Can You Get a Job After a Graphic Design Bootcamp?

After completing a graphic design bootcamp, you can find employment at numerous companies and design firms or become a freelance professional. Bootcamps are designed to help you learn as much information as possible and provide you with the skills required to enter the field, thus facilitating career readiness and, eventually, job acquisition. Through skill and portfolio development, students will learn how to use all the necessary tools, connect with others in the industry, and find opportunities for internships, assistantships, apprenticeships, and careers.

What Types of Jobs Are Available After a Graphic Design Bootcamp?

Freelance Opportunities

Once you complete a graphic design bootcamp and develop your professional portfolio, you can become a freelance graphic design professional. This may involve creating branding and marketing material for companies, such as logos, business cards, brochures, posters, letterheads, packaging, book covers, and a wide range of print and digital media. In addition, your freelance career can veer into web design illustration, digital art, animation, and motion graphics. Likewise, you can become a freelance graphic design consultant and provide advice, build strategies, and develop design concepts with clients and creatives in different departments. These are just a few examples you can explore once you have completed a graphic design bootcamp. 

Part-Time Jobs or Side Hustles

You can find a part-time job or side hustle after completing a graphic design bootcamp. Many opt for part-time work to supplement their income, and graphic design makes that not only possible but easy. You can find a part-time job remotely or start a small firm of your own. In addition, you can become a contract employee or an assistant in a print shop or design studio. Once you have gained a certain level of proficiency, you can share your knowledge with others and tutor students in graphic design. However, you may already have a side hustle. Perhaps you sell products on Etsy or provide home improvement services to those in your area. It may benefit you to learn graphic design so you can market yourself more appropriately. Through print and digital media, you spread awareness, increase your credibility, and gain more clients.

Full-Time Employment

Of course, if your goal is to find a full-time job, a bootcamp can also assist you with that endeavor. Bootcamps provide a comprehensive educational experience, so you will leave feeling well-equipped to take on real-life work tasks. A bootcamp will allow you to develop your portfolio, which is essential during the job search. Although graduates are not guaranteed employment after their bootcamp has ended, the chances of finding a profitable career are increased. Graphic design is a relatively competitive field but you can find employment with the right training that emphasizes practical use of the software and professional application of your skills.

Positions in Related Fields

Although you complete a graphic design bootcamp, you may not choose to work as a professional Graphic Designer. Instead, you may find yourself seeking jobs in marketing, motion graphics, or web design. Many marketing experts, including Digital Marketers and Content Creators, have experience in graphic design and the relevant software. They often design graphics to add to social media posts, logos, posters, and brochures for companies. In addition, a Motion Graphics Designer turns graphics into animated designs. Even web design specialists create graphics for websites and add multimodal elements to a webpage with various graphic design tools.

Are Graphic Design Bootcamps Good for Beginners?

An absolute beginner should start with a bootcamp if they want to experience a thorough, effective educational endeavor. Bootcamps are often designed with beginners in mind and start from the beginning of any subject, including graphic design. The course material typically blends design principles, software, theory, and practical skills into the curriculum, so beginners can leave a bootcamp feeling more sure of the graphic design field. 

In addition, bootcamps are hands-on, interactive, and taught by a professional instructor. Students also have access to career services and opportunities to enhance their professional portfolio. This is a necessity in the job search, but many beginners have little to no way of completing portfolio projects. Even someone without prior experience in graphic design can still get a job after completing a bootcamp.

What Career Services Do Graphic Design Bootcamps Offer?

Bootcamps value career readiness, so students will likely have access to certain career services. Each training center will offer something different but typically strive to most provide students with the most useful resources. For instance, some offer additional mentoring and training. In these 1-on-1 sessions, students will discuss portfolio projects, receive feedback on overall performance, and gain clarification on more complex concepts.

In addition, many 1-on-1 sessions will go through the interview process with students. In these sessions, students can complete mock interviews with a professional who has already gone through similar scenarios. In addition, students will learn how to address potential employers, showcase their design skills, and humbly share the ways they can benefit the company. This will not only prepare students for the interview process but will help alleviate any stress and worry associated with applying for jobs and attending multiple interviews.

Most importantly, bootcamps offer portfolio development. A beginner is less likely to have the skills necessary to complete a professional-level project worthy of portfolio inclusion. In addition, it is even less likely that someone with zero graphic design experience is able to access the required software since most are part of a subscription service or are otherwise fairly costly. A bootcamp gives students a limited license to services like Adobe Creative Cloud so the cost of software is a non-issue. In addition, the instructor provides examples, offers advice, helps students practice, and gives feedback on various projects. This leads to a well-developed, organized, and diverse portfolio that will impress future employers.

What Jobs will a Graphic Design Bootcamp Qualify Me For?

Graphic design students are not limited in their job search and can often find employment in graphic design specifically, but also in other fields like animation or marketing. While a job is never guaranteed after completing a bootcamp, it can increase your chances exponentially. These are just a few job positions you can explore after completing a graphic design bootcamp.

