Commercial Artist, Owner 

(Female, Age 33) from denison, NY

This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 33 who works as a Commercial Artist, Owner in denison, NY. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.

At a Glance

Current Job

Basic data on your current job

Job Title Commercial Artist, Owner
Salary $22,000
Other Compensation None Set
Hours/Week
Company Size (not answered)
Location denison, NY
Years Experience 0

Career Ratings

Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)

Years in Career 0
Education (not answered)
Income Rating 0 / 10
Interest Rating 0 / 10
Work-Life Rating 0 / 10
Fulfilment Rating 0 / 10

Current job Q&A

Describe the type of organization you work for.
I am self employed and own a sign shop. I make business signs, vinyl lettering, auto graphics, letter trucks, trailers, racecars etc.

Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I own the business and do all of the duties until summer when the busy season starts. Then I have a family member help out when needed. I run the entire business from books to orders to production.

Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
no health insurance but have a self funded life ins policy

Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
definetly under compensated.

Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
I work with customer orders doing design layouts, choosing colors and purchasing. half the time I like it, half the time I hate it.

Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?

Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?

Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I have a shop next to my home. I like that I can work when I need to and still be close to my home. Sometimes I dislike it when people show up at 8PM and think they arent bothering me.

Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 4
Hours: 3
Co-Workers: 7
Supervisors: 8
Job Title: 6
Level of Responsibility: 5
The Actual Work: 2

A day in the life of…

Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:

5am to 6am
6am to 7am
7am to 8am not open yet. get son up and ready for school
8am to 9am get myself ready for the day
9am to 10am I SHOULD CLARIFY THIS IS MY OFF SEASON WHICH IS VERY SLOW. this time of year if the weather is good I go to the shop if there is work to be done. Otherwise I make a plan of what to do that day.
10am to 11am Work in the shop doing lettering jobs or in the winter I also sell on ebay so I could be doing that as well.
11am to 12pm Work in the shop doing lettering jobs or in the winter I also sell on ebay so I could be doing that as well.
12pm to 1pm lunch
1pm to 2pm Work in the shop doing lettering jobs or in the winter I also sell on ebay so I could be doing that as well.
2pm to 3pm Work in the shop doing lettering jobs or in the winter I also sell on ebay so I could be doing that as well.
3pm to 4pm Do any errands in town. Bank, PO, groceries, etc.
4pm to 5pm Do any errands in town. Bank, PO, groceries, etc.
5pm to 6pm start cooking supper/homelife
6pm to 7pm homelife
7pm to 8pm homelife
8pm to 9pm homelife
9pm to 10pm homelife
10pm to 11pm SLEEP
11pm to 12am SLEEP

Table of Contents

How you got your job

How did you get your current job?
Started in high school doing hand lettering jobs.

What was the application process?
none

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
no

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
did not pertain to me

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
self employed

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
I took an accounting class at a local college to do my own books.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
no

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
not applicable

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Go to a bigger city that isnt saturated with commercial artists. Anymore everybody who has photoshop thinks they can do ur job

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
To be self employed you need to be organized, on top of technology, multi task and not crack under pressure.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
I think with any computer proffession you need to keep re educating yourself to stay on top of technology

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Be ready for anything. Technology changes so fast and can change a business in a heartbeat.

Long-term career plans

Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Sort of. When my son goes to college I would like to move to a bigger city and open a sign supply business.

What are your current career goals?
I would like to move to a bigger city and open a sign supply business.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Self employment isnt all its cracked up to be.

Prior work history

Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:

Title Length Salary Description
Prior Job 1 n n n worked a fast food restaurant thru high school and while attending WIT college
Prior Job 2

Educational background

Please list your educational background:

High School GPA:3

GPA School Degree
College (Undergraduate)
or Technical/Vocational
3.9 WIT Accounting
Graduate or Professional
(Masters or Doctorate)

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