Phil,

I know what you mean. I spent 12 years in technical support and never moved up the ladder careerwise. I became jaded by my lack of success and the relentless, problem driven nature of the work. It's the intellectual equivalent of a factory. Problem in - problem out - next .....

I got quite burned out and I also got absolutely fed up with having to learn new stuff all the time. I didn't mind learning when I thought it would further my career, but eventually it got to the stage where everyone in the industry had to keep learning just to stand still!! That's exhausting.

As far as emotionally-charged, direct response copy is concerned, I suspect it will be around for some time to come. The masters have been using it for over 100 years. Some sales letters and adverts are used for like 20 years - because they work! There are a few notable examples that everyone seems to quote: the Wall Street Journal's tale of 2 men, and that advert that starts "My friends all laughed until I began to play" or however it goes.

But selling has changed, and seeing as copywriting is "salesmanship in print" then perhaps the style will change a bit. I doubt that the psychology is going to change anytime soon though!