-
THE tough decision…
Forgetting details and individual goals, would you:
– Move the family to Manhattan and freelance?
– Move the family to a midwestern state where there is a solid 9-5/40 with killer benefits… but not quite in your desired field?I already know my answer – just want to hear all yours. I’m interested in what the current editor’s flock thinks.
______
/-o-o-\
\`(=)`/…Pixel Monkey
`(___) -
15 Replies
-
Since you mentioned “family” you’ve got to go with security and benefits.
-
I have to agree with Brett. Family weighs heavily with that decision. Midwest with benefits.
Moving to a big city with lots of competition and no contacts going freelance is what you do when you have either a lot of money in savings or not many people depending on you for food/shelter.
-
How old are the kids? Is the a nice big college fund waiting for them…. Sounds like midwest is the best.
-
Oh, geez, I just came off a three year period of ‘freelancing’ in the Bay Area, and it was getting GRIM out there. I finally took a nice stable job at a government station in the suburbs, to put an end to the uncertainty and the mounting debts. I’m really, really happy with the decision. Sure,it doesn’t pay what my glamorous advertising gigs used to pay, but it does pay me every two weeks. And the work is surprisingly fun. Without the tyranny of indecisive art-directors, bitter copywriters, and befuddled creative directors, I’m finding my work really flows. I feel like I’m actually doing more creative work for the government station than I did in advertising. Go figure. (Plus they paid me to learn FCP, so what’s not to like?)
I think you may get a lot more out of the midwest job than you expect. Good luck.
Steve
FCTV -
Hey!
We actually having running HOT water and FLUSH toilets here in the Midwest now!!
Wow, isn’t this a great country!
Tom -
But doesn’t the water spin the opposite direction going down??
-
Having a family myself I can see the attraction to taking the safe route. In fact I see no reason why you shouldn’t take the full time gig and benefits etc. Consider that once you have the money you need that affords you a great deal of freedom to do the kinds of projects you may want to do. That’s a real plus.
Still others would argue that you only live once and you may kick yourself years from now not going for it and heading to Manhattan to give it a shot. Personally, I recommend to young editors or want to be editors to not waste their time and go stratight to LA or NYC. I can see from the postings that NY has more stuff going on than anywhere else save for LA. I don’t think you’ll have much issue with competition because there is just alot of work. I guess the question is will the pay in NY be as good or is there so much competition that you end up working for very little. I can’t answer that one.
Perhaps you can got to NY for a month or so and give it a shot , see what its like and if you like it and then decide. Depends on your finances and your spouse and the like.
Really a tough choice but a good gig is a good gig and NY will always be there.best
Mike Belanger
Dandelion Editing
http://www.dandelionediting.com -
LA ain’t all that anymore. A lot of production has moved away, and what’s left, reality shows, is lots of work for little $$$.
DRW
-
I agree…there is LOTS of reality show work…
But where do you get the low pay idea? Reality shows pay VERY VERY well. $3000 – $5000 a week (for NBC or even Court TV)…for a 6 day week. It is the home cooking shows and decorating shows and specialty cable channel shows that pay low.
-
“LA ain’t all that anymore”
Jeez… I’m so freakin’ glad I’m moving my wife and I here from Florida!
I’ve faced a similar decision lately… I had a comfortable life in Florida – I was one of *the* guys in my market for editing/post consulting, etc…. granted, my wife and I don’t have kids at this point, so it’s a little easier… but the thought I kept coming back to was the fact that, if I stayed, I’d never get a chance to work on a feature, never get the chance to work on a high-end episodic series, etc…
Good luck with your decision – remember that family comes first… you’ll have your family long after your career…
Christian Glawe
editor/compositor
svpchris@yahoo.com
https://homepage.mac.com/christianglawe/iMovieTheater5.htmlPain is temporary… film is forever.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up