From Creative Degree to New York City Career: Following Recent Post-Grads

If you’ve ever told someone what degree you’re working toward and received a response along the lines of “What kind of job do you plan to work with that?” or “I wish I had the courage to pursue something like that,” chances are, you’re in a creative field. Whether this is fashion, fine arts, graphic design, theater, dance, or anything in between, the creative field is perhaps the most intriguing yet unclear career path to pursue.

Now more than ever, there is an infinite number of creative opportunities out there. However, it can be an uphill battle when establishing a reliable, consistent source of income through such work. Add relocating from your college town to New York City to the same to-do list and you have quite the feat awaiting in your post-grad experience.

I sat down with two recent graduates to discuss the climb at the beginning of their journeys-- Cassie, a graphic designer for one of the best-selling weekly magazine publications in the world, and Pierce, an assistant buyer for a major American omnichannel retailer.* Below, they share their stories and thoughts with me on the transition from college campus to concrete jungle.

*employer names redacted in responses below

Q1. What degree did you graduate with and when?

Cassie: I graduated from the University of Georgia in May of 2021 as an Advertising major.

Pierce: I graduated from the University of Georgia in May of 2022. I got my bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising with a Product Development & Design Emphasis, a Business Minor, and an Entrepreneurship Certificate.

Q2. Did you participate in any extracurriculars while on campus?

C: Yes! Strike Magazine, which definitely helped [get my current job] so much and is the reason I fell in love with magazines. That is the way I figured out I wanted to design things for print. I started off as the social media chair for my sorority doing small graphic things and running the Instagram, as well.

P: Yes! HEROs, a non-profit benefitting children impacted by HIV/AIDs and is the second largest student organization on campus. I was a part of this all four years of college and lead the organization my senior year. Also, I wrote for Rouge Magazine, a student-run fashion magazine on campus. I was also a sales associate at a [clothing] boutique in my college town.

Q3. What do you do now in New York City? Describe your role in your own words.

C: As a designer [for XX Magazine], I lay out the pages of the magazine, and each week I do the same set of pages. For example, each week I do the style and beauty pages, the food pages, and the celebrity pages toward the front of the magazine. In short, I work mainly on the pages at the front and back of the book; I don’t do any of the large features yet, those are [created by] the more senior level [designers]. 99.9% of my days are in InDesign. If it’s not that, I am on calls with photographers and editors choosing photos and talking about what we are going to do that week.

P: As a buyer, it is a constant game of getting in the mind of the customer. My job is to analyze data and use that to make an educated guess about what the customer is going to buy. We are looking at every data metric possible for sales before placing a buy. For example, I am over sweaters; so this week, I am looking at how well beiges did, and black, and every other color; then, I do it all again with pullovers.

We also go to market to look at product, using the data we have [analyzed] to decide what to purchase from vendors [for the retailer to sell]. The hardest part of this job is not buying what you like, but what you know will sell. Which is hard when it’s not you’re style.

On the back end, we manage the styles. Once the styles get here, we’re managing the tracking, pickup, determining marketing and pricing strategy, and managing the webpages.

Q4. Long term, what are your career goals?

C: If I was asked that even a year ago… I mean, moving to New York really shook up my life and what I thought it would be. I used to want to stay in the south forever, get married, have kids—which, still the same now, but now that I have a job that I love…

People always ask me how long I am going to stay in New York and my answer is always ‘Until I get fired’ because I love my job, and I don’t plan on leaving any time soon. I love the brand I am [working] with, I love what I am doing, and I love my coworkers. I really haven’t thought about my future as much as I probably should because I am so content with where I am. And I never thought that I would be. Obviously, I would love a raise and more money eventually, but that’s ok, I am kind of in a dying industry.

P: The dream would be to have my own business one day. I think it would be so cool to have a full-fledged brand including clothing, accessories, home, all of it. In the more immediate, [my goal is to] stay as a buyer and learn as much as I can. I am really trying to act like a sponge right now in business strategy. Design is fun and very intricate, but the other half of that is the strategy behind selling, which is what I would like to build on right now.

Q5. Describe your initial transition from college graduation to career in the city?

