Getting older and working in design
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- bklyndroobeki0
I do believe that this is the ticket:
"Instead of stressing myself out chasing clients, I let clients come to me by applying for one of my offerings."
http://99u.com/articles/51208/fo…
Trying to not let my dream die.
- eryx0
I was looking for a tread to post this in because I found a different career path from being a flash developer up until about 4 years ago. I was fired from my agency and tried to make it as freelance developer. I devoted a lot of my time to leaning new programming techniques but after utterly failing at Flex I decided to throw in the towel.
I started my new career at 32 years old and have been at it for almost 3 years. I work in the NDT industry. The work is very physical and has to potential to be very dangerous but I do get to take pictures all day.
There is a large amount of certifications that you have to pass in order to move forward in this career but once you start moving forward it becomes more interesting. Pay also starts pretty high, I made almost three times as much as I did when I was under salary at an agency and paid more in taxes than I made in income as a freelancer.
There are some things that I miss from my old career. I miss not being part of a large project that I can point to and say “I programmed that”. The sense of accomplishment when you solve a difficult problem. I also miss the new and exiting ideas and techniques that I was exposed to on a daily basis. The people I worked with were informed, cultured and for the most part non-violent.
My new career has some interesting challenges, I am sure that it would not be for everyone you have to have some very thick skin to deal with very thick people. Working in -40˚C weather, wildlife, insane hours, dangerous material and humping the camera through the mud are definite drawbacks but job security, monetary compensation and the ability to move forward into many different off shoots of the same core career tend to negate them pretty quickly.
All in all I am happy that I changed careers but I still miss what I use to do, I think that is why I keep coming back there, so that I can kind of still see what is going on...... and COTD.
Here is my camera:
- thanks for sharing. camera looks interesting -- are you exposed to much radiation?Gnash
- some, lots of safety procedures you have to follow. Makes it interesting.eryx
- I imagine there is little work for flex. I would have learned flex if I was smart/dedicated enough. In hindsight I'm glad I was stupid/uncapabl to learn it.hotroddy
- good wkmans comp too i supposebklyndroobeki
- sarahfailin1
the light inside has broken but i still work
- ArchitectofFate0
bump? not bump? surely this can't be all the stories?
- shellie2
I'm still in my early 30s but I started working as an animator and designer at a very young age. My first big corporate job came at 19 years old and it wasn't my first in design. Worked 5 years on staff and the rest as a roaming agency freelancer, eventually working entirely at home. I became a hybrid producer/developer near the end of my run. The last 3 years I've transitioned out of it completely.
Now I am an entertainment talent manager and tour manager. I still work with agencies now and then but in a much different capacity. I'm greatful i spent all these years growing those relationships. I've found it much easier to pull in a nice big advertising jobs for my clients than other talent managers because I'm much more familiar with what is going on and how to pitch an agency to work with this painter or that musician. Most recently one of my music clients did an online series for national geographic that I was able to produce on the talent side with no sweat and that funded all our other projects for a year. A lot of my peers in the talent managrment industry have to grind a lot harder to find traditional ways to work their clients.
A lot of my ideas are grounded in completing the online/offline loop which had increased my clients earning power. I've found my peers to be left scratching their heads when it comes to doing that. But now I can also be creative in ways I couldn't behind an agency desk. A client of mine is an endless well of merchandising opportunities which I've been able to design, help manufacture and launch. I find a lot of what I learned over the years has been useful if applied in a different way.
I may join a management group sometime this year. I found some other managers that have a more traditional experience in that field that really value what I can do. I'm a bit lonely working solo for such a long time and this new career path allows for work in groups and freedom to move around and do what you want as long as you're brining in the dough. It's kinda nice.
- bezoar3
Short answer is that I'm moving to something else. almost 40 and it seems that my situation is very similar to those in this thread. 13 years in the industry and decided to take a leap of faith and start a new adventure.
