Career in Graphic Design vs Programming: What is Better?

It is hard to believe, but thirty years ago, we didn’t hear about any programming profession. But nowadays the situation has changed extremely. A lot of online courses, thousands of resources, and learning programs offer us to choose a new career in the IT world. Tempting terms of studying and future salaries attract a lot of people to this sphere. Unfortunately, it is not suitable for everyone. So you must make research and personal ability assessments before starting learning. It is easy to say but hard to put into practice that money is not the main goal. But it is true. Chasing wealth, you can miss your real mission and devote life to imaginary happiness. But if your heart didn’t skip a beat reading these statements, then you are on the way to choosing a profession. Let’s talk about a career in graphic design and programming.

Here is a list of primary questions that you need to answer before you make a decision.

  1. Am I a more creative or structured person?
  2. Am I ready to spend all the time, including free hours sitting in front of the computer?
  3. Is the appearance of my job important for me?
  4. Do I need clear and detailed tasks with measurable and predictable results?

Compare Programming and Career in Graphic Design

Reading these questions you understand your sphere better and decide if you are sure of your answers. If you are more about “I don’t know” or “I don’t care” person then let’s discover more impersonal reasons and choose a better career.

  1. It is impossible to compare who works harder. But the truth is that the average salary of a programmer is better than a graphic designer. At the same time is it obvious that highly qualified specialists of both professions earn good money. Sure you need to do a huge job to become a member of a group of leaders but it is possible. Nobody was born with the knowledge of programming or designing so thanks to our world with a lot of possibilities you can take any position you dream of and get the salary you deserve.
  2. Terms of studying. Every profession requires two ways of studying. The first one is theoretical. It is available in classical universities and other online courses. The second one is practice. You can’t ignore any of these ways because you need to develop at the same time as a coder/designer and accumulate knowledge that accelerates your growth as a specialist. Talking about terms, we, first of all, mean the amount of time that you need to get the first job with specific professional tasks you are ready to solve. Studying graphic design requires less time and analytical skills than studying programming. By choosing any of these professions you will be able to update your knowledge all the time but coding will steal your private lifetime much more.
  3. Narrowing your specialization. Hundreds of programming languages imply very deep knowledge and narrow specialization. You can understand the structure of the group of languages but you need time to become good in another one. Even more, some of them are so far from each other that you can hardly understand what is going on reading unfamiliar code. Graphic designing is more multipurpose and easily applicable. You can say “I’m a graphic designer” without extra explanations but you can’t say “I’m a programmer” and don’t add exact specialization.
  4. Possibility of the combination of design and programming and simplicity of changing profession. If you are a designer with programming skills you are a winner in this sphere. Those who can speak both languages with the team can become a manager in the future. So it is a good idea to study in two directions: coding and designing at the same time. Thanks to it you can choose what is more preferable for you right now or change a direction. Knowledge has never been heavy but can take to another level in the company. You can try a lot of other ways in the IT sphere but the most important rule is that you should never stop learning something new and improve your skills.

How to Score Points in Computer Science Related Professions

Like with any other profession — you can’t know everything. It is impossible, and if you stress yourself out about it, you won’t be able to proceed with both your profession and studies. So, when you hit the wall with some of your computer science related assignments, remember that there are more ways out than a simple procrastination. One of such ways is asking for some help from professionals who do programming assignments 24/7, addressing a coding assistance service, such as AssignmentCore or others of similar quality and reputation. You both deal with your current task this way, and learn how to deal with it in advance. Nice combo.

What is in the end? Better is what you feel but not what somebody says. The best is to think from all sides and make a balanced decision. The question of the profession is important for every person but it is not the one for the whole life. It is possible to change a specialization at any time but you must remember that it is not easy. However, a lot of people do it and rotate 180 degrees in their lives. Don’t be afraid to try what you believe in or to accept the reality where you were wrong. To become a qualified specialist is a hard and sometimes boring job but it is a part of life that you can manage to become a happier person.

Mars Cureg

Web designer by profession, photography hobbyist, T-shirt lover, design blog founder, gamer. Socially and physically awkward, lack of social skills, struggles to communicate with anyone who doesn't have a keyboard. Willing to walk to get to the promised land. Photo and video freelancer, SEO.