Agency Vs. In-House Designer: What's A Good Fit For You?
Figuring out your place in the design and marketing world takes some work and soul searching. When first getting started, many designers are typically considering agency vs. in-house work. I’ve had the opportunity work in both and wanted to give you a little break down of the good, and some things to consider going into each.
Before we dig in, I just want to express that these are all my own personal experiences, not every company fits into these molds.
I started my career at a marketing agency as a graphic designer. It was a great experience to learn to work on a wide variety of brands, in several mediums in a fast-paced environment. I learned a TON on the job and am so thankful I had that experience.
The Good:
Getting to be creative and work on lots of different brands and designs
Lots of on-hand experience, which is particularly invaluable as a newbie in the field.
Typically getting to work with a group of creatives, learning to work as a team, getting feedback from peers.
Depending on the agency, they can offer flexibility with working from home and flexible work time. (e.g. work late one night, come in late the next day).
Some Things to Consider:
Working hours are not limited to 9 - 5 Monday – Friday. A deadline is a deadline, and sometimes that means working outside of traditional working hours.
Having a supportive team is a crucial aspect when you’re working in a fast-paced environment like an agency. Having peers that are all invested in the success, and having superiors that trust you and have your best interests at heart is important.
Given the non-traditional work times associated with agency work, the boundary lines of work and personal life can get blurred if you let them – seeing Slack messages, emails and texts coming through at all hours of the night, or even the weekends, it can be tempting to respond even if you’re on vacation, or out of office.
Most recently I have been serving as the Creative Director at a boutique real estate brokerage located in Truckee, CA. It’s been quite the opposite experience than working at an agency:
The Good:
You are your own client – if something doesn’t get done by 5pm on Friday, it will be there waiting for you at 9am on Monday.
Getting to work with one brand across multiple platforms day-in and day-out requires a different kind of creativity. Seeing one brand grow and evolve is a really cool opportunity.
A tight-knit crew – this is fully dependent on the company size, but in my case, we had a small group, we all have each other’s backs.
Some Things to Consider:
Sometimes not overly creatively stimulating managing one brand.
It can sometimes feel like you’re doing a lot of the same things (yearly, monthly, daily) once you get in a groove at the company.
Depending on the company, consider what your path of upward movement looks like. Some companies can offer more than others.
Verdict:
Both agency and in-house jobs can be extremely rewarding, and having the privilege of doing both has been such a great learning experience for me. Agency work was a great place for me to start, getting thrown in to such a fast paced environment made me a better designer. I’ve grown as a designer and a professional from these different working environments.