Had to leave the design/ad world. burned out, downer attitude, cynical...etc. due to the chip on my shoulder and fuck wad management. however, i did have passion for the work and met many friends.
So if I'm gonna spend time at something, I'd rather focus on my family and artwork. So after 5 months in Japan, and my wife's blessing ahem, I returned with new attitude and career goals.
Currently apprenticing at a studio prototyping toys and sculpting/casting my own art pieces. Still freelancing when the money is worth it.
BTW nice to join the conversation qbn. been lurking 'round these parts for a while.
- sothere1
I was just made redundant. It seems I was too senior for the company. The assumption is they can hire younger guys at a lower cost to do a adequate job so why pay the salary.
There just doesn't seem to be the respect towards what an older creative can bring to a company. Companies are too often run by accountants that just see the dollars and dont have any creative knowledge to really see the difference,
I'm not sure what I'd do for a new career and who would hire a 41 year old with no experience in something new anyway.
I am pretty worried about the future as my partner and I have our first baby on the way and prospects look pretty lean.
- See below. Go for the senior roles. It takes longer to land one, but they're out there.Continuity
- thanks mate. I'm not giving up yet.sothere
- Continuity0
At nearly 42, I recently started a new CD in one of the bigger ad agencies here. At one point I was starting to worry, cos I know this game is for the kids, but I managed.
Don't know how long I'll keep this up for though; I've been looking at my life and really asking myself if this is what I want to devote 8 hours of each day or more to.
Yay, existential crises.
- a new CD job*Continuity
- I doubt the age thing applies if you're at CD level or above but best of luck either way.CyBrainX
- It kind of does. Even at that level, there's a sort of ageism that dictates things. There's also the fact agencies don't want to fork money out. It's mental.Continuity
- I spoke with a recruitment agent once that told me lot of agencies go for <40 CD as they want the youth/trend to be creative face of their company.dee-dubs
- ^Continuity
- sounds like its going well if only working 8 hours a day.fadein11
- Closer to ten or eleven.Continuity
- bklyndroobeki0
read this recent issue yesterday
http://hosted-images.magazine-se…, it put a sprint in my step.
- dee-dubs0
Bump, was wondering how things were looking for CrimsonGhost over last few months?
- how are things going with you?Gnash
- Doing OK, but anxiety about what the future holds persists...dee-dubs
- ^ i hear you. hang in thereGnash
- https://www.youtube.…bklyndroobeki
- Continuity0
So a little follow-up to what I posted above.
Another CD at the agency where I work — roundabout my age, I think a year older or so — has decided to only come in two days a week, devoting the remaining three working days to teaching advertising at a local uni.
Part of me thinks, 'Well done, mate, you've managed to re-invent yourself somehow.'
Another part of me thinks, 'Fuck me. Is this how I'm going to be put out to pasture when my time comes? I have to stand in front of a bunch of kids and _teach_?!'
I'd rather staple my bag to my leg.
- trooperbill0
Got made redundant 4 weeks ago having bounced around loads of small agencies for the past 16 years (wow)
most digital marketing is becoming pr now and im not skilled in it and dont have the time to reinvent myself
been around every big agency in the area and lost of in house roles for interviews and im too experienced for most and not specialist enough for others... it sucks
most agencies who interviewed me were just farming candidates and had no intention of hiring... a recruiter told me this was a major issue at the moment
got a temp job offered at a large brand which would have been cool if it was permament
just in time i landed a role in a big digital agency - its a more junior position, further away than id really like and for 3k a year less than i was on... but i gotta eat and have a kid due in jan so need the cash
they were concerned that id jumped job every few years but in my experience there is no job security... whaddayagonna do. i basically turned it around saying i was having a kid and looking for a new 'home'
too long for a dick and too short for a richard i think they say.
i start next monday which gves me time to illustrate the jungle scene on our nursery wall.
i thought bout moving out of the industry completely but had no idea where to even begin.
