I’ve been getting a lot of buzz from people about what the differences are between agency and in-house roles. If you’re just starting out, it’s important to understand the differences between them, and how choosing to go between the two could effect your career.

There are many, many different types of advertising agencies. From above the line, below the line, through the line, to digital and offline, there are really only two clearly differentiated types, Agency and In-House.

If you’re considering a career in advertising, it’s important to acknowledge both, and the advantages of either.

Simply put, in-house advertising is advertising that is run by a company, instead of an agency.

Though in-house advertising agencies are usually run very similarly in terms of structure, there are a few key differences that separate out in-house to agency.

Due to the fact that they work to only sell a single company’s product, they don’t need to pitch their ideas, and are given all the work they need by the parent company. They also have much better working hours generally, as in-house teams very rarely have to run on billable hours. In-house employees are often paid more, but the only downside to this is that the prospect of working on selling only one product takes out a lot of the creativity of advertising.

Agency advertising is simply, advertising run through an agency. In this model, business development managers bring in clients, who are then pitched ideas for campaigns based on their needs.

Agency advertising, unlike In-house, relies purely on the collective brainpower of those within it to design a campaign, and to pitch that campaign to clients. The sheer amount of hustle and drive within the agency to be able to do this is enormous, but the payoff for success can be more. While in-house advertising usually has better base salaries, agency advertising has the prospect of commissions and bonuses, which can often be higher.

Working for an agency usually means a lot of long nights, but the work is a lot more fun usually. It can be stressful, but working in a high stress, high intensity environment for many is what gets the up in the morning.

Depending on what you want to start with in terms of an entry level role, in-house is becoming increasingly popular for entry level people due to the level of training you receive. At a certain point, you can make a choice for your career, but this is where it’s at.