Girl please -- run as fast as you can, unless you just need to toss money out the window. (you are listening to a crazed woman currently escaping the sticky greedy talons of the academy of art university in san francisco - where you can give them tons of money for not a lot (there are a few good instructors---a few!). Talk to different people in the biz and find out what sounds most interesting to you. There are lots of different opportunities. Most of all, have fun and start doing what you want now -- don't wait for school or anything else.

First on the agenda, Leanne Minichillo, is to learn proper syntax. Good luck, eh.

A formal education is a wonderful thing, but it shouldn't be carte blanche for success in the ad industry. I believe there is more than one formula for success in the ad world . I'm also of the opinion that the best education is the one you take to heart for passion and not privilege. Follow your Bliss.

As you can see, there are many of us out in Adland that do not have formal advertising education. Sure, ad school helps, but I can assure you that it is not the only way, by a long shot. Spend some time out in the real world: shoot pictures, go see live music, shoot a video, write something, paint a picture, read books, take long walks through strange places, hit the road and visit a small town, watch a stickball game, just absord the world around you. Believe me, it will pay off when you put your book together and start to interview. I majored in film/tv in college, worked in radio, homeless shelters, Kinko's copies, a Food Coop, picked apples, worked at a Public Access TV station, taught video production to teens and senior citizens, then ended up doing Macintosh Consulting, ending up at Chiat/Day in LA, caught the advertising bug, took some portfolio classes, got my book together and got a job as a art director. It's not that easy, but all of my life experience pours out into my work everyday. So, yes you can get a job in adland without a expensive ad education.

Kevin has a point. People do work up from the mailroom or the assistant, transfer laterally, etc. Though some agencies have more silos, the mailroom guys always have the hookup and cross lines. And showing spec work on current business is a great in. They may go ahead and steal the idea if it's good enough, and at least they think a bit more about you. And at least you are coming up with work and pushing yourself creatively. If you want out, get out and leave room for the people who want in the biz. But I gotta tell you, the highs in the business can make your most successful friends jealous.

aww...you guys are all great. truth be told, I cannot see myself fetching coffee or waiting around on signatures. I know that you have to work your way up from the bottom, but it would make me absolutely miserable. I'm sort of spoiled like that. I suppose that I'm trapped in the idea that Shaun stated - sitting in an office coming up with creative ideas(hey, I grew up watching Angela Bower, high powered ad-lady on Who's The Boss). Thank you all so much for shedding some light on the situation(and Kevin for the compliment), but I think that, perhaps, jumping into the ad industry right now is not for me.

Now that I think of it, it can only help if you DON'T try to start in creative! Nothing is more valuable in an agency then an agency partner who completely understands and can work with the other silos of his/her team.

Success is all about access. You will succeed as high as you can reach in terms of people. Period.

You clearly can write, now land a job at an agency -- literally anywhere. Work harder than anybody, but walk around and meet the folks doing what you want to do. Then introduce yourself to their supervisors, creative directors, etc. Be totally open and honest, and ask for help.

So say you start as a traffic freak, running paper around an agency. No worries, everytime you have to sit there in front of somebody waiting on a signature, take that as a chance to show them some of your work. Better yet, do spec work for a current client or a client you know your agency is going to pitch, and show THAT work, and ask how you could have done it better.

You follow that, and as long as you don't mind busting your hump another 2-3 years, you'll be in good shape. In the end, ego means nothing -- results and contacts are everything.

I was a hold out from education. I used to say that I needed ad schools like the pope needed a vasectomy. But honestly, the industry has changed and gotten more competitive since Mark and Marc. Today, some people get in and get lucky, but with minimal experience an ad school or night classes will give you great mentors, connections, and a sharper book. You can do your own networking and education, you can find professionals to help with your book for free or get some unpaid fall-internships. Education would be a shortcut. And when you say creative, do you mean conceptually, copy, art, storyboards, selling, talking, ... I know a lot of people think advertising is this glamorous world where people sit in a room with a few dogs and a lot of play doh and just come up with ideas all day. Those moments are rare.

Yeah, what Mark said. I have the exact same background. I skipped college, did mac work, became an art director, then a copywriter, then I started this site. You can DO it! :) This is a C-student industry, so there are a lot of average people that do mediocre work. If you show that you take initiative and know how to get things done that will go much further than any college degree would. Plus, agencies know that you don't want to stay at the bottom and most make an effort to train you for a higher position within a reasonable amount of time. At the very least, they may not promote or pay you more but will give you as much responsibility as you can handle, which can be used to get your next job.

Incidentally, my musician roommate, who has never had anything outside of the types of jobs aspiring rock stars have has taken a job I recommended him for as a receptionist at a mid-sized agency. Already, I hear from my friends that they're trying to figure out what department he'd fit into best.

I don't have a degree and I managed to back-door my way into the field. I started off as a production artist and prepress worker and ended up working as an art director. There was as much good luck as good sense envolved, but I am walking proof that it can be done.

My advice would be to get any job working in the advertising field. Traffic manager, copy editor, mail room person... whatever just to see what you are getting into. The perception from the outside in of the advertising field is somewhat glamorized, so getting an inside view will give you a more realistic view of how things really operate and give you contacts in the field.