Some skills gained, but harsh environment and low pay
Pros
It's a fine first job for those seeking employment after graduating, or for the short term. You learn quite quickly how to work under intense pressure, and become extremely savvy in Adobe Illustrator as a result. A few of the things I learned was setting up files for multi-plate printing, using an Adobe Fresco to Adobe Illustrator workflow, and customer service.
Cons
While I learned some valuable technical lessons during my time at Design and Customize, it was an extremely taxing job mentally and emotionally. Due to the small size of the company, designers were expected to illustrate, set up files for print, proof print jobs, answer phone calls, answer social media DMs, work the front desk, make sales pitches, lead in-person meetings, film ourselves drawing for social media, handle customer deposits, and much more. My day was a constant push and pull of tasks assigned to me, all demanding my attention. If I made an error on any of these tasks, management was very harsh and would often yell at employees. Pay was a joke, especially for the expensive area the office is located in. I was told I'd get a raise after a number of months, which turned out to be an extra 50 cents an hour. My male coworker was offered an extra $1 an hour even though we had been working the same amount of time and I was entrusted with more complicated projects than him at the time. Either way, 50 cents to a dollar raise is an embarrassing offer for the amount of work we were putting in every day. Luckily, I was able to find work elsewhere which paid me a living wage, so I didn't have to endure the grueling working conditions for too much longer after that.
