Mining for Your Perfect Job
At about 5:10, if I’ve been paying attention to the time near the end of the workday, I’m usually merging onto 287 from 7th Street right at the edge of downtown Fort Worth, ready to drive the 35 minute trek to the house I just bought last summer in Oak Cliff. My thoughts on the ride home lately traverse between wondering who’s going to get kicked off of Top Chef this week and trying to figure out how to get more sidejobs/freelance gigs over the next year to ensure an open bar at the wedding.
This is in stark contrast to the job I held before last fall. My daily trek from home to the office garage was less than a mile, and I didn’t think of anything but work during that drive, nor during my free time. Outside of work, I talked about work. I had dreams about work. I was married to work. From September 2001 to August 2007, work was how my friends and family knew me. I had struck gold with that job, and for 6 years, I lived to work.
Now, I work to live. I usually get home before 6pm. Office hours are 8:30 to 5pm. At the old place, my average home arrival was between 7:30 to 9pm (around 10-ish during “the season”), and I would even bring work home. I worked every weekend. This was all by choice, though. I loved that place. The hours and the intensity had a major pay-off. In those 6 years, I amassed a gigantic portfolio, stuffed to the brim and sprinkled with various awards, in addition to gaining an amazing amount of experience I could not have gained elsewhere in the same amount of time. I started as a Junior in September ‘01 and by June 2006, I was asked to play the Creative Director. It was a Type-A Designer’s dream come true.
I lost one of my parents while the other grew more and more ill. Along with growing familial responsibilities, health issues and major changes in the lives of my best friends, I wanted more and more to have a life outside of work, which brought me to a big fat fork in my career path
But during the last years of that job, I lost one of my parents while the other grew more and more ill. Along with growing familial responsibilities, health issues and major changes in the lives of my best friends, I wanted more and more to have a life outside of work – which brought me to a big fat fork in my career path. I asked myself, if I continue the way I’m going, am I going to regret the sacrifices I make outside of work? Can I afford to keep seeing the psychiatrist? Am I driving people away by my incessant talk about annual reports, how my anti-anxiety medication makes me tired and my developing philosophies on business practices?
I came to the decision that I needed a change. Last August, I stepped down, packed the 10 or so boxes I accumulated over the last 6 years and accepted a position as the Associate Creative Director for a small Fort Worth agency. Since I made that change, the hours I work are less intensive as is the stress. The business philosophy is different. The clients are different. I am not as tense. This is what I need now. I had changed. But the new place is not necessarily better than the first. It’s just better for me, now. Without noticing (probably because of the anti-anxiety meds) I had gone from Designer Type A to Designer Type B.
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January 1st, 2009 at 1:19 pm
This is a great article. It is enlightening, inspirational, and helpful. I can genuinely relate to this article because I am a newly graduate designer. Knowing what kind of designer you are and what workplace suits you, helps you find your fit. I also believe you need to find that balance between work and life so that you don’t miss out on the important things. I think I am a mix between a D Type A-N-B-F. I also agree that you need to love what you do and the money will follow.