got some time left over from my lunch break... only took 15 mins to eat then got pulled away to do something >.< but anyhows... for a lot of people who've talked to me about my job and asked the question of whether i like it or not, my answer has always been "meh, it's alright, i guess" or "it's okay, i'm learning a lot, so i guess that's good" or something similar along those lines.
truth is, i was never big on advertising. when i was in school and professors talked about what a design job in the advertising industry is like, i always thought "nope! never want to be in advertising." and lo and behold, God for whatever reason He has, decided to give me my first job... in advertising. funny, isn't it? yet further proof that God MUST have a sense of humour, duckbill platypus aside.
it's been a year now since i've started full-time work as a graphic designer. and i can say with full confidence that my professors were absolutely right; everything they described advertising to be is absolutely true. crazy deadlines, fast / super-fast workpace, high expectations, low pay, etc. and the list goes on. i get that i'm in a junior position and as many of my older friends have told me, i gotta pay my dues before i get to move up the proverbial ladder. others have told me that it's a great experience cuz if i can make it here, then i can make it anywhere.
here are some of the crazy feats i've gone through since beginning my design career, starting in the advertising industry:
1) staying until 10:45pm on multiple nights, some occurring on evenings where it was blizzarding outside and the snow was literally a couple feet high when i stepped out of the office building
2) working every night until 11-11:30pm for a week straight
3) staying overnight in the office, pulling a 9am - 6:15am shift to get a job done
4) working evenings and weekends (in addition to the regular 8 hour day)
5) working from home even on days i had to call in sick
and here's the kicker: no OT pay and no compensation (e.g. lieu days / days off). and no, i don't get paid a whole lot on my regular salary... think i'm under the average pay for a junior by about 5Gs.
anyway, all that aside, i'm still in full belief that God has His reasons and purpose for placing me here... in advertising. i'm yet to come to any realization as to what that may be, but i guess that's a work in progress kinda thing. needless to say, it's a difficult job, extremely challenging, and has caused me to think again about whether i want to do this graphic design gig or not on multiple occasions.
i can elaborate more about why advertising is really not the industry of choice for me, but me thinks i should get back to work. don't want to work OT tonight cuz i spent 15 mins on blogger. :P till later i suppose. :)