C: Oh my gosh… to sum it up in short: the absolute worst time in my whole entire life. I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever been that sad. It was night and day different. Because [in college] you’re with your friends 24/7, who know your goals and support you. And then moving somewhere on your own, trying to find an internship, searching for jobs-- you start to feel hopeless. Of course, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, but when you’re going through it, it’s tough. I think I sent out around 200 applications—got ghosted by so many companies, never heard back from a lot, made it to the final rounds of interviews in a lot.

I remember thinking post-grad was just going to be great, and I could not have been more wrong. The summer after graduation was just the worst time... I also really did not get much support from my college.

P: It was very quick-- our graduation was May 13th and my first day of work was June 13th. I also did not get my job until around spring break, so I only knew about it for three months before my start date. I moved across the country and had only been to New York for three days before that.

Over the summer, [the job] really feels like an internship or like summer camp. Now that we’re into the fall, it’s a surreal feeling and can get monotonous. I had this moment the other morning where I walked in to work and was like ‘I was just here last night.’

I’m still adjusting to a 40-hour work week because it is tiring. When I get home, all I want to do now is eat dinner, watch TV, and go to sleep. A personal goal for myself now, out of college, is to make sure I am doing stuff on my own, like a hobby outside of work, because that’s not my whole life. I think that is a balance to find. It was easier to find this [balance] in college.

Q6. Do you feel your degree aptly prepared you for your job? If not, what did?

C: My degree really has nothing to do with my job right now. It was the end of my first semester of my senior year when I started [graphic designing] at Strike Magazine, and I was like ‘Holy cow, I love this. How can I be better at this because this is what I want to do?’ So, really, I just learned everything through trial and error, YouTube, and putting myself out there for internships. I didn’t have that foundation most graphic designers and my coworkers have in InDesign for print. It was a little too late in college when I decided what I wanted to do to change my major.

P: No, not to the degree of what it could have. It laid a great foundation. Every company is going to have a specific way of doing things, so I think you can only learn so much with a degree before jumping in [to the workforce]. I definitely could’ve paid more attention in those textile classes. I know the professors always said that though.

At the end of the day, fashion is a business. I think if we could’ve learned more about the retail industry. I feel like I have learned so much more about the business and analytical things in my job.

I got experience through extracurriculars. With buying, it is a very general skill set that is takes. So, it is a very soft-skill heavy job that a lot of different majors are able to adapt to.

Q7. Did you have any prior internship experience?

C: Yes. My first internship was with Costal Lifestyle Magazine out of Pensacola, Florida. With that, I was able to write my own story, design my pages, fact check for them. I really just did everything under the sun for them. But, I was able to really use this on resume, which is how I got my second internship at D Magazine out of Dallas, Texas as an Art and Production intern. I created a lot of their ads for their home magazine. I would help with a lot of the spreads, but not as much as I would’ve liked to; I was more on the production side than I wanted.

I also remember wanting more experience than the internships were giving me, so I would think ‘Who is my favorite artist?’ and I made posters for fun. [I did this] to push my limits and learn new things. I did a lot of that before applying to XX [current magazine]. I also created different logos, product designs, and all kinds of things when I was bored to put things on my portfolio.

P: I never had an internship. If I had the chance to go back, yeah, I would probably do one. I think the job I ended up getting had a lot of general skills, and a lot of my skills from extracurriculars translated for that. But it worked out, luckily. I think it’s about figuring out what works for you.

Q8. What hurdles did you face first relocating to New York City? Did that ‘Empire State dream’ a lot of people talk about translate for you?

C: I didn’t have a lot of expectations at first because I had never been here. I was chasing the job, applying to every big city, and I ended up in New York. I remember my first trip [to the city], my family and I were in an Uber to go eat at Serendipity 3. I am already feeling a little motion sick, and with apartment hunting all day, the giant skyscrapers, and sight-seeing, I think I had one of the biggest anxiety attacks [I’ve ever had]. [It was] based around ‘I’ve never been here before and I am about to move here,’ which was super overwhelming. I also moved during the wintertime, so I was inside by myself so much. But, now I am comfortable here.

P: I haven’t had any issues on the career end. I came here, started my job, liked it off the bat, had a great team, and everything is very settled with that. The more difficult side of things, for me, is that I knew no one here. None of my friends from college wanted to move to the city, and I didn’t have a lot of friends in the fashion merchandising program. I think it’s hard to find my place here personally. Luckily, I am a person that is okay having alone time.

