Career Decision
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- brandelec0
i want a whitewolf tshirt
- zaq0
hat's off. The best choice "B" you could choose
- hektor9110
hey man.... were can I sign up for plan ( B ) take that option... Im sure it will be an eye opener..
- whitewolf0
Just wanted to update this thread. 2 years ago (in January) I posted a story about trying to decide to quite my entry level design job at a local small shop I hated and move to Africa to document a friend's non profit.
Well I went to Sudan, lived there for 3 months, got some awesome footage, came home and had a rough time freelancing. I traveled a bunch, stayed in Vancouver for a while, but was pretty worried about getting a real job.
As of September i've been full time at CP+B in Boulder for about 3 months now. 2 years ago, I had never heard of CP+B, hell I the only big Ad Agency i knew about was RGA as i had friends there.
I'm definitely not and Ad person, but i feel like i'm in a real good spot. Crazy to think how things have worked out since 2 years ago.
If you get an opportunity to go on an adventure and are worried about your job/ future. TAKE IT. I did this in the heigh of the recession, and things seemed to work out fine.
original post:
Jan 19, 2009
"So hypothetically I know this kid who is an entry-level designer.
This guy interviewed for a graphic design position that included: photo studio work, print, illustration/logo, some web comps etc. He got the job offer and accepted. Three weeks into the job, he was given a web project. He was to take a pre-designed comp and develop/build the website. Keep in mind that in the interview process this kid explicitly expressed that all he had was a basic knowledge of web technology (flash animation, html, xhtml, basic css, tables etc) This person tackled the project the best that they knew how and upon completion was question of their ability.
A meeting was then held with the CEO and creative director: Bottom line, we need someone who can do web, and only web, either get up to par or get out. So, this person then consulted many a tutorial and fellow web personnel in the company. Now this person is up to par with company demands. They can build with css, div tags etc.
It has been three months since the meeting and this person has yet to see another non-web job. This person is thankful for the crash course and learning a bit of web development, but is creatively stifled.
So...
Should this person:
A) Stick with this company for one year, learning as much as they can and reaching the 1 year agency experience mark for the resume. Then apply elsewhere for a more fitting position.
or
B) Leave at the 8 month mark, and cash in on the opportunity to live in Southern Sudan/ Northern Uganda and work with a dear friend's humanitarian non-profit. Basically riding around in land rovers helping build schools and medical centers for refugees. This would be a total of 3 months and then this person would return to the states and start the job hunt over again.
So, is getting a full year under their belt at a place that they do not trust help them more? Or should this person cut the agency experience short by pursing a passion and going on the ultimate adventure?
Fire away.
"
- hektor9110
Great story man, I'm glad everything worked well for you!
"If your heart is in the right place, your feet will arrive at the right place"
- bored2death0
Glad to hear it worked out for you.
I need to hear more stories like this right now...
- create your own story. leap toward your own future. risk is measured by those who have no balls. you can quote me I just made that one up.zenmasterfoo
- just made that one up.zenmasterfoo
- nice!kona
- canuck0
High-Five bro!
- kona0
very happy for you whitewolf. you made a big life-changing decision and that takes balls. big ups dude.
- nocomply0
Still inspired every time I see this thread come up.
Nice going. Gotta cut your own path through life!
- bigtrick0
:D
- Dodecahedron0
that pic just totally slam dunked this thread. like how it ends :]
- Jaline0
Everyone needs to update their threads like this.
- whitewolf0
the CP+B thing was pretty random. When i was broke, post my Sudan trip, i made $1,400 on a freelance website, felt rich and booked a flight to Vancouver, BC.
I went and stayed with one of my best buds from home. He was in grad school and living in an RV at the time. I was there for almost a month with $1,000 left in my bank account.
While he was in class, i roamed the city looking for freelance work, but mainly just toured studios and shook hands with people, asking advice on my book etc.
I landed at Burnkit http://burnkit.com/ and had a sit down chat with head man Josh Dunford. He basically gave me a list of big agencies with big clients and told me to shoot for an internship, or entry level gig.
CP+B was on that list. So I took his advice, filled out several applications made a silly video. Aside from making myself look like a pompous asshole, they dug the vid and I got 1 of 2 spots for their winter Design internship--ultimately leading to my hire this fall.
- Bargels0
This makes me happy :) Huge congrats on it all working out!
- drgz0
I spent 5 years taking care of orangutang babies in Malasia
- gramme0
Good for you man. Fantastic story.
- herzo0
Fucking awesome thread.
One of my friends works in the boulder office, she is a strategist.
- akrok0
so you where a free man and now you're a slave. sweeeeet deal.
- SoulFly0
love how he starts by saying the situation happens to a "kid" he knows, and then turns this into a blog of his life... past and future... lol