Career Mid life crisis

messi SG

Hi all i'm working as a interactive art director in some small local company....i'm already 31yrs old this year....i feeling really stressful & insecure lately about whether how shld i move on from tis point of my life.. As you know due to the nature of my job i need to update myself with all the computer languages all the time,late nites, plus every yr there is tons of fresh grad with newer knowledge...

Most impty i v drain by wat i do...hav been in the industry for 7-8 yrs.. i wont want to continue to work like a dog n served ungreatful boss, stupid client & backstabbing colleagues...not to mention i need to learn new programming languages all the time.
n given the fact tat there is so much talented ppl out there doing the sametime as me...

I'm not sure of is there anyone have similar case as me..although my current job allows me to do some freelances n the pay is so so...abt 4k....n the company's future is going no where. Basically confirm deadend with mindnumbing stupid colleagues...

i'm really lost...my skills aint the best in the industry n not the worst...i'm afraid i might not find a better company...some of my frds also AD level (better than me) hav choose to give up their design career n go into something totally diff like property, insurance etc.....for my age is not young anymore i duno if i dun do anything now is there anymore things i can do after i hit 35, there maybe not turning back in life..so if i wanna change career, the time is now or never... I really hope some of u guys will share with me ur thoughts or hav anyone face the same issues before...

1. Stay in my current company, after master a new computer language(AS3) then quit to go other agency (sameshit diff hole)...

2. Look for totally new career (which i duno wat i can do....)

3. just quit n do freelance n tried to see if can start own biz...

4. take some new courses...

5. try overseas...

pls share u thoughts...thanks alot!

kopiosatu SG

earn 4K a month and u dunno what to do with it for the past 7-8yrs?

u should have done something with your money and come out without worries.

heck, i did things with my 1.6K a month!

u are "giving up" just because of the new fellas? you are in the industry, they were not. you should be more valuable due to experience.

if you think u are losing out due to skills (computer language) then u should have continued upgrading all this while or u can go learn it yourself if u really thought out your future properly.

don't tell me that you have no time. the most successful people "suffered" to get where they are, if they had no time, they would make time even if it cost them sleep.

messi SG

i dun earn tat amount from the start...4k consider low for my age,,,

kopiosatu SG

i don't care whether its low or not

what did u do with all that money?

go for holidays? spend it? sit on it? pay bills that u didn't have to pay if u changed your lifestyle?

like i said, if u used it properly from the start, u wouldn't have to worry about finding another job now

in fact u can even quit and sit around

kopiosatu SG

1. Stay in my current company, after master a new computer language(AS3) then quit to go other agency (sameshit diff hole)...

2. Look for totally new career (which i duno wat i can do....)

3. just quit n do freelance n tried to see if can start own biz...

4. take some new courses...

5. try overseas...

pls share u thoughts...thanks alot!

Ok. I will answer your answers based on my thoughts

1. Considering that you have NO IDEA what to do with your future? yes, do this.

2. see? NO IDEA. u want to jump into the sea without the ability to swim?

3. NO IDEA too. See if can start own biz is different from WANT to start own biz. See if = not sure, not a very good start... business mentality wise.

4. Either you have enough money to sit around while u take lessons, or u work and take part time lessons. Looking at your posts, it seems like u still need money, so the first option is out.

5. you are not comfortable going against the locals, u want to take on the foreigners in their own turf?

kopiosatu SG

judging from your posts, u seem ready to remain in the rat race for the rest of your life (no matter how much you say you wanna get out).

4K is not enough, i can give u 10K and u still think its not enough. that is the typical rat race mentality.

messi SG

I definity hav savings n all but tatz another story..my issue n problem is how i move on from here...i know all jobs or industry required constant upgrading but not as demanding as my line..every 6-10 mths got a few new things... where if the time i spend on these i spent on other industry i may have achieve more or at least more balance life, time manage n pay...

kopiosatu SG

if u had done something about your money

you WOULDN'T have to think about all this.

get it?

the problem now is that you wanna get out but u dunno what you want

not knowing what you want is NOT a good idea if you wanna quit a job

you want to quit, you better KNOW what you want.

if you want to quit and THINK about your future, u better have something churning money while u sit your butt at home. you can think for 6-10 months "hmmmm what should i do? maybe i can try a new hobby without working"

"where if the time i spend on these i spent on other industry i may have achieve more or at least more balance life, time manage n pay..." - and what OTHER industry can you contribute to?

NOT SURE is not a good answer and if that is your answer, that option is closed (that is if you have money to sit on while you think)

understood?

kopiosatu SG

for you

option one.

upgrade yourself and get another job that pays you better / has a better boss.

everything else you listed is like jumping into the sea :

1) without knowing how to swim

2) and maybe try to learn how to swim

3) without a float

if u wanna jump into the sea, i recommend that you jump in knowing that you can swim or u jump in with a float.

ShrodingersCat SG

Interestingly, I was in this similar position quite a few years ago when I was in my late 20s.

My previous job was also in the creative line, and there was just so much saturation in the field. One of the late night's work, staring into the computer, I just felt that whatever I was doing is so meaningless. I can't imagine spending the rest of my life doing this. If you have read Hitchhiker's Guide, I felt doomed to be in the spaceship that was designed to crash.

Thankfully, I don't have much financial commitments (plus my pay then was lower than yours :P so I decided to quit :) and take some time off to think about what to do with the rest of my life. One of the things I enjoyed was working with children. so, during this period, I took a part time job which involved working with children to make ends' met.

I grew to enjoy the job so much, I moved on to another job working with children. And now, I am still in this job after many years.

Does this job require the same amount of work and upgrading and everything? - yes. But because there is interest in it, there is a far greater motivation and enjoyment in the learning. You learn because you want to perform the job better.