- Well the positive of this is you got another job and within 4 weeks... thats good no?dee-dubs
- matski7
I'm 38 now and currently in the transition from being an agency designer for 12 years (from which I've become burned out, and bored), and the past year freelancing, to doing something I really love – becoming an artist/painter.
I'm in the process of moving out of London, and recently brought a little house by the sea (moving in next week). Where I will set up an art studio, and spend my days doing what I like best – creating, and being expressive.
The buzz of London was a massive draw when i was younger, but now I'm older I am more attracted to slowing things down (a little). It wasn't a easy choice (as there's not many career choices or financial rewards being an artist/painter), but I think you come to a time in your life when you need to weigh up what makes you happy. I'm in a position where I don't have kids – if I did than I probably would not be doing this. But I get the same excitement now about to start a new chapter in my life, as I did when I first got into design.
- inspiring!valentim
- Thats awesome. Not to get in your bizzz but the fear there is income. Is the painting bringing in income enough to pay for a home and living? If so you win.sofakingback
- where in london are you and where you going? are you cashing in on london property?dee-dubs
- Good luck to you. I'm in the same boat.bezoar
- Good luck! Do you have enough income coming from your art? Fantastic if you do. Or are you going to freelance too? It does sound nice.formed
- good luck. sounds like a tough transitiondocpoz
- Best wishes.hosscreative
- Ianbolton1
I'm 40 next year and been designing stuff for at least 20 of those. I think I'm going to end it all in the new year. You heard it here first folks!
- when you say end it all I hope you mean design (not yourself)dee-dubs
- he said end it
ALL
It was nice knowing you.O0O0O0 - You already said:
ALL
Don't you dare back out now.sofakingback - PICS
OR
IT
DIDN'T
HAPPENO0O0O0 - Gonna be a has been, not another could've been.Ianbolton
- I'll start a new Suicide of the Day thread anyway. So chill the fuck out.Ianbolton
- We're chill bro.O0O0O0
- And what are you going to do next?Ben99
- Might study. Maybe travel. Who knows? Be good to get a little more freelance work from beyond the grave.Ianbolton
- pr20
Joined this board many years ago when i was still in college studying painting and graphic design.
I slowly drifted away from painting and the past 12 years worked as Director of Photography on music videos, commercials and feature films. Good pay, but there is no job security as i never know what' i'll be doing 2 months from now. In the process i've made a number of award winning shorts and music videos and in the past year finished a feature-length doc that tries to push the boundaries. It was an artistic bet that we've won and financial bet that we didn't. The film's artistry brought in a very rich benefactor that wants to finance personal projects - so technically i'm employed for next year or so on the next film. This taught me that on big and complex projects the rewards are not often immediate or apparent. Sometimes the reward comes from an unlikely place. I always had this uneasy feeling that film is the medium of the "masses" but thanks to digital revolution the film transformed into much more intimate medium and this is revitalizing. At 35, I know i'll never be doing blockbusters (unless paid to film it) as i have no interest with pop culture, i know i'll be making small intimate films that get experience as if reading a poem. This is not only fine with me but actually very desirable: i don't want to affect mindless mass of people but rather a few select people who have desire to dig deeper. I played with going back to painting but i simply have no patience. Moreover, as i'm an intellectual procrastinator trying to dig at an issue to such depths that with time it stops being exciting i would never paint but rather think about it. This you can't do with film, there is a specific date when you start shooting and that day you HAVE to start making decisions (and learn to live with those decisions).- Have you considered going back to college to study paragraphs?fadein11
- ^
LOL. fuckin dick. Im dying over here.sofakingback - Hah, fadeinPeter
- i still don't forgive you for forgetting to turn on your camera during the obama girl pillow fight scene...robotron3k
- paragraphs = communication; here you have stream of thoughtspr2
- lol fadeinPonyBoy
- Lol fadeinHayoth