Class Visit: Diana GRC

screenshot from Diana GRC’s landing page.

One of my favorite parts of my professional practices class is our visits from local professional designers. Recently Diana from SE2 visited our class. Prior to working at SE2, Diana was a freelancer. Her experience working for herself and as a full time agency designer revealed valuable career insights that I can apply to my own career journey.

Diana started as free lancer when she was not hearing back from her multitude of design applications. Her freelance background gave her the freedom to work in her chosen career and develop her skills even in challenging situations. As she developed her freelance practice, she discussed how much she enjoyed to freedom and control she had over her schedule and projects. However, as a freelancer she was also responsible for the business side of things too and managing her taxes was particularly challenging and stressful.

This experience contrasts sharply with the agency setting. At SE2, Diana did not have to manage the business side of things and she appreciated the benefits of a reliable salary and health benefits. However, at the agency she was the only designer so she still had the experience of mostly working solo. She found agency life to be much more stressful than freelancing, especially as work for local government had very strict timelines and contracts that frequently demanded overtime work. 

While she is the only designer at SE2, Diana discussed the collaboration within the agency with copy writers and account managers. She said she appreciated that “everyone brings their talents to the table.” That perspective, along with her father’s wisdom that “your bosses are still learning too” really helped Diana combat imposter syndrome. The perspective that everyone brings different talents and that everyone is still learning is so reassuring as I work to launch my own career. It reveals the impractical standards that I often have for myself to be false: it turns out I don’t have to already know everything in order to be of value to an employer! Other benefits of agency life include supported professional development and the ability to easily meet and network with other professionals – this is one of the most attractive pieces of agency life to me. Downsides of agency life mostly revolved around long hours, high stress, and lack of control around schedule and deadlines. When she was offered the role with SE2, she was living in Mexico and had not planned on returning to the states. 

I appreciate Diana’s candid discussions of her experience as a freelancer and at an agency. She found both strengths and challenges in both. Hearing her discussion confirmed for me my desire to work in-house