So perhaps think abt what might fuel the passion you have, and explore them?

Give yourself a time deadline for exploration - so you won't end up bumming and obsolete.

Even if it means, hey I wanna try the life of a bus conductor for a while - why not? At the very least, even if you return to ur previous job, you will hopefully be rejuvenated and inspired again.

31 is still young lah. You can still do a career switch.

Stay inspired.

messi SG

yes in a way i agree with u,,,but i'm not exactly happy with working in interactive agency anymore...coz when u spent weeks designing a website n ur client just demolished ur design with stupid clipart or ideas it just kills u inside out, hard to explain the feeling (like u design a ferrari car n ur client insist in pasting pokemon stickers on it..)

Ya i will still design for fun..like i'm working on some facebook apps with my frds which is v enjoyable no money 1.,,but if i do it for a living itz sucks....

so ya i'm pretty much stuck n duno wat i wan...tatz y i posted all tis hoping to hear more different opinion...Anyone with the same prob as me? or itz just me?

kopiosatu SG

before u think i'm some looney bin giving this kind of "advice" to you, here's a little background

i worked for 7yrs, take home pay 1.4 - 1.6K

i left my previous job because the hours to money ratio was way too pathetic, but i left knowing what i will do when i get out.

i sometimes get more, sometimes less or sometimes the same amount of money. But i work way way way way less. The work to pay ratio is way way way way better.

either way, i can afford to sit at home the whole month (i've been sitting at home for almost 2yrs already) because i have investments and assets that i sit upon. things i prepared when i was earning that amount of money.

i have so much free time that i can take up casual jobs for fun.

do i have a car? no. what for? its a liability.

do i pay my bills? yes.

do i have to work to pay my bills? no.

what did i do with that pathetic pay i used to get? split to 3 accounts. savings, allowance, fats.

savings remain untouched, 10% goes in. allowance cap at $400/month. everything else is fats.

fats goes to investments and whatever stuff i gotta pay.

if i can do that with 1.4 - 1.6K and live comfortably now, i don't see why u need more than 4K to start thinking that you can manage finances.

i can give u 10K and it will still go down the drain.

kopiosatu SG

that is if he has even listed down possible options

and if he has enough to sustain while he plays around with them.

the way he said it at the first post

is like, "i don't like my current job, the pay sux, i wanna get out but i dunno what to do. but i need another job."

need another job + dunno what to do when u get out = bad combination

ShrodingersCat SG

that is if he has even listed down possible options

and if he has enough to sustain while he plays around with them.

the way he said it at the first post

is like, "i don't like my current job, the pay sux, i wanna get out but i dunno what to do. but i need another job."

need another job + dunno what to do when u get out = bad combination

I agree.. but sometimes.. its cos while you are working - you don't have brain cells left to think :P hee

But I think he must be prepared to work ANY type of part time job to make some money during this time instead of just dallying and bumming away~ the worse is to quit and then nuah until become jellyfish

dangerboi SG

are you sure 4k a month is alot?

It's only "alot" when you're working 4-5 hours a day during office hours. Earning 4k and going back home everynight to polish his skills is really

try 1 or 5....alternatively, you could be a property agent. There are lots of choices...think hard

messi SG

yup, 4k is actually v low considering the hours & most impty the effort i put in. The longevity in tis line is not long, viewing in long term...i cant worked til 2am every morning when i'm in 40s?(if i'm still hired in 40s) & learning new skills after everynite...
I'm sure if tis is the best direction i shld be heading.

Anyone worked in advertising or interactive before industry ?

Fatum SG

smells like an early midlife crisis .....

just find something you enjoy doing mate ....

in club 30, the preferred therapy is gluttony and travel ..... in that order ...

kopiosatu SG

look, it doesn't matter who has worked where

u have to ask yourself "what the hell do i want to do with my life?"

if u are not sure, then carry on with what you are doing now.

if u are sure, then leave the job.

airgrinder SG

1. Stay in my current company, after master a new computer language(AS3) then quit to go other agency (sameshit diff hole)...

2. Look for totally new career (which i duno wat i can do....)

3. just quit n do freelance n tried to see if can start own biz...

4. take some new courses...

5. try overseas...

pls share u thoughts...thanks alot!

Hey! I see wat you are going through. I went through something like that a few years ago when I was super jaded with my job and life although I tried to put a fake front. I was in a better position, as at least I do not have disturbing collegues like yours. But I was quite fed-up with my industry and the way how things were. But commitments made me stick on to the job and the pay then was good too. So I thought it was just a phase in life and it would past, but after months, this "jaded-ness" became worst.

I thought off exiting the industry and doing other things but like you, having been a num of years in the job, I hav no idea what I can do. Suggestions from close friends include ideas and things I can do to "shake up" my life to see new opportunities, be it in career of life. One of them was Steve Jobs style, i.e. go off to tibet for 3 months.Of course I didn't do that.

Anyway I just quit my job then. For abt 3 mths, I did some stuff that I have never thought I would do before. I found new groups of friends, and really, job opportunities really did happened. An by 20% luck and 80% personal action (I mean one must take action to seek what you want. Better opportunities do not just pop out like in movies or dramas) I was given the opportunity to join another industry. In fact, I didn't like this job in the past, and I thought people in this job in the past was weak. Now I'm in this job for a couple of years, and so far so good surving on a paycut.

messi SG

thanks for some of ur advices...yes an early midlife crisis but not if itz early...im 31 i think it really mid life..yes i'm not sure..designing used to be my passion...i wanna continue to do it for fun ..not so much for living... some frds actually said i can try investments, forex or trading so i can earn some income while doing things i like..
but itz risky if u dun noe much abit it. great if you have some passive income like someone mention here.