Tell me what to do for a living. Thanks.

January 9, 2013 2:30 PM

Please, tell me about magical jobs that focus on things like strategy, brainstorming, critical thinking, research, and trends/pop culture.

I currently work as a media buyer in advertising, and have been doing so for the past few years. It does not suit me at all. It's almost entirely administrative, budget-oriented and follows a very strict process. It's probably more similar to accounting than anything else in marketing. I am not organized nor detail-oriented nor number-oriented enough to ever be successful at it let alone enjoy it as a career.

So it's definitely time for a change, but I have no clue what to do or how to make it happen. I wanted to know if anyone had any specific job title suggestions for me that I can start searching for and working toward based on my interests and strengths. It would probably be easiest to transition within the advertising/marketing industry, but I'd be willing to work in any field (PR? Communications? "Social Media"? Research?). And if you have any pointers on what kind of specific skills I'd need on my resume to make such a transition, that would be super-helpful. Things like "marketing strategist" or "communications planner" or whatever sound cool and all, but I'm definitely more curious as to what exactly that is, what the day to day is like, and what I would need to do to get there.

So please, tell me about these magical jobs that focus on the following things I am highly interested in:

- Ideation/Strategy
- Public image/messaging
- The internet and social media
- Pop culture/current events
- Current trends (sociological/cultural/demographic)
- Online research
- Critical thinking

Things I am totally sufficient at skills-wise but not necessarily passionate about:

- Writing
- Public speaking
- Analyzing data

Things that are definitely NOT my strong-suit:

- Hyper detail-oriented work
- Math-heavy numbers work (I can stand sifting through data, just not hardcore excel formulas etc)

...Okay, so these are basically a lot of people's strengths and maybe it sounds like I'm looking for some sort of fantasy job that everyone wants. But still - what's out there?

^{A side note: I'm ruling out copywriting. While I love the brainstorming/creative aspect, putting a portfolio together and writing long-form copy for websites and brochures doesn't sound very enticing to me.}

posted by windbox to work & money (4 answers total)

It sounds like you are perfectly cut out for B2C marketing management.
posted by thisclickableme at 4:01 PM on January 9

(note: I am a marketing person, which is to say that I'm not just making shit up--your qualities are qualities I'd appreciate as a colleague)
posted by thisclickableme at 4:03 PM on January 9

As someone who is also in marketing, might you be suited for the strategy practice in an agency? Sometimes this is paired with User Experience and sometimes Strat people are more "client partner" or account people.
posted by Medieval Maven at 4:19 PM on January 9

Sounds to me that public relations would be a good fit, and to transition from advertising to PR should be less difficult than transitioning to a less related field.
posted by Dansaman at 10:49 PM on January 9