Gerard Sychay

A harsh reality about the career ladder: You’re never gonna make as many great work friends as you do in your first job or two. Those first 5ish years of careers are special for making friends. You and your pals at work, green & eager (or getting destroyed by work loads and real life responsibilities). Spending your first paychecks on cocktails and dinners you probably can’t actually afford. Complaining about your bosses together. First apartments filled with ikea furniture. Racing when the “extra pizza from the meeting is in the conference room” email goes out. I was at my first agency for 5 years (a lifetime for an agency job), and absolutely loved it. Made many lifelong friends at that gig. Then when I started wanting more money and more responsibility, I started intentionally hopping around—went from $80k to $220k in just 4 years, worked on some major brands, built a strong rep as a leader in social—but as I got older, entered management roles, and spent less time at jobs, I never really did have the same camaraderie as that first job. Really cherish those years as a 20something, learning life & work. It’s a special time.