"Dr. MACdonald: Glad to see your out there and still opinionated as ever. Your searing and piercing humor was much missed and a very welcome comeback. Keep it up compadre. "

"I think what he is saying is more about pragmatism then idealism. Of course having the opportunity to work with multiple designers and feed off of each other is wonderful. But when we see post after post of people looking for work, do we finally…"

"You do both. Get your hands dirty and do the business work."

""One thing that is very overlooked in this business is that one Principal (or any other LA in the office) has enough design creativity to apply to multiple projects at one time." So you are in the "one creative brain, and grassy…"

"Well, I think some people do self-select out, but you have to remember that as you go back in time, there were fewer and fewer of us out there in the past (due to a continuing upward trend in numbers of schools and graduates over time). That is,…"

"very well said Andrew...I don't know where the idea that they have to be mutually exclusive came from...I guess that's what is being taught these days."

"Necessity does not displace creativity. Creativity is what needs to be used to solve problems. It is not limited to unbridled whims.   When necessities are overlooked in order to be expressive it is a lack of creativity. It is no different…"

"It IS sort of a trade-off. On the employee side, you have to do whatever the sales force brings in (and you may even drawn into being part of the sales force) plus you don't have any security when the times are rough. On the consulting side,…"

"you can do both....it is a balancing act."

"I have mentioned this before, after 40+ years dedicated to la is seems that this profession seems to work if you are self employed....I've seen many discouaged in dead-end jobs, no jobs, bad bosses, etc....... The only way to make a decent…"

"I graduated in '09. Took some down time, took a few months to get an entry level job (with 5 yrs of experience in site engineering), got laid off for a year. I've been working now at another firm for just over a year. Most of my peers are…"

"I have given up all hope for this profession after being laid off (I am a registered LA with over a decade of experience).  Maybe if you are in your 20's and naive, you can have fun in this field but once you start to settle down, buy a…"

"did you ever hear the statement "you get what you pay for" ? "

"Madness!  How will they ever pay for their copy of 3D Studio at those wages?!  Are these people who are living in parts of the world where you can live for $5/day?"

"Hm....and I thought elance looked like rough turf (scroll down this one): http://fiverr.com/categories/graphics-design/architecture-design"