Do I know where I'm going to?
June 7, 2014 9:19 AM   Subscribe

How can I plot the next steps of my career, given where I am now?

A few years ago there was this, and I actually managed to get hired on full time (at a really, really, REALLY mediocre rate of pay, but, well, those folks mentioned still own this place). I accepted because I felt I could do some work for interesting organizations, and I wasn't sure if I had up to date skills in a changing media production environment, and here was a place to learn.

Now it's time to move on. I will have several actual multimedia app projects for iOS and Android that I've produced/managed under my belt. We are being stretched thin as more and more complex projects are sold and I'm loathing every weekday - and then there's working weekends. It's not that I don't enjoy the work itself, but having to accommodate clients and co-workers in 18 time zones every day, as well as not being able to take time off without something falling to the wayside because there's not enough staff, and the mediocre pay? Well. I'm done. The last time I was able to go out on a weeknight to see friends or go anywhere to network or meet people was 9 months ago and it's not been letting up.

I have good relationships with our client contacts. For example, the executive director of the company's biggest client (and everyone knows this place) calls me personally whenever changes need to be made to their program so that he's assured I'm producing. I've been able to quickly pick up on what makes for a good app, and I see that the plain old audio tour is going the way of the dodo (and that I'm probably too old at this point, in NYC, to get back into the vanishingly small amount of narrative non-reality TV/film production that happens here). But I do want to get completely out of this niche of the business.

I believe I can work as a multimedia project manager/producer, but I'm not exactly sure what I can take from here that applies in the wider, more commercial multimedia production world, or what my next steps would be, or where I would go to meet like sorts of people.

1. How would I determine my current skill set level and where I need to beef up skills - and which skills?
2. How do I use the apps I've worked on as a portfolio without getting in trouble over IP? One app is on iTunes, one is on iTunes and Google Play, and two are onsite only on dedicated devices (one of these is on the company's proprietary Android-based device; the client who has that app is a pretty big deal also, and they like it).
3. Is there anyone in NYC who focuses on advising in multimedia careers? Are there multimedia/transmedia meet-ups in NYC that I'll just have to figure out how to go to?

I believe I have a lot to offer, and I don't want to sell myself short in this aspect of my life. How did other people in similar situations handle this?
posted by droplet to Work & Money (1 answer total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
1) What do job ads that are similar to what you'd want to do ask for? Learn that. If there are no ads, but you know someone who is where you want to be, ask them what you should learn as preparation, or ask them to mentor you.

2) Use the parts you did in a way that relates to the whole, or describe your parts and point to the app as evidence. In art this is sketches, production drafts, etc. I don't know what that is in your field. Ask for permission from your boss if you think it won't get you in trouble; otherwise, just state what you worked on and in what capacity, but maybe don't give out the code.

I got nothing on point 3. As general advice I'd suggest you narrow down what you DO want versus what you DON'T want.
posted by blnkfrnk at 12:39 PM on June 7, 2014


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