My job in Advertising has no future

[hcariss]

I work in production for advertising, making TV commercials, its a career I have put a huge amount of effort and was finally on the cusp of getting to bid on high paying jobs just as the recesscion kicked in. Now at 38 I have realized its a career thats done, I only made 6 films this year and in the last year and over the last 18 months my income has sunk.
The days of anyone caring about quality spot work are over. Internet advertising which now takes 51% of the ad dollar tends toward guerilla style (cheap) work and there are too many of us 'turd polishers' not getting a look at the available jobs as the stars & star companies of the profession grab whatever is available (ad people always want a star director)
I feel like I have been dumped by a rich and sexy but irritating girlfriend, who didn't like the same films, art or photographers as me, and even though we only had a flash and grope Id fallen hard for her. It all sounds dramatic but I know I'm right.
Anyhow ... Thanks it's cathartic to share with you guys.

I'm curious who else is out there re inventing themselves ?

[herr_oberst]

I do commercial photoshop work in the prepress field, and the story is exactly the same. Problem is, I'm 50, I've been in printing for 30 years and my options are unknown at this point. The recession means that there are a ton of us out there looking for a diminishing number of jobs.

I need something new, but I'm not sure where to look, and its hard to decide "what I want to do"

Say! This has been cathartic!

[bivenator]

I'm in healthcare and dramatic cuts in reimbursement for diagnostic imaging is putting a serious speed bump in my life.
Not very cathartic, I'll try a beer.

[red-beard]

I've gone into prostitution.

[Rusty Heap]

So don't wimper about the past, focus on the future! this coming from a 20 year Boeing Engineer who saw everything getting off-loaded to China and out sourced.

[ramonesfreak]

i have a law degree and have been out of work 4 months after 12 years of solid experience. cant find a job anywhere. there are none. .....everyday i have the same voice playing in my head over and over

The world is changed.

I feel it in the water.

I feel it in the Earth.

I smell it in the air.

Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it......

[slakjaw]

My job in Telecom has no future either.

I have been thinking about selling the porsche and becoming a hobo.

[Hugh R]

I do motion picture and television production safety. With the increased use of computer visual effects, a very large amount of my job has gone away. I'm on a movie right now that will have horses and riders rearing and the riders fighting on the edge of a cliff at the Anticline at Moab, UT, a 3,000 foot drop off the edge. 20, even 10 years ago, we'd be rigging them with safety lines. Now, we do it on stage in front of a green screen. Some of my biggest safety issues, now, are people tripping over the lift gate on the Camera truck in the dark. So we put a worklight in place to light up the lowered lift gate. When I "retire" I don't think they'll replace me.

Same thing with car crashes, cars today are so much more crash-survivable than they were 5 or 10 years ago, let alone 30 years ago.

OTOH, our tolerance for serious accidents is way, way down from when I started.

[LWJ]

Here is my story and some advice. I have had a similar experience. Actually, experiences. I have had at least 13 jobs since I graduated in 1988, many in different fields. I had no career path. I had a decent job in 2001 but the company was all f'ed up and I was a couple of weeks from checking in to a hospital due to work-stress. They cut 1/3 of their sales force, which included me. As I would not move from the Portland area, and I had worked for the two companies that did what I was currently doing, I needed to reinvent my self. I took a hard look at what I was good at, sales to businesses, and figured out what would be a long-term sustainable career.

I did some research over the next 1 1/2 years while I worked a crap job and when I was ready, I started calling prospective companies up. I told them I was joining their industry and that I would either be competing or working with them. I got 4 job offers in two weeks and turned down 2 other opportunities that probably would have become offers. My income this year was up from 2008 and is almost double my 2002 income.

Am I a genius? Increadibly talented? More spectacular than you? No. I am a pretty normal guy.

Your job is to think about what you a GOOD at, not what you want to do. Find a long-term sustainable model to generate income with your talent. This is important as doing what you are good at is where you get rewarded and build confidence. Reward and confidence build on themselves and give you satisfaction and income.

I can say this because I was in your shoes. Once you get over your grief and fear, shut up and move forward. You WILL persevere. I can't imagine that people that have found a way to buy a toy porsche are not talented enought to reinvent themselves. If you want a personal pep talk, send me a PM. I am passionate about this as I suffered exactly as above. I made my move at 38 after enduring a string of jobs with zero long term prospects. My current position is permanent. I intend to die or retire there.

Human beings are capable of amazing things. It is a matter of vision and execution. Colonel Sanders was 55 when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken. Where would the world be without that! If the Colonel make KFC, surely you can find a way to succeed as well.

Good luck. While your path will not be easy, it certainly won't be as hard as you imagine. In a year or two you may be saying (as I am) that you made the best decision in your life and you wish you had made this change decades earlier.

Larry

[slakjaw]

Exelent post!

I need to reinvent my self. I am good at turning a wrench....

[The Gaijin]

Originally Posted by hcariss

I work in production for advertising, making TV commercials, its a career I have put a huge amount of effort and was finally on the cusp of getting to bid on high paying jobs just as the recesscion kicked in. Now at 38 I have realized its a career thats done, I only made 6 films this year and in the last year and over the last 18 months my income has sunk.
The days of anyone caring about quality spot work are over. Internet advertising which now takes 51% of the ad dollar tends toward guerilla style (cheap) work and there are too many of us 'turd polishers' not getting a look at the available jobs as the stars & star companies of the profession grab whatever is available (ad people always want a star director)
I feel like I have been dumped by a rich and sexy but irritating girlfriend, who didn't like the same films, art or photographers as me, and even though we only had a flash and grope Id fallen hard for her. It all sounds dramatic but I know I'm right.
Anyhow ... Thanks it's cathartic to share with you guys.

I'm curious who else is out there re inventing themselves ?

Interesting. How does one become a "star director"?? Your choice might be to become that - or get out.

I would think in this media age - there would be all kinds of opportunities available for those skilled in these arts..

[jyl]

I spent 13 years as a lawyer, went back to school, now 10th year in investment management.

So yes you can change fields. You have to be willing to get out of your comfort zone, pay your dues all over again, work like hell for people younger than you. But if your current career is dead-ending or (my case) you are burning out doing it, then it is worth the risk and effort.

Look at nostatic, chemistry PhD, now some sort of gun-toting propagandist for the military-industrial complex (just kidding Todd) and he seems to be happy (although Subaru-driving).

[masraum]

Originally Posted by slakjaw

My job in Telecom has no future either.

I have been thinking about selling the porsche and becoming a hobo.

??

What do you do exactly?

[AFC-911]

I worked in TV Production & I've barely gotten started in my career when I've already been laid off...

I've only been unemployed for 4 months, but man, job hunting these days is depressing.

I've always been told that your 1st TV gig is the hardest to land...I'm finding out that's not quite true. I already have several line items on my resume, but it's still hard to find one these days.