Doing it for the kids
Over at the wonderful Denver Egotist they’re debating the pros and cons of balancing an ad career with having kids.
All the arguments are in there (and the comments section), but I might as well stick my own dreary oar into the water.
As someone with a couple of young kids, I can say that becoming a parent does change your attitude to work. Of course it does. It puts things in perspective; it makes you realise that the logo size on a 25×4 ad for chicken fillets is about as important as one of the farts you did last August, and it stops you thinking that the best thing you’ve ever produced is a pencil-winning print ad for tampons.
But then for some people this isn’t the case. They want to further their careers, and whether that’s for themselves or so that they can pay the school fees for Jonty and Charlotte, it means that they see less of their kids than perhaps they should (and who is to say how much one should see one’s kids?).
So you pay your money and take your choice.
Currently, advertising is quite demanding on the time of someone who wants to be a grande fromage, so if that’s your aim, you do have to decide. However, I think it’s perfectly possible to do well enough in both that neither side feels let down. You may not be parent of the year or ECD of a demanding network agency, but you may well be all the happier for it.
And for further, more definitive advice, check number two on this list.
Where the Kylie link? I’ll save you the trouble.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM7ceSSXDWQ&feature=fvst
Mine is having a tantrum at the mo.
my dad is an engineer.
he worked 12-16 hour days when i was a kid.
for less than a placement team gets paid.
having kids makes you work harder to give them stuff/opportunities.
and as for debating logo size on a shit ad…?
if you don’t put as much effort into everything you do, what kind of example is that to your kids?
The usual model seems to be: work your ass off, win some awards, bang some planners/placements/suits/a cleaner, hoover some chop, get made CD, bang one of the planners again, go on a date, get serious, meet her mum/pimp, have a kid, ease up on the chop, the booze, the arguments over logo size, gradually disappear, get fatter, a little richer, start complaining about the state of The Industry, start commenting on blogs, fail to write a book, get fired, get forgotten, play with your kid a lot, lie about your achievements, realise he/she really and truly does not give one spunklet of a fuck about what you ever claim to have done.
umm, gouty wouty,
i have no idea where you stand.
i think you’re saying work hard and don’t see your kids whether you be an engineer of park benches or an engineer of shit ads. because it’s good to teach your kids the value of hard work above all else?
nope. what i’m saying is.
working hard isn’t the sole province of advertising people.
we get off quite lightly.
also, if you’re going to do a half ass job in order to get home earlier? that’s hardly the right example to set.
I agreed with your comment on the article. I’m not going to get dragged into the have/don’t have kids debate. What I find sad is that people have bosses in any industry that expect them to give up their lives for it. 15 hours a day? In advertising? If you have to do that, your either no good or you work for one really screwed up organization. Shoot the boss.
Mr Turner you talk some sense.