First full-time "desk job" in a decade

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  • freakpelican

    Typing this from my VERY OWN huge wooden desk and its in a room with a DOOR, Whiteboard and extra chair for someone to come in and meet with me.

    It's day two and the shock is still pretty fresh. I have been working for myself/starting companies/consulting/freelance/f... art/etc for the last decade. I am at an age where i can no longer handle the ups and downs of "funemployment". It's honestly a surprisingly great feeling to be in an office where people can drop in at any time and interrupt my eyes being glued to the screen.

    I'm in a market that i know absolutely nothing about, i'm trying to bring a whole new marketing/branding strategy to a very large company compared to who i have been working with in my freelance/studio ownership. It's a lot of pressure but it's exciting to be bringing a whole new department to an existing company that is finally realizing they need a better presence online thru social interaction, new video content and overall overhaul of their very sparse marketing materials.

    Don't know how many of you how gone back to the corporate structure/desk job after years of trying it as your own boss.... but it feels really nice to know i'm going to have a "paycheck" for the first time in a decade.

  • Al_dizzle0

    Good luck guy.

    • Thanks for the sentiment! I'm being paid for two weeks as a "prove yourself" contract, then on to salary negotiations.freakpelican
    • Could definitely use some luck right about now.freakpelican
    • you'll be alright.Al_dizzle
    • ew. don't like the sound of, prove yourself. but best of luck :)Gnash
    • Well so far its a market leading company thats in 25mil+ annual revenue, projected to double next year...freakpelican
    • and they have almost no marketing materials, social media presence or any strategies therein.freakpelican
    • So i kinda have to present to the CEO who brought me in that he was right thinking he needed full time over a consultant...freakpelican
    • I'm stoked to be able to lead a large company into new directions after so many years of flakey small businesses.freakpelican
  • exador10

    I didn't go solo nearly as long as you...only a year or so....but I loved every minute of it...although you do get used to the 'feast or famine' aspect of billing....
    this was back around 2003-2004....
    after a brief year of doing that, my old manager started another company and asked me to come in as his Creative Director....and i haven't looked back since....it IS nice to get that stable paycheck..especially if you have a family, mortgage etc....

  • freakpelican0

    ^ The stability is exactly what i'm searching for. I am trying to exit the starving artist position i finally ended up in as i became comfortable working towards more of a fine artist career and less of a designer/media production/"pro" jack ass of all trades. My 20's are only a memory at this point so it feels time for the move.

  • feel0

    I've soloed for 4 years, first two were horrible, last two were great, and I got a nice opportunity to go back to full time desk job.

    was kinda weird at first, but not having to do stuff I'm not trained to do is great, like finances, client talk, look for jobs, billing stuff, etc....feels great to focus my energy on what I like to do.

    but I think I might go back to solo working again some time in the future, lets see!

    oh, the best thing is to see different people everyday

    • <The no longer having to do things that are not my forte is HUGE! I worked in cafés a lot...freakpelican
    • So i kept myself from "not seeing different people everyday", double edged sword for the self promoting/ADD/female appreciator in mefreakpelican
    • ....female appreciator/etc in mefreakpelican
  • ArmandoEstrada0

    Sounds great, congrats. Ive been at it for about 14 years myself and thinking bout getting a 'real' job. My concern is that I wont have a resume that reads 'I've worked at this agency for xx years and this place for xx years.'. Everything I know has been self taught.

    How did you get the gig? Did you answer a job post or was it through someone you knew? Was it difficult trying to convince them to hire you?

    • I had the same fear keeping me from trying at any agency/app company/studio my friends had told me to "come in man were looking"freakpelican
    • looking for someone like you" I am self taught and have had 4 industries of different experience under my belt.freakpelican
    • But my resume would look horrible & my portfolio sucks b/c ive lost so much of my work "pre-cloud"freakpelican
    • Thanks good luck!ArmandoEstrada
  • organicgrid0

    Good luck to you sir...and have yourself a merry little Kwanzaa.

  • hotroddy0

    Stop procrastinating and get back to work! :)

    • HA! i have intense ADD and if i dont take a minute or two "off" every 15-20 minutes i feel crazy.freakpelican
    • < I hope your boss knows this - it may affect your performancefadein11
    • It's actually a blessing bc i can laser beam focus on tasks when i have proper collateral/direction...freakpelican
    • But when im "bored" im bouncing between what seems like hundreds of sources of inspiration and education. ADD is my homeboyfreakpelican
    • my homeboy.freakpelican
  • MrAbominable0

    congrats! and best of luck.

  • PonyBoy0

    congrats! I'm going on year 11 of being on my own... been looking at desk gigs quite a bit lately as I'm about to get married. The idea of focusing on what you actually enjoy sounds lovely... I'M SICK of business / meeting side. :-/

    Keep us posted over the next few months on how it's working out... if you're acclimating / getting along w/the folks you are now forced to see daily etc.

  • iCanHazQBN0

    First rule of a successful career:

    GET OFF OF QBN IMMEDIATELY AND NEVER COME BACK. I'm serious.

  • freakpelican0

    Week 2 - Day 1:

    Holy Hell! I never thought i would be so happy to be at a desk again. I've been able to do work in Print, Video and Web already. Small tasks each but totally fulfilling my need for variety and ability to multitask across disciplines(these are the reasons i stayed freelance for so long). I know it cant be all that rare for the only in-house creative at such a large firm to bounce around from such varied projects, but its sure as f*** a nice surprise.

