As a creative person, it’s natural to assume that a career in arts or design would be the best fit (that’s what society tells you). However, for many people, that may not be as fulfilling as they had hoped.
Let’s take a look at my example, as I found myself struggling to express my creativity while working in agencies as a communication designer and ended up really fulfilled while working as a project manager! “What?”
Unleashing Creativity
After being told my whole life that I should follow a carrer in arts, I took a degree in communication design and started working in agencies. I quickly realized that some of the agencies ignored the psychology of visual perception and focused solely on satisfying their customers’ wants. In other agencies, there were creative directors who made me feel like I was just a quick producer of their ideas. It was frustrating because I felt like my skills and knowledge were not being utilized to their full potential.
That was the reason I decided to take on a project manager role, to learn how to manage my own projects and become a freelancer.
As a project manager, I am constantly juggling multiple tasks, negociating with stakeholders and leading a team to achieve a common goal. This requires a great deal of problem-solving, critical mindset, and out-of-the-box thinking.
In fact, I found that I was exercising my creativity more often as a project manager than I ever did as a designer. The constraints of working within an agency stifled my creative impulses, whereas as a project manager, I have the freedom to think creatively and come up with new solutions to problems.
Conclusion
If you’re a creative person who is looking for a new career challenge, don’t be afraid to explore the world. You may be surprised at how much it can unlock your potential.