I often hear such arguments, but the reality is that these smaller projects/clients are just the sorts of projects new designers are going to work on. They won'

I often hear such arguments, but the reality is that these smaller projects/clients are just the sorts of projects new designers are going to work on. They won't get the big assignments, and even if they did, they'd be part of a much larger team, and few of their ideas would likely ever get past all the others involved. And, a good designer will find the story, even when working with a small client. The problem with design jobs is almost never the client, or the seeming lack of excitement in the project, but rather in the designer's ability to tease out that story and give it form. Look at a project like the design of Mailchimp. The subject matter might not seem exciting, but the designers found a way to engage with the audience and present the story in a compelling fashion. A lot of designers would look at that project as a drag; they'd be sorely mistaken. I once met with a young designer who was very frustrated by how boring his job was. He complained about how all he ever got to do was design boring charts. This seemed strange to me. He had the opportunity to take data and make it intelligible to his audience. This was a hardcore design opportunity that he was squandering because it seemed beneath him. A project is only as boring as the designer chooses to make it.