Yes

What is your background? What types of degrees, skills, experiences are necessary for this field?

Some College, 15 years work experience in graphics beginning with print media then moving to web, interactive, and video.

How did you get started in this field?

I had a boss who was a Designer and technophobe. She would put me on the computer and stand over me telling me what to do and why. I then just moved from job to job learning more.

What college (if any) courses have been most helpful for your career?

Early on I took a Prepress course, although that would probably not be helpful now. The key part of the course was that it introduced me to advanced technical complications that allowed me to avoid many pitfalls I would otherwise have had to encounter.

What are your specific responsibilities?

I design, produce and implement graphic solutions.

Describe a typical workday and workweek. What do you do during a typical day?

1-2 hours are correspondence and research about what is going on in the business. An average of an hour a day is computer upkeep, software, and networking issues. The other 8 hours are actually design and production.

Name 5-7 job skills that are needed for your job.

• OS knowledge
• Design Skills (Art background)
• Software Skills
• Communication Skills
• Organization/Management Skills

Are you in a team oriented position?

Not currently, although I used to be a department manager and made a team based atmosphere my top priority. Without that you can get nowhere.

Do you have flextime? Vacation time? Work at home? Telecommute?

I work out of my home office. It is important to have a separate location even if in the same building.

How many hours per week are expected or warranted for peak performance?

At least 60.

Are many evenings or weekends required for your job?

The times are flexible which makes up for the longer hours.

How much travel is involved with a job in your field?

I used to travel most of the time, but now find it more productive to encourage clients to communicate via email, mail, and phone.

Could you give me examples of projects that you are working on?

eCommerce web sites, corporate video projects, trade publications advertisements, and flash animations.

Could you describe your work settings? Offices, machinery, resources etc.

A Home office with a laser printer, 2 inkjet printers, 2 Macintosh systems, and many data storage systems.

What personal qualities do you think are necessary for someone to be successful in this occupation?

Art ability, good memory, technical ability, organizational skills, stamina, tough skin, and flexibility

What is the major challenge you face at work?

Organization.

What aspects of your job do you find most rewarding (Pros) ?

When the client finishes the project and loves it (95% of the time they love it by the end. Be prepared. They rarely love it at first, it takes a lot of finessing and reevaluating).

(Cons)Least rewarding?

Tracking time and billing.

Are you confronted with difficult decisions or situations in your position?

When I feel for the client I have a tendency not to charge enough. This makes both quoting and billing uncomfortable for me. Since I am self employed I can choose not to take projects if I feel that really unhappy circumstances may come up. This is very important to me.

Do you have a lot of interaction with a certain occupation? I.E. media, engineers, etc.

I work with artists and programmers a great deal.

What is the Female to Male Ratio in your position/field?

I have no idea. I seem to run into many male production people and programmers, and more female artists.

Has the field changed since you first started your career?

Absolutely. Print was everything at the beginning. Now it is on its last leg. Web and interactive media are the current strong points. Programming is more valuable by the instant. Video is just fun.

Describe the changes taking place in your field. Project future trends? Turnover rate?

Fewer and fewer of us are working for companies. I think almost everyone will be independent within the decade.

Do you think women avoid technical careers? What do you think can be done to encourage girls to get more involved in the technology field?

I think women need to be taught at a young age that technology and math are not just boy things. Society has divided and conquered.

Do you believe that women will be in more technical jobs in the future?

Yes. I think that as women become more financially independent they will gravitate toward higher paying (frequently technical) careers.

Do you have any advice for women and girls that are interested in going into the field?

Ignore people who are condescending. That's the only way to find people who aren't.