A Career in Marketing, Something You Can’t Live Without.

The lure of throwing in the towel, packing a rucksack and leaving the stressful world of marketing behind is always tempting to me. The rat race can feel crushing sometimes. The hours, the commute, it all gets to me. But to live without work can be to live without satisfaction, achievement and meaning, and it is often quickly realised that a dream location and fantasy existence should stay as just that.

As a driven and ambitious person periods without employment, whether due to the economy, lack of direction or a misled belief in the need for a bit of time out, have been tough. I once thought that a spell in the wide open space would be a relaxing, rejuvenating experience but as the novelty factor of hiking through hills by day and hiding in novels by night faded I started to feel restless, bored and stagnant. I learnt that actually I need the direction work gives me, and I need the mental stimulation. A week later I was back at the laptop, browsing for marketing jobs in London and preparing for the redirection of my life from one of passivity and flatness - albeit idealistically surrounded by beautiful landscapes, quaint villages and cosy locals - to one of activity, ambition and meaning as I initiated my return to the marketing workforce.

I am not alone in my experience. Research amongst my contemporaries tells me that others who have acted on their daydreams of a simpler life - or just a different life - have come to regret their decision. One actually told me he started to yearn for that early morning presentation that he used to dread! Some of them have returned directly to the job market and subsequently relocated to the hubbub of working life whilst others have opted for uploading their CV on a job site to allow employers to contact them, using the less directive approach as a solid excuse to resume the life they know and now realise they need. Paul, a 36 year old marketing executive from London, relocated to Sydney four years ago in the hope of a fresh start, new challenges and a more relaxed way of life. Now he's back in London, and has never been happier. It just wasn't for me, says Paul. I had this vision of dusting off the cobwebs and starting on a fresh track, but it was only once I left my job that I realised what I had. I uploaded my CV onto a load of job sites and before I knew it had been head hunted and offered a promotion back in London. Now I am back in the office, I have come to realise that I need to be where my job is, and if that means surfing in Cornwall during long weekends rather than after work every day on the East Coast then so be it. Maybe when I retire I'll head back that way, but right now I need to be where my work is.

I still retain my dream of living in that perfect location, where peace prevails and the wide-open space barefacedly chides me to explore in place of slobbing on the sofa. But there is no point being there if I can't do a job I love. Let's face it; media companies are mostly located in cities, not beaches. Perhaps one day I'll return part-time I could make my peace with weekdays in the city and weekends in the country. But until that day I, like Paul, will be found firmly entrenched in City life as I continue to work my way up the career ladder. Actually I need the direction work gives me and I wouldn't be anywhere else.