Entry Level Graphic Design Jobs?

Are entry level UX positions scarce or is it simply a position that requires a little more experience?

• I am in the process of applying to jobs for after I graduate this June.  I am interested in being a UX designer and do UI/UX work as a freelance and at a design and research lab also.  I have noticed that there tends to be less entry/junior level UX positions available than say Visual Designer positions.  Wondering if this is simply a coincidence, or is it more an industry ideal that UX designers need a little more experience to draw from?  For example, do many UX designers begin as visual designers (or something related) and make their way toward full UX positions?

• Answer:

  Both. UX designer are expensive both in the monetary sense and the on-boarding sense. The more junior, the cheaper salary-wise and the more expensive with on-boarding. Many organizations can't handle the on-boarding part since you lose the productivity of two people, the trainer and trainee. The junior designers that I've hired historically have been people who have exceptional portfolios AND really great track records of internships. Offering to work for free doesn't really help because you still have to deal with the time resource that it costs to an organization.