Anyone feel like giving CGi up?

[PGD]

Do you? Is a Career change on the cards for you?

I often do tbh. I feel the love for it has been sucked out of me with clients changing this, then this, or can we try this.. bla bla. 'Add in what furniture you think' - but then, no, not that.. The list goes on, I'm sure you're all aware

I have no interest in sitting at the computer for hours on end practicing or developing materials anymore. Can't seem to learn how to get the best out of the software anyway. I'm on my own too, so learning anything new takes me ages watching YT Videos..

Done it for probably 17 years now!

Just wondered if anyone was thinking the same

*rant over

[Morbid Angel]

I used to think about it as well. Its just a phase in the career I think. I thought what would I do if I quit, but the answer I arrived to was that its likely some for of midlife crisis (for me anyway). You can either quit and start over at a completely new something, spend the next 10-15 years learning doing whatever that is, and eventually ramp up but then you are quite old I'd be 55 if I did that. Or you can just focus your energy on improving your current position in the current job. This does not mean to suck it up and take shit from your clients. But it may mean restructuring some of the things you do so you are happier. For example, there are always things you can improve like your current business model, you can charge more money and chop off some of those low paying/annoying clients. You can hire people to help manage the clients/projects and take some of that pressure off from you. By earning more money you could be working less and focus your energy on other things in life. A huge step is having a proper work/life balance. For me this was exactly it, I started my own company and never looked back. It was not smooth sailing at all, still is bumpy, but its so much better then what I did before. Bottom line for me today I have to get something out of the hours that I spend working, it has to be way more valuable then spending time doing things I love, so it better be worth it.

[PGD]

Great reply, thanks.

I'm into Photography, so I've added that to my work skillset in the last few years and do enjoy getting out with the camera. More so than doing the 3D now. I'm doing more of that now, which is really good. Parts of that can be a chore at times of course, many emails arranging visits with people plus driving for hours to all these places. But when I'm there, and even when I'm editing the photos its great. So I need to do more of that basically don't I!
I work at an Architects, so I'm the only full time CGi staff there. I'll do the concept images of buildings (I like that part of the process) and I'll revisit those images as the building develops and changes many times over. Then once it's complete, I'll go and take the photos of it. Which in itself does sound pretty good, there's just a lot of treading water between those highlights.
I'm 40 too so probably not too far off your age. Thanks again for the reply.

[piotrus3333]

looks like a regular burnout. 17 years is a long time.
you can always consider bit of a pivot more than ditching cgi completely. bigger architectural practice (so you get a team to menage), archviz studio to get different perspective or jump farther to any other flavour of cgi work.
I spend around 12 years in archviz. running small business and after that becoming an employee. after quite a break (family) I’m slowly planning my return to the field and I have to admit I’m having much more fun doing random illustrations on ipad (nomad sculpt and procreate - excuse a plug but both amazing) or learning unreal engine than working on traditional archviz portfolio. so I get that you might be in need for a change. if you really lost heart for it - do not look back, 40 is better age for changes than 45 I guess.

good luck with whatever path you decide to take.