I also don’t like to go out a ton, which is a lot of how you meet people here. I also have a long-distance boyfriend, so going out isn’t the same experience for me. I don’t really drink. My job also doesn’t pay the best, and I am trying to be budget friendly. Rent, groceries, food, and drinks are all really expensive and I am trying to prioritize my personal spending.

Without going out, I have [made] friends at work and through my roommate. Other than that, it’s hard. Friendships and relationships take time; I am not going to magically have the same type of relationship with my new friends as my college friends. It is also different because we’re adults now. It’s not like everyone is out at the football games and class- it makes it harder to make new friends. I don’t really have a good answer on how to get through it yet, I am in the process. Or maybe I am giving up on friends and starting a business, ha ha.

Q9. Would you recommend the plunge of moving to the city?

C: I 110% would. I am so thankful I didn’t give up. The night before I got my job offer, I actually texted my roommate from college ‘I am tired of giving everything I have into these applications and interviews and getting nothing in return.’ I am so glad I didn’t give up because this has been the best thing I have ever done for myself. All of the heartbreak that happened the first few months of living here… this now makes it worth it. I love it so much. I love my job, [and] I love the people I’m surrounded with. I would totally recommend it to anyone who wants to take the leap.

P: For a tough person, yes. They are not kidding when they say ‘if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere’ for reasons I’ve outlined. Everyone here is always struggling with something. There are also a lot of logistical challenges living here, like, what if I want to buy a TV? How do I get it back to my apartment? Or even just walking to the grocery store. You have to be in good shape to live here. We live on the fourth floor [of a walkup] in a tiny ass apartment. If you’re not willing to suck it up and make it work, maybe this isn’t the best place. You are also going to pay a lot of money for not a lot.

However, you are in a really cool place with magical moments every once in a while. Just when you think, ‘This is too much’ you have one of those magical ‘Wow, I live in New York City’ moments.

So, If you’re a tough person, yes. If you just want to be able to chill and whatever, don’t move here because you will not be happy. I don’t think anyone should feel defeated if it doesn’t work out for them either, because it really is not for everyone. I don’t know if I have it in me forever, but I definitely have it in me for now.

Q10. Biggest piece of advice to anyone in college looking to follow a similar career path as yourself?

C: The creative industry is so different from other industries, such as finance. For the most part, you can’t apply to jobs like mine months in advance. They’ll usually be like ‘Oh, we need you in two weeks.’ One thing I wish I would have done is research the job market in the career I wanted more.

And as cheesy and cliché as it is, don’t give up. I was at my whit’s end and wanted to throw in the towel so many times. I never would’ve had this opportunity had I not moved to New York. I recommend [to] get out of your comfort zone, no matter where it is. Not only did I need to grow professionally, but as a person [as well].

P: There are so many different kinds of jobs, especially in the fashion industry. If you’re passionate about something, there is opportunity there. Stop being so scared to pursue that.

Also, stop being scared to put yourself out there professionally. Being informal does not mean you’re unprofessional. You don’t have to be some buttoned up whatever to be successful in the professional world.

Lastly, be up to date with what is going on in your industry. If you want to apply to be a buyer, you should know what’s going on [in the fashion industry] and how the economy is impacting consumer trends. Or how inflation will continue to impact consumer spending and your thoughts on that. Just knowing things like that because they influence every other part of the industry.

Q11. Any last thoughts?

C: Say yes to things. I am always going to preach about that. Especially when you first move to the city. Even when you’re tired or have excuses. This is how you’re going to meet new people and visit different places.

P: Everyone has a different path, and success looks different for everyone. Keep a fluid definition of success and have grace with yourself. What I thought success looked like four years ago is completely different from what I think now. It is hard to see other people living these cool lives, but understand that social media and things like that are not reality. Have grace with yourself. Also, everyone dresses so cool in New York City! That is so exciting. I can play around in fashion all I want. I can look absolutely ridiculous one day if I wanted to and no one would say a thing. The people are so fun and accepting. There is somebody here that will appreciate what you’re doing.

Thank you to Cassie and Pierce for sitting down with me to shed light on the transitionary post-grad period. It is already a challenging time for everyone, but this is compounded exponentially when you’ve picked up your life and moved it in New York City. Your stories and honesty regarding your challenges are so encouraging to us all. You two are amazing not only professionally, but also personally. I can’t wait to have a front row seat to watching you both succeed in every facet of life!

xo,

KR

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