A common issue that affects designers is the actual job description and/or workload. By this I mean, what a designer does as opposed to what a designer should be doing. When I sit down to start working, I want to design. I want to create. I want to use the gifts that I was given to do a job. I want to help. I want to solve problems.

I dont want to do word-processing… get a secretary.
I dont want to move furniture… do it yourself.
I dont want to make changes for a sales person… I make changes for CLIENTS.
I dont want to be a monkey.

It’s the kind of stuff above that kills designers. You get hired to be a designer and the next day they have you typing out 5-page documents in microsoft word. The next day you are a little slow, so they have you help out the maintenance guys move some tables to another part of the building… and then the next day you get to do something fun and get to actually design… THEN you get changes back from someone who isnt even the client, and they are telling you how to do YOUR JOB!

This is monkey work, this isnt design work. Sure, every now and then you may have to do some menial task that doesnt necessarily apply to your title, but when it gets to be a regular occurrence, thats when you need to look behind you and see if you have grown a tail, cause someone else sure-as-hell thinks that you have.

Dont be afraid to speak up to an employer to let them know you are concerned about what you are doing. If an employer doesnt seem to give a rip, start looking for a new job. You went to school to get a good job that you love to do. None of us would be here if we hated designing. You didnt go to school so you could get a job a monkey could do… You are a designer, a specialized profession that touches every aspect of business and life. Dont let anyone tell you that a monkey could do you job, and certainly dont stay at a job if you think a monkey could.