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/nods
Totally. I’m always caught in this loop of wanting to climb the ladder and realising I actually kinda like it where I’m at!
😌😌😌😌
I just went back to senior ad from ACD. My mental health was shiitttt
100% I was ACD at a small agency and was expected to do so much. I had so much on my hands and so much pressure. I’m human so I wasn’t perfect and I was punished for it. Regardless, everything works out and found a great place doing great work with great people. Maybe I’ll take a promotion here and I’ll be happy
True. The role shifts heavily into operations. You spend less time creating and more time shaping, filtering, and aligning the work to business realities. A lot of it becomes managing people, priorities, and expectations across teams. Spreadsheets, resourcing, client conversations, internal alignment. That becomes the job 😩
I hate to come off as pro management here, but managing is real hard. I used to own a business in a different industry and I had to wear a lot of hats. Managing suuuuucked. I’d honestly rather scrub toilets.
I’ll echo what others have said. It’s very stressful and you spend the majority of your time on ops and people management. The money is nice to have but it won’t be much use if you have a heart attack or you spend every free moment dreading work.
I was hired as an ECD to try to get a West Coast office of an agency off the ground, I was stressed and miserable the entire time, The pressure was huge. When the business never materialized and the home agency pulled the plug, I swore to myself I’d go back to ACD so I could just create and directly mentor.
I was offered CD at my next gig and I broke my promise to myself to take the job because I thought the positive culture of the place would counterbalance the stress of the job. Nope. Made me just as miserable in all the same ways.
Do what satisfies and interests you. Make the most of it and save your money consistently. You’ll be less stressed and still in a good position to retire when the time comes.
Working a single day longer than you have to is cheating yourself unless you‘re one of the lucky few who find their job truly fulfilling. So don‘t chase money, You’ll do better work, the work will open doors, and the money will come.
Thank you for this detailed perspective! It’s appreciated.
And let’s not forget dealing with politics and interpersonal issues with your teams.
Idk. I feel like everyone is creative director now. Like creatives who are barely 5 years in. When I started it was a hard title to get. Not so much now. Most creative directors I see are glorified sr creatives
Every time I interview for Junior to mid-level roles now, I see LI profiles filled with “CD” positions at companies that are 1 person (them).
It’s more fun than having kids in a 2 bedroom apartment.
So true! Childcare providers are so under-appreciated.
Rising Star
I hear you, but, you know, money.
I feel like it’d be the same time commitment as getting a second job as a sr lol
I def negotiated to stay at ACD for a loooooooong time after my first stint as a CD. For all the reasons folks have mentioned. And now that I’m back — I set up some ground rules. Like managing people, but still getting to do the work. The other thing I’ve found, though, is that at agencies that don’t attach “VP” to “CD” and “SVP” to “GCD,” etc … sometimes the title doesn’t get you the seat at the client, strategic, and business-changing table that you deserve.
That seat often requires assertively self-advocating in a way that makes a lot people, especially creatives, uncomfortable.
Correct.
Sure. But then you’re stuck making 175k/year tops. The only real option left them is to go freelance and make half a million while still being a writer.
Make yourself indispensable as a senior or supe and you can make good money.
Minus the money, You ain’t wrong.
I’m pushing up to ACD atm and debating whether I stop there. Always dreamed of being a CD but def seeing that the juice may not be worth the squeeze. Also as a senior I’m able to freelance on the side so I’m constantly making, both creative and money. I actually love mentoring, I just don’t wanna deal with the politics and internal drama of being in management.
You don’t make the move for fun. You do it for money, WLB, and to have more control over your work and fate.
Oh definitely. Don’t get me wrong, it can be just as or more consuming, but making the work takes much more time than approving it. Approving or building on something is easier than consenting it from scratch too. Looking at cuts at 9pm is much easier than sitting down at 9 pm to bang out some new work.
But mostly, you move up because it ISN’T easy. If you’re approaching 40 and your only marketable skill is making work, you’d better be very good, because you’re competing with faster, cheaper 25 year olds. But if you learn to manage people, talk to clients and sell the work, you’ve got a leg up on a lot of creatives and will have more options when you age out.
freelancing is where it’s at. Today was 80+. I didn’t do jack. Will work a little tonight. But the freedom to work when you want is mind blowing once you figure it all out.
sure, it’s good to get a partner first. make sure you have experience dealing with clients on all fronts not just creative. Build your network. Keep in touch with clients after the job is over or they leave their job. And start moonlighting while you still have a FT job. It’s not easy to get started. But all good things take time.
I’m trying to get away from it. Trying to see how the skills translate to other roles.
My 53 year old brother has been an icon designer at Microsoft since he graduated college, and was able to increase his salary to a good degree the whole time. The tech industry can afford that so yeah.
Until I lost my last full-time GCD gig, a sub-5-yr run. I loved it. Shaping the work and mentoring were great. Clients, some are cool, and some suck. It comes with the territory. Yes, it's hard, but at the right place it's worth it. That was two years ago. Now the CD job descriptions I've been reading have been insane. Such bloated BS. So, back in the hands-on trenches, it's still crazy busy. Oh, how I don't love building out files for production.
CD is a really important role that, in my experience, is mostly selling exectives on ideas, which usually involves a lot of spreadsheets and research and politics. It ironically requires very little creative execution, which sucks for people who want to work on creative things for a living.