Hi Everybody!
I worked as a graphic designer and website designer in the beginning of my career. Being self-taught and working as the only web designer (we had a graphic designer as well) I eventually felt that my work wasn’t design robust enough and I wasn’t growing as a designer.
I went to get my bachelor degree in Communication design and definitely grew a lot. I graduated this May, worked for a digital advertising agency for two month as a contractor and had a few freelance projects. I eventually figure out that UX and UI was my passion and struggled to get into field. I’ve taken UX and UI class in school, attended hackathons, and read books about it.
Eventually, I landed my first contract as a UX and UI designer for a product. It’s a two month contract. I love the team and finally was able to be a part for the product design team that sped up my growth dramatically. A month into a contract, I got an offer to work for Facebook in Austin office as a Product designer. I would be helping them to design an internal tool for their marketing and sales department. I would be the only designer on the team.
The contract is for a year and pays 1.5 times my current rate (which I was already pretty happy with). Then, my current product job offered me to extend my two-month contract for four more month. They can’t guarantee they will have the budget for more. I’ve decided to go with Facebook but am wondering if it’s the right decision.
My hesitation is being the only designer in the beginning of my career isn’t a good way to go (I went through that in the past). I’ve been really enjoying everybody on my team at my current position and the environment is very collaborative. But the financial stability of the facebook offer is definitely appealing as well (+8month on the contract length and 50% increase on hourly rate).
I’ve been stressed about making the right career decision and was wondering if anybody has any insides or advice in my case? Thank you!