home  |  candidates  |  career advice  |  sector overviews  |  working in the creative, design and digital industies

career advice

sector overview

An insight into working within the creative, design and digital sector

Making a career change or new to the industry? Mark Begley, Major Players Head of Recruitment for Creative, Design and Digital Jobs, offers an overview of working within the industry, from salaries to career development opportunities, entry requirements and more.

Not got time for a video? Check out the main points below…

What are the salaries like?
“For a junior role you’d start on around £18-22k, a mid-weight designer could command around £25-45 and an Art Director £55-65k+.”

What about the working environment?
“It can be very long hours but that is usually the case in the creative sector, but generally that’s only if there’s a project coming to a close, so it might be really busy one week with lots of overtime and calm the next.”

Are their opportunities to freelance?
“The freelance market is booming at the moment. It’s great for mid-weight to senior level candidates and you can make a lot of money out of it, do a variety of jobs with a broad skill base. However, if you’re new to the industry it could stunt your development so best to find yourself a permanent position to establish yourself first.”

Do you need a degree?
“About 99% of our clients request candidates with an HND, BA Hons or the equivalent in a relevant subject, such as advertising or graphic design. There are other courses to look at though - the D&AD do some really good ones and they’re widely recognised.”

What key skills and personality traits do you need?
“Firstly you need bags of ideas, enthusiasm and of course a talent for creative work. It is always good to try and develop yourself further but making sure that you are skilled up on softwares, such as Illustrator, Indesign, Photoshop etc.”

How can I get more clued up on the sector?
Brand Republic, NMA and the D&AD websites are the main ones to keep an eye on."

Check out more sector focus videos here or search for the latest Creative, Design and Digital Jobs.

follow us
browse latest jobs
Mid-Senior Copywriter London
£35,000 - £40,000 per year
Ambitious mid-weight copywriter required for a growing Integrated agency in central London who have just recently won some exciting new work. The ...

Mobile Developer London
£300 - £400 per day
Fantastic opportunity available for a freelance Ipad Developer to work with an integrated creative agency who specialise in consumer marketing for ...

Account Manager London
£26,000 - £26,000 per year
Brilliant established London agency is looking for an Account Manager to join their agency. Candidates should have 3 years agency experience. Must ...

Copywriter London
£35,000 - £40,000 per year
Mid-Senior Copywriter needed for a growing Design and Branding agency to work on an Integrated account within the Finance sector (B2C). We need a ...

see all