There’s something I’ve been wanting to write about for awhile to get off my chest.
My former harp teacher recently unfriended me on Facebook because she thought I was being ridiculous in that I wasn’t following my boss’s instructions that went against my education and previous experience in the field. She believed that since my boss wrote the check that I should follow their instructions to the T. In theory this is right. But only in theory – especially since that particular job wasn’t the only one and I didn’t really need it. I told her she had no right to reprimand me in front of my friends for being caught up in something that I was asking for clarification in. Someone I know who worked in scheduling agreed with me… and other things… I was just dumbstruck that she would call me out as such. She also thought she knew my field because her daughter worked in for over 10 years… I’m sorry, but you have no respect for what I do if you think you know what it takes to make a decent design and I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t call your daughter’s work to be anything spectacular either… she’s great at art and illustration and has a clever way to incorporate it into an image, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it great design… seen better.

As a design and marketing specialist, I am typically hired for my knowledge and skills in the field. It’s how my career took off – at Minuteman it was how I was hired… and I continue to stand out in my field with my creativity and design skill – I get jobs and gigs for it and that’s the way it should be. I’ve been freelancing since 2010 and have a very good understanding of the field. I may be young, but I am not inexperienced in my field. I have been hired for my proficiency, etc. so do not try to tear me down or disagree with something I feel strongly with. My ideals and morals have gotten me this far in the field and I will not step down to someone who doesn’t know. Honestly, it’s like me saying that I know all about mechanical engineering because my Dad’s been working in the field for over 30 years… that’s ridiculous! I know the basics of electronics, but other than that, not much…!

But, I’m sorry. If I have been trained and taught to do a certain way and I am hired for it, I will not let anyone else tell me otherwise – why hire me if you can’t allow me to do my job?? And otherwise, the job is probably not a good fit – if you can’t handle this from me, we can’t work together.

I’ve been studying, practicing, educated, experienced in graphic design for over 10 years. My first commission was done late middle school. I am not going to ‘dumb down’ my skills just because an ill-informed boss wouldn’t agree with me on something that I have been taught and trained and do very well in.

I may not be working in a print shop, but my work goes directly to the printer via my boss. It is part of my job as a graphic design specialist to make the document as impeccable and perfect as possible so that the final product is something the boss or customer can be proud of. I’m not going to let grammar technicality inconsistencies and typos ruin a design I spent hours creating – it’s a reflection of the designer and reflected as an inexperienced one – which I am not. I had a potential client call the other graphic designers he’s worked with assholes because they left typos and grammar technicality inconsistencies in their designs and didn’t have attention to detail. Excuse me, I don’t want to be seen as an asshole in my field, in front of my peers because of a lack of attention to detail.   If I am taught and trained to put extensions in numbers, I will fucking do that, if you disagree with me, why hire me?

So to my harp teacher – sorry, but you’re wrong on this one, even though you so wanted to be right. Telling me to not do my job as a specialist in my field is ridiculous. You also can’t assume you know everything without having worked a day in the field… so good on you for unfriending me.