    • yay!iCanHazQBN
    • :)set
    • what do they sell?Gnash
    • Gnash for "SEO" reasons and as niche market as it is i'd rather not attach the product/service to this threadfreakpelican
  • bklyndroobeki0

    You may watch porn.

    • I indeed may not. It's amazing what's blocked on the connection here. Im supposed to be doing social netwrking here...freakpelican
    • Impossobru without tethering to my phone first. Kinda funny actually.freakpelican
  • autoflavour0

    "funemployment" .. so good..

  • freakpelican0

    Ok, update time: (b/c i know you're all on the edge of your seats)

    My "two week prove yourself" working interview-ish thing i've been working on the last two weeks, could not have gone better in any way i can think of. The head honcho around here is the one who brought me onboard after a 3 hour casual conversation over dinner two Sundays ago, Started working here hours later on monday morning. Immediately got the full tour and the company is very obviously superbly run and everyone seemed happy at their positions(full two story building with many operational sections of the business) which is not what i'm used to. Had a good hour with the VP of biz dev and the Managing Partner... Then i was provided a nice 14x14 office with everything i needed but my mac.

    I'm still kind of in shock to tell the truth... I've been so convinced this was not a position in life i wanted to lead again. Running my own studio and being able to work with the creatives i choose to fill in the gaps in where i knew my fortés weren't the best option for the client/budget seemed like the plan i was going to be best fit for and happiest with. The management of clients(getting them to do what i needed i.e. supply collateral, approve edits, PAY INVOICES, etc) was something i could "handle" but the stress is so far from the creative process i love that it really brought my life to a constant battle of resentments in the inefficiency.... And i felt "in charge" so i constantly doubted my ability to run things properly. I wont even start to bitch about the problems of working with other independent creatives. That is something i thought i loved. My company i poured my heart and soul into that i started in San Francisco was named "Cured Collaborative" for a reason. I love the concept of collaborative "working alone together" but i know all of the things that make it a difficult process. I would love to think if i had steve jobs luck in building the right team under him to do his bidding that my concept would be functioning and well known at this point. It was basically a "24 hour fitness for creatives". A place to all work(out) of with all the equipment and resources that even small-large business have to frequently source from outside vendors. Blah blah blah.... it didnt work i got some people under me that didnt see the vision.

    Sorry for this Blog Post of a "bump" but i'm sitting waiting for approval on a bunch of files and this is the only social network i really use when i'm in work mode. I'm just super stoked to be in a place as the lone creative/marketing/production/ph... guy and all of my skill sets are being requested as the future of my employment here... Which i get to negotiate terms of later this afternoon. First contract negotiation since 2005. Kinda nervous but to stoked to really notice :)

    If you read ALL THE WAY to this point... comment in a note ---> or e-mail me and ill send you one of my 16"x20" prints from the last art-show i was in b/c anyone that read this far deserves a gift in the mail!

    • keep the updates coming, living vicariously through you.ArmandoEstrada
    • congrats to you! you seemed stoked. what does the art print look like?cbass99
    • I am curious, tooformed
    • I want a print!!!! And congrats dude! You sound so happy :) I'm starting a new job on the 5th andOSFA
    • oooh, did my reading finally pay off?! i want a print.johnny_wobble
  • formed0

    Thanks for the updates and openness. I've been running my business for about 12 years now (few freelance years before that). Stability is certainly something that crosses my mind from time to time. Good to hear it's working out for the better.

  • freedom0

    Are you a designer, coder, photoshopper or musician?

    • Maybe All? I do multiple things as well. Gotta get paid.ArmandoEstrada
  • freakpelican0

    ^ Some times i hate that i am all of the above, except i have given up code(i was lost with no desire to relearn everything after the amount of time i put into flash AS1-3) and swapped in "fine artist".

  • freakpelican0

    ^ For those who asked and were curious. ^

    These are images from my portfolio of some prints i still have.

  • freakpelican0

    Day 4 of Week 4...

    Ive been able to crank out 3 pieces of print collateral a few pieces of Trade Show signage and a pretty fleshed out redesign of the .com

    Having the ability to be under the gun enough to have to produce results daily and not wait around for the approval hell of waiting on emails and calls from 'clients'.... it's a brilliant feeling. I've kept myself busy with cranking out a lot of unrequested conceptual pieces to bring to the almost non existent marketing caché. All of them are getting really amazing feedback and none of the vibe of "we didnt ask for this wtf are you doing kid?!". I have really lucked out on a very niche market company that had a real need for someone in house and is super appreciative of seeing new ideas. Not 'replacing' someone is a great feeling b/c im not having to improve on someone elses work, but instead being able to offer things that were previously never thought of.

    I feel like i come back to this thread and update it with me gushing about finally being happy at work for the first time in damn near a decade... So excuse me if i seem giddy and long winded.

    • nice onegoldieboy
    • were you initially freelancing for them?Gnash
    • Nope, brought into my own office on a "lets see what you can do" two week phase.freakpelican
    • Now im here on my fourth week and everyone is super stoked to finally have in-house marketing/design/pro... Still no contract...freakpelican
    • contract but thats just b/c the Managing Partner that brought me in is constantly traveling so its been tough to get a meeting.freakpelican
  • stoplying0

    It's so nice to hear an enthusiastic voice in this world of full-time office work. After almost 14 years in my cubicle world, it is indeed refreshing. Keep up the good work.

    • It's been closing in on 10yrs since i've had a desk job. It was the right time for sure. Stability was a distant memory.freakpelican