I have experience of working in 2 industries. Online retail and the explainer video industry. In my experience, both industries value creatives very differently and as a result your prominence or, lack of a better word, importance within the different industries will likely vary.
In online retail, a creative is not a commodity, by which I mean, you do not directly make the business money. As a result, it is difficult to put a monetary value on your worth. Instead your value will be based on the reputation you build. Your reputation will be based on your personality, ability, professionalism and you will become part of the internal politics of the business.
In contrast, within the explainer video industry, you are a commodity. You will build a reputation, and there will be internal politics but it will have a lesser impact on your value. As a commodity to the business, the work you produce will directly affect the financial success of the company. And whilst the formula isn’t black and white, it is easy draw direct comparisons between the value of the projects you complete and the cost of employing you. In short, your value is largely based upon the number of projects you can turn around.
In my experience, being a commodity within the business is a more stressful situation to be in and causes an internal conflict between delivering quality projects or a larger quantity of projects. Ultimately, I tried to achieve a balance, I sometimes took an extra day to deliver a project, but if I did, I made sure there was a noticeable difference in quality. I would argue it is important to create work you are proud of, at least some of the time. I should also mention, the experience I gained creating explainer videos was essentially the experience all my subsequent success is based on.
**Disclaimer, the opinions in this blog are based entirely on upon my experience and are purely founded upon my own anecdotal evidence. No time has been spent on research. Take my advice at your own risk.**
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