With all my time not dancing, I finally finished a yoga video I started months ago. That's what started my roll. I thought, You know, this is fun. I like spending hours working out the details of aligning sounds and music and creating interesting shots. Maybe I should pursue this. (The yoga video isn't awesome, but if you'd like to see it, click here.)
The Research
So I looked up UW alumni who might be doing something with media. I found one - Jay, a creative director - and sent him a quick email saying basically, "I'm a UW alum and ballroom dancer who's looking to enter the media industry. What can you tell me?" He sent a surprisingly quick reply and started off saying, "I've been working in advertising..."
And that's when I went, Wait. Is THAT what I'm getting into?? I had visions of filming and editing videos for artists, local businesses, and maybe even a high school volleyball team...not creating commercials. But when I thought about it, I realized my visions were to sell the products and services of the artist or business and give people incentive to support the local team. Ok...let's check this out...
Within minutes, I was hooked. The more I read, the more energized I became...and I didn't know why. The fact that I had no experience or related education in this business didn't slow me at all - it actually did the opposite. I was thrilled and couldn't fall asleep! I stayed up late learning about "books,""Pencils," (portfolios, awards) and who the heck David Ogilvy was and how you pronounced his name (father of advertising - name pronounced OH-gul-vee). I couldn't get enough (and still can't).
The Challenges
It's a tough business: the jobs are few, competition is high, starting salary is low (sometimes nothing), long hours are the norm, and rejection is on the "tasks accomplished" list several times a day. You have to perform when you walk in the door and juniors are expected to kick the senior employees' a** with new ideas. People don't tell you your work is good - if you're lucky, they'll say it's OK. And you have to have thick skin - no crying in public. You kind of live and die for this industry.
great. sounds horrible...why do it?
Because It Looks Like Fun
Reason 1) I want to produce things! I don't want to be a creative person in a business; I want to be in the business of creativity. I want to be surrounded by quick, smart, quirky thinkers. I want to tell stories and inspire people or make them laugh or make them think. Still, you may say, you don't have to go into advertising to have those things. It's true. There are other careers that might make me happy and could ultimately be a better fit...I could go into entertainment or continue working on a couple books I've started. Or try to launch the business I've been dreaming about. However, I see doors opening in the direction of advertising and I feel the energy pushing me through. I don't really want to open the other doors.
Reason 2) I also have a twisted corner of my brain that wants to do whatever someone/something tells me I can't. No specialized education or skills? So what? One of my coaches would tell me that my dancing was crap every time I had lesson, and it only pushed me to work harder. I wanted to prove him wrong with every fiber of my being.
Entering advertising could be something like that. This whole trip could simply be an impulsive act fueled by stubbornness and competitiveness, and one that could die in three months. Or tomorrow.
Therefore, is it truly my career? Will it be another gateway to something else? (Why can't my gateways be lucrative for once??) I don't know where this will take me!
Reason 3) The industry is exciting and if I play my cards right, it could lead me to a whole new set of adventures. I was reading this post on happiness optimization and it made me conclude the following:
I used to think, "work to live" meant that work and life were separate: you had a job and then lived your life outside of it. Now, though, I see it means to use your work as a *lens* for life -- leveraging it as an opportunity to open doors to different experiences.
At the very least, I hope advertising will open doors for me into graphic design, excellent writing, travel, photography, and connecting with many creative people. I also hope it will sharpen my mind and give me yet another positive shift in my world view. It might take a few years for all of this to happen, but I'm ready to give it a go.
Following Up
Jay and I emailed back and forth a couple times. When he found out I was in another state and would not be able to stop in his office any time soon, he wrote:
OK, so that makes it all the more challenging. Not sure of your daily schedule, but maybe we could jump on a call at noon (CST) next Friday (earliest free time for me) or at some other time the following week.
I’ll try to guide you as best I can, but the so-so-fun barriers ahead: New career path, new market, limited experience, few jobs and that “competition is always good” thing.
Sounds like fun.
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