Yesterday one of our vendors had a Holiday Party for all its International TV Research clients at Spago in Beverly Hills. The party was fun, the conversation interesting and I had a real revelation about my career trajectory.
First of all, this recession is only halfway over. 2010 is going to be better than 2009, but not by much. There's a whole other wave of misery coming in 2010. For example, I was out at yet another holiday party last weekend and ran into a friend of mine I haven't seen since I moved back to LA. He's an indie actor, who has a 4 bedroom home and he's renting to roommates in 3 of the other bedrooms. And even with 3 bedrooms rented, he's fending off foreclosure. In New York over Thanksgiving I met this really nice couple. Both were working, one got laid off and the other doesn't make enough money to keep their Manhattan apartment. They may need to move to another city, because NYC is too expensive. Another friend of mine was a senior vice president making good money, got laid off and nice severance package, didn't cut down on going out to restaurants, vacations, or the expensive gym membership. She turned down some Director level positions because they were a big pay cut and she thought better offers would come along. I mean, she was a highly skilled, very competent SVP with an MBA. 8 months later, the money's almost gone, the offers have dried up, and she doesn't know what she's going to do.....and the horror stories go on and on.....
Getting back to lunch at Spagos....all of the other studio's international research teams were there. I brought my 3 employees, for a total of 4 Warner Bros. employees. The set ups at FOX and NBC Universal are about the same, a Vice President leading the international research department with a Director and 1 or 2 Analysts. This summer, the other 2 VP's and I had a side conversation about our futures. We decided that 1 of us needed to get to the Senior VP level and that would give impetus for the other studios to elevate the rest of us to SVP. A good plan, and I'm definitely on board. But then I realized something. The VP of International Research at FOX is 52 or 53. The VP of International Research is 46 or 48. The VP of International Research at Sony (who was not present) is 43 or so. Of my peer group, I'm the youngest VP of International Research at 38 (39 by the end of the month).
What the may be the worse recession any of may see in our lifetime has taught me 2 very important lessons. 1. No job, no matter how long you have been in it, is a given. And 2. Plan for the next phase of your life/career.
I'm 39 in 2010. I want to work at Warner Bros. for as long as I possibly can, at least the next 15-20 years, which brings me to between 55-60. At that time horizon, I will definitely make it to Senior VP and maybe even Executive Vice President by the end of my entertainment career. In this recession one of the largest groups fired from their jobs were highly skilled workers in their 40's or 50's. Companies simply fired them and then rehired equivalent workers at a much lower salary. So as I approach my 40's and 50's I'm keenly aware of this fact. I need to start planning now for the second phase of my career and that's where teaching comes in.
Beginning this January, I'm co-teaching a course on the future of media and television at UCLA. Granted, it's not a paid position yet, but I do get to add Visiting Assistant Professor at UCLA's Film and Television School to my resume. My plan after working at Warner Bros. is to leave the entertainment industry entirely and enter higher education. With the past as a cautionary tale, and in an uncertain economic future, we all need a back up plan that needs to be executed now to prepare for the future.
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