I don’t want to keep rising up the ranks. I don’t want to be a creative director one day. I don’t want to go the extra mile in an attempt to rise above the other creatives. I just want to show up and do the job I am paid to do. Why is that so wrong?

likehelpfulupliftingsmart
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But what about filling out your quarterly and annual goals and then meeting with your manager about said goals and then filling out a web form about how you achieved those goals and how there are new goals to write and rate and fill out. Barf

likefunny

It’s not 🤷‍♂️

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The honest answer is that eventually someone might look at your comp and ask if they need a copywriter with this much experience vs someone “hungrier” (younger and cheaper). Rising in the ranks can help delay this, and pays better.

likesmart

I’m an ACD, but I get your point.

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Then don’t! A lot of people need good senior creatives. Some of the senior creatives at my company are more experienced than CDs or even the GCDs. But they choose not to be CDs! I respect them.

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One perspective to keep in mind is in order to do the job correctly you do have to push craft and go the extra level, often times it’s directly related to performance of the work and at the end of the day retaining the clients. You may already know that - but it’s something I noticed that creatives don’t tend to realize just showing up will eventually lead to the death of the account you’re on.

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I feel this so hard

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Recently came to this confusion myself and it’s very freeing. I think it’s also totally acceptable

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It’s not wrong if that’s what we want. In fact, I respect the hell of your point of view.

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You might feel different as you age.

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or you might feel it even more... age 50 here

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I’m with you

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Because your agency is paid by the billable hour, so it needs you to work more. Also, the promise of glory / internal competition /hustle culture are all cheaper to implement than raises.

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True story: back in the 80’s I was brand new to the advertising world and lucky enough to work with some of the creative gods from the golden days of Volkswagen, chivas, and all the early DDB stuff. One of them was still working as a day to day art director, (although after so many years and buyouts of stock etc, he was rich as a king,) and I asked him why he wasn’t a CCO.

He walked me over to his drafting table, (this was before Mac… think - Mike Brady’s table in his home office - you know, “the Brady Bunch” - never mind…) and he said to me, “If I go on THAT board, it takes me off THIS board.”

I didn’t follow that advice once and frankly, I moved back down and will never take myself off “the board” ever again.

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Same here. If you’re ok with making less money overall and eventually being led by people younger than you, keep up with your same job, get paid and go home. Enjoy your life.

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The issue is people who want to take on more responsibility are more valuable to the business. Employees are investments.

What not moving up gets you is what it got one of my relatives: Watching younger people make more money until you get laid off in your early fifties and your resume at that point is not a list of achievements to smooth your way to another job, but says little more than “got hired and managed to hang on.”

You don’t have to move vertically, but you should be more versatile or useful. You should have a compelling answer for “Why shouldn’t my boss fire me and hire someone else?”

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Even if you are very capable and can do the work of three people, your boss won't pay you the salary of three people.

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Been there. I was a Graphic designer for nine years at a company. I moved from creative associate to Creative Manager. I wanted to design, not set budgets and schedules. I know what I am good at, and that wasn't it. All I ever asked is that I be paid relative to my experience.
Being that it is management that sets the culture, not being a director severly limited my opportunities for advancement. After a while I began to be viewed by those above me as less than them despite my experience, simply becasue I was not one of them. Eventually my position was eliminated, and I was let go, The person who replaced me in the same role with a new title was younger, single and did not have a family on company insurance. The issue I faced after that was that I could not find another job that paid as well as that one did becasue I did not have management experience, despite having been promoted and paid like a manager.

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I don't think it's wrong at all. You found your comfort zone and you like it there

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If you ever get promoted to CD, ask to be demoted

if you do not want to keep rising up the ranks. it will be face truob , it will be instead of someone one day . It will be discharge

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