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Who’s working in house in LA? Where? Doing what?
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I mean you can do anything. There’s no magic number. Just know that this industry is agist AF. And lots of people in their 40s are looking for a way out.
Don’t do this to yourself
I’ve been in this business over 30 years which is a feat — it’s so easy to get burned out, and, it’s realllllly hard to stay employed as a creative after 50 (some say 40s).
I still love this business, it’s definitely a passion industry, but I’m happy I’m on the back nine at this point with the shifts that are taking place. AI is a tool for sure but agency owners want it to be used more so creatives can do more work in less time, and clients are using it to take more work in house — taking jobs . Plus, some clients are foregoing brand work in favor of influencer marketing (saying this from experience), so no writing and usually a social media/influencer writes the brief.
So, just have your eyes wide open. There’s exceptions to every rule, just ask yourself why now and are you up for the challenge? Best of luck.
Nope! Go for it! Message me if you have questions, good luck!
I started late 30s and have been OK. But things seem to be shifting. Not sure what else I would have done, though. I left a dead end career to come here, so I don’t regret it. The main sources of stress for me now are how long can I last w/o age being a factor and the inability to afford a house in a large ad market city.
I got into it agency side in my late 30s, but here’s the thing: When we’re older, we see the bs for what it is and have less patience for it. At least that’s how it feels to me. There’s a lot of it too, and I’m hoping for a way out sooner than later.
Yes
I would really ask yourself if you want to be in advertising
I just turned 40 and left agency life to go in house in tech. Making 20K more a year, doing 25% less work, which is a win win for me.
(I was stuck at ACD. I wasn’t in love enough with the work to become a CD)
I was also in the Bay Area at the time, so that definitely tracks.
^ As MM1 stated, in house is the way to go IF you can get in. I’ve worked both agency and in-house but you should know that in-house isn’t much better stability-wise.
Clients don’t appreciate what we do so when it comes time for internal lay-offs, creative departments are often the first to get gutted.
Yep. Creatives are the sacrificial lambs and, unfortunately, the first to go.
You're not too old, but I wouldn't do it at any age now. It's extremely competitive and with AI there are even less opportunities. I posted this recently about the issue: https://www.theverge.com/meta/659506/mark-zuckerberg-ai-facebook-ads
By your 40s, you should know better.
I would say that for creatives roles yes, but for the real stuff, that requires business acumen… you can definitely start at 40 🙌