The Midweight Debate

Congratulations. You've made it through those first all-important years of your career. And when asked, you can now confidently answer "I am a designer/copywriter/animator etc" without the fear of someone tapping you on the shoulder and quietly escorting you from the premises. You now have more responsibility, more creative control – and you’re more confused than ever.

To add to the mounting pressure, you’re surrounded by friends in other industries who are put on the fast-track to becoming a doctor/lawyer/insert uncreative job title here. And their path to the top is clearly signposted along the way. So why is the creative industry so different?

There are people falling over themselves to impart wisdom on our graduates and juniors as they start out in their careers, but when it comes to midweights, there doesn’t seem to be much out there.

Stuck in the middle

The midweight role has so many variables to take into consideration, it’s hard to pin down what it actually involves.

There are the obvious things, like years of experience and your innate creative talent. But there are other factors too, like the size of your agency for example. If you’re working somewhere with less than 20 people, the chances are you’re given more responsibility and opportunities than someone working in a larger agency. Your manager plays a big part in your professional development too. Their ability to manage, and their personal bias, influences a great deal of your day-to-day experiences – from your confidence and level of responsibility, to exploring your own style and managing others.

So in this minefield of responsibility, opportunity and questions, where’s a midweight supposed to start?

We need to talk

Well, the truth is we don’t know. We don’t know because people don’t talk about it. It’s almost as if we’re supposed to know the answers already. And this is precisely why we need to get it all out in the open. So we’ve put together a short survey to find out just how variable the Midweight role is.

By filling it out (go on, it’ll take less than five minutes) we’ll start to shed some light on the kind of things we’re experiencing. If you’re a midweight, we’re guessing you’ve got some strong opinions on the topic. This survey has been created just for you. It’ll take less than 5 minutes to complete, and will be up for one week. If you’re not a midweight, you can still leave your comments below. We’d love to hear what you have to say about it all.