Career Advice

[mighty306]

Long story short - I am 26 years old and in my 4th year at the advertising agency that I started with out of college. I was promoted early on and paid well from the start. However, I now do nothing all day. My job is ridiculously easy aside from the stressful crazy day I might have once a week. On the flip side, I have learned nothing since my first year and work with a bunch of idiots. We are a small agency with only 15 people and I have to deal with one co-worker that has made it her personal objective to destroy my self esteem. Everything I do is redone by her as she cannot approve anything that is not authored by her. My boss is a pushover and lets her get away with it as she holds a few major clients that represent a large piece of revenue.

With this said, I also feel that I have totally outgrown this place. They are consistenly wrong and I have no respect for any of them. I am envious of friends that have seniors to look up to and learn from. So I am now left with a decison. Do I stay and enjoy my decent but fixed salary at the easiest job in the world? Or do I take two steps back and get hit with a severe salary decrease and adjusting my lifestyle as a means to a more positive end? I am starting to feel like I am useless although I know otherwise inside. Just feel lost right now...

Thanks

 

[bran987]

Do I stay and enjoy my decent but fixed salary at the easiest job in the world?

Or do I take two steps back and get hit with a severe salary decrease and adjusting my lifestyle as a means to a more positive end? I am starting to feel like I am useless although I know otherwise inside.

Just depends, do you want to grow, improve, make something, be remembered? or do you just want your life to be easy. can't have both, and different people want different things.

 

[bran987]

you know the answer though.

 

[Cuthbert]

You wouldn't ask if you were happy where you were.

 

[ZKaudio]

corporate blackmail...

 

[KillahBee]

It definitely depends. For 9 out of 10 people, moving on would be the right move for the long term. But there are people out there that would be very envious of your position. As someone said, you wouldn't be doubting this current situation if you didn't seek more out of work.

 

[mighty306]

Actually, there is no doubt in my mind that I need to make a move. I have outgrown this place and although comfortable, I need to keep growing for both intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction.

The real question is do I make an immediate move to a position that I am over-qualified for with a salary cut in hopes for quick vertical movement or do I spend another year or so here to wait for the ideal opportunity to present itself?

I just see myself getting depressed and see my self esteem falling quickly. This is very unlike me and is attributed to both the 55 year old demeaning woman and my lack of fufillment. Just feel very lost and unhealthy right now...

Thanks so much guys...

 

[KillahBee]

Actually, there is no doubt in my mind that I need to make a move. I have outgrown this place and although comfortable, I need to keep growing for both intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction.

The real question is do I make an immediate move to a position that I am over-qualified for with a salary cut in hopes for quick vertical movement or do I spend another year or so here to wait for the ideal opportunity to present itself?

I just see myself getting depressed and see my self esteem falling quickly. This is very unlike me and is attributed to both the 55 year old demeaning woman and my lack of fufillment. Just feel very lost and unhealthy right now...

Thanks so much guys...

Have you begun the search yet? I think it's tough to estimate how long it will and can take. Sometimes you get lucky (the company I work for now was my first choice coming out of grad school. I had wanted to work for them for months before I graduated. It just so happened that 1 week after I graduated, they had a kid drop out of their training program and needed to fill a spot immediately in the area that I wanted to get into.) and sometimes it's a long, tough process. I think you have to be ready for both potential situations. And I know it must be tough right now, but it's a part of life, unfortunately. Look at it this way - you are always going to have to work for/with/over difficult personalities, so might as well use this oppty to work on managing relationships inside the office.

 

[bran987]

I just see myself getting depressed and see my self esteem falling quickly. This is very unlike me and is attributed to both the 55 year old demeaning woman and my lack of fufillment. Just feel very lost and unhealthy right now...

Thanks so much guys...

well the first thing you need to do is stop taking to heart the ramblings of this 55 year old crow bitch who is mad at the world that she's old and unattractive now, no reason for YOUR self-esteem to fall. SNAP OUT OF IT!

 

[ZKaudio]

just stay in the job while you look for another... you can make a step up still, just take the time to find the right position... network mah man