How long after graduating college did you find your “career?” Not just the first job you got (although it could be), but the position where you felt like “this is my path.”

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17 years later...still looking.

likefunnyuplifting

About 8 months ago. And I’m 43.

Took twenty years from starting out at an amazing agency, laid off due to .com bust, went to a multi-channel TV network, to AOL (ha!), to govie, to straight up graphic design boutique, to product and app design to finally saying enough and seriously thought about what made me happy.

It was advertising. Go figure. And it makes me feel old AF to push this hard but it’s also addictive. I missed that feeling after a pitch/all-nighter/insane day with a great ending feeling.

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8 years. Bounced around marketing roles and various digital shit, trying to apply my journalism degree any way I could. When I should’ve gone to portfolio school from the start.

likefunny

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain. I appreciate it!

Almost 10 years. Changed careers at 31 and never looked back.

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I'm not sure I've found it yet.

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I graduated in dec 06 and went to ad school in April 07. First class I knew it was meant to be.

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-6 months. Found it before I graduated.

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About 10 years really. All over the place for a while until things lined up. Of course it never feels totally final.

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8-9 years. Got my first job in advertising almost on a fluke jumping from crummy admin-type jobs into a super junior account role and in the span of my first 8 months made enough internal contacts to transition into a jr copy role. Haven’t looked back since.

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Right away. But then again I didn't go to college until I was 23.

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4 years. Started in account management but was at a boutique agency so touched almost all the new business opportunities as well. We won a large government contract, and then I got recruited to do new business full time by an agency that was pursuing a similar assignment. Haven’t looked back - been fully committed to biz dev since!

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5 years. Started in PR and despised it, moved over to account management and within that found project (and subsequently program) management

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2-3 years. Tried a shit ton of copywriting jobs and didn’t like them until I found advertising/marketing/PR that just helps me get my ideas in the world.

In hindsight, I should have gone to portfolio school, but didn’t even know what it was when I got out of school.

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Portfolio school is a crap shoot. Don’t know what kind of talent/dedication level will be in your qtr.

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I think I know you... but anyway, I'm quite disdained as well. I'm soon planning to shut it down and write my own voice app.

At some point, someone told me you'll start treating it like a job and there is no "this is my path". I wonder if that's true. I'm looking at job postings and nothing really catches my eye.

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I think I know you too :)

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6 years. 4 if you count my decision to go to portfolio school as finding my career.

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I was 26 when I got a job I liked and I stayed with that as a career. So, 6 years of crap jobs and grad school.

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5 years of being in the wrong industry, 1-2 years after that to get into a job that I really liked and paid decently.

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Immediately knew this biz was for me

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Under grad psych degree -> Finance -> MBA -> in-house marketing at a non profit -> Digital marketing agency. I was 30 when I found my niche. It’s been 14 years now.

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8 years.

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