Graphic Designer

You can very easily enter the graphic design field after completing a graphic design bootcamp. The specific job requirements may vary depending on the industry, company, and project requirements, but most graphic designers perform similar duties. An entry-level graphic design position typically involves drafting up design concepts, designing print and digital media, and assisting senior designers with their tasks and projects. Many entry-level Graphic Designers will continue their education in the workforce and learn as they go. Each project completed is another page in your professional portfolio, so you will receive constructive feedback from your supervisors and learn new techniques to improve your design skills. Over time, you can diversify your capabilities, obtain more responsibility, and rise in the ranks.

Motion Graphics Designer

Similarly, a Motion Graphics Designer created graphics, but specifically animated graphics. In addition, they will add visual effects to different forms of digital media and develop content for different projects. You may want to complete a graphic design bootcamp if you are interested in applying to an entry-level Motion Graphics Designer position. In this role, you will often use animation software and other design applications to create digital media for presentations, social media, commercials, and other branding or entertainment purposes. You will frequently work alongside a more experienced designer who can help guide you through various draft reviews. Generally speaking, a Motion Graphics Designer works in similar ways as a Graphic Designer, so these roles are highly comparable and can be obtained after completing a graphic design bootcamp. 

Web Designer

Even a Web Designer can use their graphic design skills to advance in their field. You can work as a UX/UI Designer, Front End Developer, or Web Graphic Designer and utilize the skills you learned in a graphic design bootcamp. As an entry-level employee, you will work under different web design professionals and hone your skills through practicing different web design principles. You may use graphic design applications, such as Photoshop and Illustrator, to create visually appealing designs that help maintain the brand’s image, enhance the user experience, and keep the user's attention.

Digital Marketer

A graphic design bootcamp will be incredibly worthwhile to the aspiring marketing professional. Digital Marketers create content for different digital spaces such as social media pages, email, websites, and other digital advertising opportunities. Entry-level Digital Marketers may be tasked with creating website banners, graphics for a website, and promotional emails and newsletters. They could use their graphic design skills to enhance and amplify social media posts that increase engagement and entice consumers to view the brand’s services and products. Overall, while digital marketing does not require graphic design experience specifically, a graphic design education will come in handy and show senior marketing professionals that you can be trusted and taken seriously in your new role.

Can I Freelance After Completing a Graphic Design Bootcamp?

After completing a graphic design bootcamp, you can find work as a freelance Graphic Designer. You may want to find bootcamps that provide portfolio development and value professional skill development before enrolling, however, so you can have projects on file to show potential clients. In addition, it may be appropriate to seek a class that focuses on business skills since you will have to market yourself and your services and manage your finances.

Additionally, a graphic design bootcamp is a great place to network and search for new career opportunities. Some bootcamps offer additional career services, some including additional mentoring, internships, projects with realistic scenarios, and other collaborative ventures with companies in the area. Continuing education is important as well, so graphic design professionals never truly stop learning and updating their knowledge on industry standards.

Are Graphic Design Bootcamps Good for Upskilling?

Graphic design bootcamps can help some students upskill and expand their knowledge in different software, projects, and design theories. Bootcamps focus on specialization in one particular skill or subject and teach students techniques beyond the basics. The instructor will assign projects that are rooted in a realistic graphic design experience and give students hands-on experience with the material. However, some students already have skills like those taught in the bootcamp. In that case, they can enroll in a bootcamp as preparation for a certification exam, which may be considered the next step in their graphic design career.

What Does a Graphic Design Bootcamp Offer Over Other Means of Finding a Job?

In terms of length, cost, and effectiveness, bootcamps can be the best move to begin your new graphic design career. While regular live classes are advantageous, bootcamps can be the quicker, easier way to get started. This is mainly true if you find a bootcamp that bundles multiple classes together. For example, a graphic design bootcamp, such as the one provided by Noble Desktop, teaches Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. While there are bootcamps that focus specifically on these individual applications, a comprehensive graphic design bootcamp can provide more information in the same amount of time.

Bootcamps are especially preferable over on-demand or free resources, particularly if you are trying to become a professional or find gainful employment after learning. While on-demand classes are best suited for experts brushing up on their skills or someone who has ample experience in a related field, they are not useful for the beginner who wants to start a new career. They provide insufficient or inconsistent information at best, and incorrect or outdated information at worst. Likewise, free resources are not enough to count as an education. Bootcamps, although much more costly and lengthy, are worthwhile in the long run since they can help you find a job.

Some think they need to pursue a degree to become a Graphic Designer; however, this is not necessarily the case. Degree programs are not feasible for everyone since they are far more lengthy (usually lasting years as opposed to months) and are incredibly expensive (costing tens of thousands of dollars as opposed to thousands or hundreds). A graphic design bootcamp can be the ideal middle ground between a degree program and an on-demand class, particularly if you want to become a professional Graphic Designer.