I work as an in-house graphic designer for a renowned brand that sells a luxury design product, but are extremely cheap when it comes to paying their employees well and investing in good graphic design and marketing.
My job is basically absorb everything the senior designer/art director won't be arsed to do because she's a 60 year old lazy with technology, who never actually learned to graphic design, and is completely out of the loop. All while getting paid much less than her (20k euro a year and I bet she makes triple that).
All I do is mechanical shit, no creativity. And when there's anything that could be creative, I'm capped by the lack of investment in the department, or by the chaotic organization, or the art director's bad and antiquated taste.
I honestly feel like a robot.
I took that job out of school because I was stressed about depending on my parents and wanted to be independent asap, but now it's been almost 3 years there and I'm so depressed.
I always wanted a job at a studio or agency, doing creative projects, but I feel like I've wasted my youth out of school at that shit job, and studios/agencies only want poeple with agency experience and look down on anything else.
I'm not really specialized in anything, even though most of the projects I've done are editorial, and I have a postgraduate in 3D Motion, which is contradictory. I'm always undecided on which specialization to actually pursue, and I feel my portfolio is kind of a mess because of that.
And there's always fresh students from specialized masters degrees that will get the studio job before me.
Is there a way out of this?
I'm just so burned out and bored. And after work, I've got no energy left in me to actually build a better portfolio and have a better shot.
EDIT; Thank you everyone for the answers and wishes. I will def try to leave asap, at least as soon as I can apply for unemployment benefits in a few months. But I'll keep working on my portfolio and hope to find something else before that.
Eventually for me my body decided it was time to go. Burnout gets worse as you try pushing through it. Even without a new job I’ve taken the leap and quit. Is there any way you can get some sort of long term medical leave in your country? Maybe just getting away for some time could help reset you. Otherwise prioritize getting out of there if you can. I really feel for you and empathize. My job I’m quitting does a lot of the same things to me. Wishing you the best!