It's baptism by fire. There are so many graduates of design schools who do not go into careers of design because it's so hard to get started and the salaries are notoriously low. It's an industry where unfortunately you have to pay your dues. It's not unheard of for a young designer to work 16 hours a day and be paid for eight. That's the way the industry works.
It's unfortunate that this has become mainstream, because if we had programs to support young emerging designers--even programs where we help them launch their products, or help them with their marketing initiatives, or help them understand business initiatives--we'd probably see a better success rate.