Career Paths
Careers in Design
Graphic & Web Design is more than one job title. It is a foundation for creative, technical, and strategic work across digital media, branding, marketing, web, and user experience.
At North Idaho College, the GDES program helps students build the skills, portfolio, and professional confidence needed to move into a wide range of design-related roles. Through hands-on coursework, real projects, internships, and the annual portfolio show, students graduate with work they can show and skills they can use.
Pay ranges and day-to-day task summaries below are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS) and O*NET, and are kept current with each data refresh.
What Can You Do With a Design Education?
A background in graphic and web design opens many doors. The outcomes below are tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and reflect roles GDES graduates have a foundation to pursue.
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How the GDES Program Prepares Students
A strong design career does not start with a job title. It starts with the ability to think, make, revise, present, and build a body of work.
Hands-On Coursework
Students build real projects across branding, print, web, digital design, UX, and motion.
See the Pathway →Portfolio Development
Students graduate with a body of work that reflects their skills, interests, and creative direction.
View Student Work →Internships & Professional Experience
Internship opportunities help students connect classroom learning to real-world expectations and workplace experience.
Learn About Internships →The Portfolio Show
The annual portfolio show gives students the chance to present their work publicly and demonstrate their readiness for the next step.
Explore Portfolio Shows →Industry Connection
Through partnerships, critiques, and advisory input, students gain exposure to professional expectations and current industry practices.
Meet the Advisory Committee →Design Skills Apply Across Many Industries
Designers are needed in more places than many people realize. Students may begin in one area and grow into another. A graphic designer may move into branding or marketing. A web designer may transition into UX or front-end work. A content designer may build a freelance business.
The strength of a design education is that it opens multiple paths.
Build a Portfolio With Purpose
In design, showing your work matters. Employers, clients, collaborators, and transfer institutions often want to see not just what you know, but what you can make.
That is why portfolio development is such an important part of the GDES experience. Students graduate with work that helps tell the story of who they are, what they can do, and where they want to go next.
See What GDES Students Create
Explore student projects, portfolio show work, and the courses that help shape creative careers.