technical side of the field

Cons:

• Can be a noisy and hectic job with the feeling of an assembly line, depending on the type of print shop you work for
• Requires physical labor, which can put a toll on your body over time
• On the low-paying side

Final Thoughts

Job opportunities are all around you, so long as you know what to look for. A great way to find new job opportunities is through networking-you never know when your aunt’s neighbor’s daughter might need a logo design for her new business. The best way to work in the print industry is to stay flexible and to take on opportunities as they come, whether they’re freelance work or as part of a bigger team.

Do you have any job-seeking tips you’d like to share? If you’re currently working in your dream job in the print industry, can you share some tips about how to get there? Leave us a comment below!

Source: companyfolders.com