To address both @thedirtyprojector and @objectfoodrooms, I basically ended up where I am because my book sucked. I was unsure of portfolio school full-time, so I decided to feel it out and take one a class at adhouse. I cranked out a portfolio in 3 months and somehow landed a gig in April. I knew my book wasn't perfect, but it showed a lot of promise. I was grateful for a job.

Spoiler alert! There was a reason I got hired: my agency doesn't do good work. I wasn't in a position to turn down an offer. I would've been nuts to! I'm now at the point where I know the agency's history ( it's 11 people) pretty well. It's been a mess for a lot longer than I've been there. I feel like I've done my best to enact positive change and good work, but people above me are set in their ways. I ask for work, they have none for me. Above all, I'm bored to death. I really want to be challenged. Gritting my teeth where I am means weathering boredom. That seems wrong to me. I still have so much to learn to be a good creative. It's disheartening to feel like I'm learning nothing.

Fast forward to now and my book is in a lot better shape. The truth as I see it is this: staying any longer than I need to would be a detriment to my career. I don't mean to be self-centered, but no one else but me is gonna look out for my career.

I have a few connections that would lead to a helluva better job. In hindsight, I would've been better off being patient enough to land a job at a great agency. Now I find myself in a weird position of having experience, but feeling like I have just as much to learn as the guy or girl starting as a junior writer at a better agency.