When you want to become a graphic designer, you have a lot to consider. You have to decide if you want to focus on logos or another type of graphic. And you have to think about whether you’ll be able to take time off from work when you need it.

Graphic designers do get vacation time. Full-time graphic designers should get access to the same benefits as other employees, including paid time off. Freelance graphic designers can take vacation time, but they won’t make money when not working. Consider how this can affect designers.

If you’re looking to become a graphic designer, congratulations. You’re choosing a creative, fulfilling career path. But before you land your first client or job, you may want to know about the benefits, like vacation time. Read on to learn more.

Paid vs. Unpaid Vacation

When considering if graphic designers get vacation time, you probably think of paid vacations. But a graphic designer may also be able to take an unpaid vacation. As long as there aren’t any vital projects, you may get extra time off.

However, if you need to make money throughout the year, you may not want to take an unpaid vacation. Be sure to consider if your vacation will come with or without pay. Then, you can make sure it’s worth the time off from work.

Graphic Design Employees

One of the best ways to get paid vacation time as a graphic designer is to become an employee for an existing business. You can work for the company full-time, and you may be able to work in the office or remotely.

Being an employee is great, but it’s not for everyone. Here are a few things to consider when it comes to getting vacation time as a graphic design employee.

Company’s Benefits

Different companies may offer more or less vacation time to employees. If you live in the United States, the country doesn’t require employers to grant vacation time. So if you work for a small enough company, they may not offer much.

Before you take a job, ask the company how much vacation time they’ll offer. You can also ask if they offer paid and unpaid vacation time. That way, you can choose to take more time off if you can afford to go without income.

Increase With Time

Regardless of how much vacation time you get at first, you may see an increase as you keep working for that company. For example, you may get one week of vacation in your first year of working there.

After one or two years, that time may increase to two weeks per year. If you work for a company for over a decade, you might work your way up to a month or more of vacation time. The specifics will depend on the company, so ask about their vacation time policies before accepting an offer.

Country Requirements

Some countries require employers to offer vacation time to employees. If you move to a country such as Austria, Brazil, or France, you may get 30 to 42 calendar days of vacation time. The country requires that, so you may get more depending on your employer.

Over 20 countries around the world require some number of vacation days. So even if you work for a company that doesn’t give extra time, you may get a guarantee of at least a week off. Unfortunately, the US doesn’t mandate vacation, so you’ll need to rely on your employer for vacation time.

Graphic Design Freelancers

If you don’t want to work full-time for a company, you can freelance as a graphic designer. This can be a great career path for students or anyone who wants to mix graphic design with writing or another creative professional.

However, the way these graphic designers get vacation time is different from employees. Consider how you can prepare for paid vacation time when you work for yourself.

Flexible Schedules

One of the advantages of freelancing is that you have control over your schedule. You can take on as few or as many clients as you want. That means you could take a vacation a month after you start working, and you don’t need to ask a boss for that time off.

However, you won’t earn any money when you take a vacation. If you know you want a lot of vacation time, you can account for that in your design rates. That way, if you work three weeks out of a month, you can earn enough cover that fourth week.

Passive Income Streams

Another excellent way for graphic design freelancers to take a paid vacation is to set up some passive income streams. These are income streams that don’t require you to be on your computer or working with a client to earn money.

You may decide to sell graphic design templates that you create with a tool like Placeit.net. The most popular way to do this is by creating t-shirt designs and selling them on Print On-Demand websites. Here’s a full tutorial on how to create and sell t-shirt designs online, generating 100% passive income. When you create digital products, you can sell one copy or one million copies without doing more work.

The Agency Model

Freelance graphic designers may also choose to start a design agency. If you get a lot of clients and can’t handle all of the work, consider hiring designers to work for you. They can help with your client projects, and you can pay them less than what you charge the client to earn money.

If you need to take a vacation, you can assign more of your projects to your team. By taking a percentage of the rates your clients pay, you will still be able to earn money. But you won’t have to work all of the time to bring in an income.

Final Thoughts

Graphic design can be an amazing career choice, but what if you know you want to take a lot of vacation time? Whether you decide to work for yourself or someone else, you can take a vacation as a designer. But you’ll need to plan for that time, either by working for a company for a while, or setting up passive income streams as a freelancer.