Design guru Mike Monteiro claims schools to blame for greedy, under-skilled generation
Monteiro fears a lost generation of designers
The marketing world is heading towards a ‘lost generation’ of designers. Employees too focused on pulling giant pay cheques before they have mastered essential business skills, according to leading designer Mike Monteiro.
Monteiro, co-founder of San Francisco-based design house Mule, warns that while we are in the golden age of design “the industry is screwed”.
Monteiro is in Australia this week to speak at the Above All Human technology and design conference in Melbourne on Friday, and said the perceived need for design in almost everything is creating a dangerous bubble set to burst.
Sounds like a valid point of view in regards to skills and expectations.
However it’s noticeable in advertising and marketing circles that job descriptions are way out of whack with job realities and remuneration.
Recruiters are to blame for up-talking relatively junior roles, making them sound grandiose when they’re paying poverty-line salaries.
“Executive” in a title now means “junior”. “Manager” now means “lower-middle executive”. “Director” can mean anything.
Job descriptions are sounding more like Steve Jobs descriptions.
They commonly describe a global visionary, luminary and international leader, followed by the thud! of a $60K salary. Time for employers and their recruiters to be more realistic, and hold on – honest – in how they define roles.
What’s wrong with a $60K salary?
So somebody calling themselves a Design Guru blames young designers for unrealistic expectations around job roles and titles?
@David Hague
Try living on one and get back to us.
Cheerfully mate. As a publisher I DREAM of $60K a year!
“The pull of start-ups offering massive money” – does this guy know what start-ups actually do, and where they are coming from? Most start-ups can’t offer even basic salaries, the rewards come later on down the track if you stick with them.