Growing up watching movies like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Devil Wears Prada, and 13 Going on 30, I think a lot of us dreamed of one day working at a glamorous magazine or advertising agency in New York City. We imagined ourselves running through the city with a coffee in hand, pitching creative ideas and somehow managing to look effortlessly put together with the perfect outfit and a killer blowout. And the best part? Loving every minute of our jobs, a stellar salary and a thriving social life.
However, now that we’re getting closer to entering the workforce ourselves, that dream is starting to feel a little less attainable. We’re finally approaching (ish) the ages of the characters we grew up idolizing, from Jenna Rink to Andie Anderson and Carrie Bradshaw. Except the worlds of fashion, magazines and creative careers look a whole lot different today than they did on our screens. The plot twist? The most intimidating figure in the office is no longer a terrifying editor-in-chief in impossibly tall stilettos. It’s something that might be even scarier: artificial intelligence.
With the rise of AI, the evolution of the magazine and advertising industries and growing uncertainty surrounding creative careers, it’s hard not to wonder whether the jobs we’ve spent years romanticizing will even exist in the same way. So, is the magazine girl dream officially dead, or does it just need a tiny makeover? Let’s take a look at how our favorite rom-com career girls inspired a generation of aspiring writers and creatives, how the industries they once glamorized are changing and whether there’s still room for a little Andie Anderson in an AI-driven world.
Rather than making this another pessimistic, daunting story about AI taking over, I want to focus on how we can adapt to these changes while holding onto our creativity and excitement for the future. After all, just because our careers might look a little different from Andie Anderson’s doesn’t mean we can’t still have our own rom-com career moment.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s revisit where these career dreams began and give credit to the girls who made us want to pursue them in the first place.
First, we have Andie Anderson from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, a writer at Composure magazine who somehow managed to turn her dating life into a career assignment. But beyond the fun lifestyle columns, Andie dreamed of writing about politics and more serious issues, reminding us that loving fashion and all things girly doesn’t mean our ambitions have to fit into those stereotypes.
Then there’s Jenna Rink from 13 Going on 30, who went from wishing she was “thirty, flirty, and thriving” to becoming a successful editor at Poise magazine. Between her incredible closet, glamorous apartment, exciting social life and career in fashion, she made adulthood look like something we couldn’t wait to experience.
And, of course, we can’t forget Andy Sachs from The Devil Wears Prada, whose job at Runway magazine introduced her to designer clothes, exclusive fashion events and opportunities most people could only dream of (even if it meant dealing with Miranda Priestly).
And last but certainly not least, there’s Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City, who seemingly got paid to write about whatever was on her mind before heading out for cocktails with her girlfriends. I mean, who wouldn’t dream of that?
Sure, these careers came with their fair share of chaos, unrealistic expectations and questionable work-life balance, but that was almost part of the appeal. These women made careers in writing, fashion and magazines look like more than just jobs; they were exciting, creative extensions of who you were, full of possibilities to express yourself. And somehow, they managed to maintain fabulous wardrobes and enviable social lives along the way. For those of us who grew up loving anything creative, it was hard not to picture ourselves in their shoes (preferably designer ones).
However, I think we can all agree that the industry has undergone quite a rewrite, and the career landscape looks very different than it did when these movies first hit the big screen.
For starters, the glossy magazines that had scratch-and-sniff perfume samples that we grew up dreaming of working for have increasingly given way to digital publications, social media and online content. While writing articles and planning photoshoots are still part of the picture, careers in editorial and advertising now involve everything from creating TikToks and managing Instagram accounts to analyzing engagement and developing digital campaigns. And just when we thought we were starting to understand what these careers might look like, artificial intelligence entered the picture.
AI has quickly become part of the creative process, helping with everything from brainstorming ideas and editing articles to generating advertisements and producing content. While these tools can make certain tasks easier, they also raise some pretty intimidating questions for those of us hoping to enter the industry. If AI can write an article, create an ad, or come up with a campaign idea in seconds, where does that leave aspiring writers and creatives? As companies increasingly experiment with these tools, it’s hard not to worry about what that could mean for future job opportunities and the originality of the work being produced. Still, while the industry is undeniably changing, that doesn’t necessarily mean the creative careers we’ve dreamed of are disappearing. They’re evolving, and so are the skills we’ll need to succeed in them.
Creativity is still cute, though! AI might be changing the way we create, but the inspiration behind some of our best work still comes from the world around us. After all, some of the best ideas come from conversations with friends, personal experiences, or simply noticing something that everyone seems to be talking about. Even writing for Her Campus, I’ve found that some of my favorite article ideas come from things I’ve experienced myself or trends I’ve picked up on in my everyday life. Of course, AI can certainly help us put those ideas into words, but it can’t experience those moments the way we do or replicate the human touch that makes creative work meaningful in the first place.
Creativity isn’t just about how quickly you can produce something. It’s about understanding what makes people laugh, what inspires them, what’s fulfilling and what makes a story worth telling in the first place. So, rather than worrying about whether AI can write faster than us, maybe we should focus on what makes our own writing and ideas stand out. Our personalities, perspectives and experiences are what give our work its originality, and those are things worth holding onto.
Now it’s time to embrace it, babe. Who’s to say the Andie Andersons, Jenna Rinks and Carrie Bradshaws of the world don’t still exist? Just look at today’s influencers. Halley Kate shares everything from fashion finds and dating stories to her latest city adventures, almost like Carrie Bradshaw traded her newspaper column for a TikTok account. Then there’s Robyn DelMonte, better known as GirlBossTown, who’s practically a modern-day Andie Anderson, turning her creative marketing ideas and genius PR pitches into an actual career through TikTok. And Audrey Peters, with her designer-filled closet, glamorous events and fabulous NYC lifestyle, could give Jenna Rink a run for her money. Maybe the magazine girl dream didn’t disappear after all. Maybe it just traded its glossy pages for an Instagram feed.
And just because the industry is changing doesn’t mean we have to give up on the careers we’ve spent years dreaming about. We can still land our dream jobs in New York City, strut into our workplace in heels and our best office siren outfits, get our voluminous blowouts and bring our creative visions to life. At the end of the day, it’s all about embracing change and learning how to adapt. I mean, as women, we’re practically coded to adapt to change!
So, take that AI in advertising course if you’re curious, stay on top of the latest industry trends and give yourself the tools needed to navigate what lies ahead. Sure, AI might not be the co-worker who surprises you with muffins on a Monday morning, but it can help us brainstorm, explore new possibilities and bring our ideas to life without replacing what makes them ours.
Maybe our careers won’t look exactly like they did in the movies, but nothing really does, and that’s the magic of being human. The path to our dream careers may not unfold exactly as we pictured them, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be the leading ladies of our own stories.