That’s Why I Make the Big Bucks
I was making $8/hour as a graphic designer.
Yep, you read that right!
During my university days, I had a part-time job as a student worker. My boss’s title was…? Actually, I forgot my boss’s title. But she was the graphic designer for our department and I was her assistant, so I gave myself the title of “assistant graphic designer for our department,” or whatever.
It was actually super fun. Out of the 15 student workers, I was the only one who didn’t have to do data entry or manage an email account that received several hundred emails per hour (or was it a week? LOTS of emails, no matter how you slice it).
I did have to pick up the phone from time to time, but I could usually pass it off to the respective full-timer who was qualified to solve the problem within 60 seconds, so that’s not too bad.
My boss was legit. She was a great designer and a phenomenal illustrator. She regularly did custom lettering and had an incredible eye for beautiful type. In addition to that, she spent months hiking the Appalachian trail with no more than her dog and a backpack after she graduated from college.
I told her one time that she reminded me of Hayley Williams from Paramore (you would agree) and she said, “Yeah, I’ve heard that before. But I’ve hung out with Paramore while my ex was touring with them and I didn’t like her, so I’ll just be me.” Total nonchalance.
Ok, and are you having the president over for dinner tonight? No biggy.
Another time, I asked her how to ask out this girl that I really liked. I explained that I was majorlyfriend zoned and that things were looking bleak. She said the following with a totally straight face:
“Look, you only have two options. You take her to Taco Bell, or you take her to Waffle House. If you have fun, she’s a keeper. If you don’t have fun, you didn’t lose too much money. Win-win situation.”
It took 3 years, but I’m engaged to that girl now. And we love Waffle House. Thanks boss!
The best part about that job was that we reported to the Senior Vice President of the university. He was ambitious and a great delegator, so he always gave my boss more work than she could reasonably handle, which means I had plenty to do as well.
I had the opportunity to have my work reviewed by one of the best designers I’ve ever met on a weekly basis and to have it tossed in the can the next day by one of the most important people at a large University.
It was a challenge, and it defined me.
In high school, I had a job working part-time as a multimedia assistant at my church. I regularly worked on design and video projects, then presented them to the media director and pastors on a weekly basis. As would be expected of a high-schooler, my work always needed to be corrected anD improved. I started to dread those weekly review sessions. Why couldn’t my work just be good enough the first time around?
Hint, your creative work will almost never be good enough the first time around. Want to learn more about how to handle criticism? Start with this article:
Something changed (my maturity, most likely) between that high-school job and the job at my university. By the time the Senior Vice President was personally shredding my design concepts, I was ready to become better at my trade. And so I did. And so will you
I remember the first time that my boss came back from a meeting with our friendly VP and reported that he had praised one of my designs. I have not the slightest clue what the project was for today, and I probably wouldn’t like it all that much if I saw it anyway. It’s what happened next that I’ll never forget.
I was standing in my boss’s little office when she reported that the VP liked my work (we were in a new department, and I’m pretty sure that they assigned her to a closet, then replaced the solid door with a door that had a window on it and stuck her in there. She’s now the associate creative director for the university, so I like to imagine that she has a huge office with a view). She needed me to export it production-ready so that she could send it out to the print shop. As I was about to walk about, she added,
“Oh, and great work. I really like this also.”
I replied, “Thanks! That’s why I make the big bucks. All eight of them!”
I turned on my heel, walked out, and headed for my desk in the student worker room. I made it about five steps, then I realized that she was gasping for breath. I ran back to her office and found her laughing her head off…
“All eight….” 😂😂😂 “The big bucks!” 😂😂😂
I’m not sure how much she was making, but I’ll say this — the only person who was driving a Mercedes G-Wagon to work in that department was our beloved Senior Vice President. He ended up catching so much flack for that car from the student body that he switched to a much more conservative Infiniti QX80.
So what’s the moral of the story?
Well, I kind of just wanted to write something fun today, so that’s a large part of it. But it actually does have a profound lesson for me. One that I won’t forget.
As you advance in your career, which you will if you work diligently and commit to making yourself better, take advantage of small opportunities to appreciate where you are. At the time, I was making just enough money to pay my third of the insanely low rent my room-mates and I shared and to put gas in my motorcycle. But I was also working with incredibly talented people who were transforming my abilities and pushing me to become better at what I do.
Take a look around you and choose something to be grateful for. Additionally, if there’s some part of your life that you’d like to change, get to work on that! But don’t take yourself too seriously along the way. It’s a journey, and you might just make someone’s day, even your own, if you can poke a little fun at yourself.
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