Me ? That ' s not the problem , the problem is that today I queued 5 times and got 5 dodges . Not all dodgers have been our supports , but probably also our ADC who didn ' t want to play with a Riven or Yasuo support <| sep |> He wouldn ' t be smurfing , because his ELO wouldn ' t be deliberately lowered to be matched with lower ranked opponents , which is what he ' s doing in MM . <| sep |> I ' m an Art Director working inhouse at a wellknown Fortune 50 company . I am responsible for creating highlevel concepts then working with my team of designers and production artists to flesh out that concept and apply it to real world signage and collateral in a way that ' s fairly modular and maximally communicative and compatible with the client ' s brand standards . I routinely meet face to face with directorlevel people on the client side to present work and receive design briefs . When I was a designer my job was mainly day to day working in the files , creating the bulk of what is seen on the customer side . It ' s more taking direction as opposed to giving it . Now , I am largely in an advisory role , guiding designers , meeting with our creative directors to discuss strategy . It ' s technically less work for more pay , but my decisionmaking has more critical and potentially costly outcomes , so there is a lot to know and understand . Where I was working fairly continuously in files , I am now in meetings , answering emails , attending to questions from the team , signing off on proofs and generally engaging in a more social way than before . It ' s been almost a year of this and I ' m just beginning to get the hang of it . Given that AD is the highest rank I aspire to for now , I plan to concentrate on developing my skill set in this realm from here on out , which means learning management and leadership skills , writing , strategy and gaining more granular technical knowledge about software , printing techniques , etc . I got into the field about 12 years ago . I ' m entirely selftaught , via internet resources . I simply started at the bottom , took all the jobs I could that were achievable at that level , and incrementally worked my way up , taking every opportunity I could to practice , learn and work . My first years were spent being absolutely obsessed with all things design . I used to haunt libraries , computer labs and stores like Barnes and Noble , where I could read all the design books and mags I couldn ' t afford , for free . I had perhaps an Associate ' s degree worth of knowledge when I got my first job , then continued to learn in my off time while taking freelance wherever I could find it . Essentially , my life involved working 8 hours a day , then going home and working another 24 hours to get to the next level . I now put that level of effort into my hobby of fine furniture building , which has fed back into design by improving my craftsmanship and attention to detail . My biggest advice for new designers is , yes , go to school a good state school . art school is a rip off for most people but if you want to really make it , you have to put in additional hours and make this job your life to some extent . It ' s a crazy career with crazy hours , but it ' s also a cool job to have . There is no if you do this then you get this . You need to pull from all sorts of influences and knowledge to do the best work . Being a curious person is a prerequisite not generally found on job postings . You have to understand the current state of culture at all times , as well as what came before . You should have hobbies that contribute to a greater understanding of your work life . And maybe some that don ' t . Learn everything . One of the best things about this job has been the immersion into the art and design world and the people within . ALL of my friends are musicians , designers , film and stage people , artisans , weirdos , you name it , and every one of them offers a little glimpse into their richly textured world . We have essentially free access to a life that the average person has to pay good money to experience . Life is way more rich to me than if I had become an IT guy or something , which was my original goal .