Freelancer/Agency/In-House Creative What Shall I Be?

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a recent graduate, there will be times in your professional life you’ll ask yourself if you should work in an agency, as part of an in-house creative team, or as a freelancer.

Below are some pros and cons about each that might help you make that decision, no matter what stage of your career you might be at.

These ideas have stemmed from a variety of online articles, including posts by Lauren Marie at Creative Curio sponsored by Princeton University, Rock Star, Fire Fox, Computer Arts, and creative director at Coldwell Banker Chris Costello.

Agency

Pros

• You celebrate a specialty, maybe it’s PR, marketing, or design, that helps define your skill set and what you do.
• Mentors who understand what you do may be easier to find.
• The opportunity to work across multiple brands and projects is readily available.
• Great creative. You’re working with creative people who feed off each other’s energy.
• The People. Again, people who “get” what you do surround you. You don’t have to spend extra time explaining it.
• Higher budgets and salaries might be available at an agency.
• Cool workspaces. You might have meetings outside or in cool places. Music. Pets in the office, etc.
• Bonuses. Depending on your client base, you may see huge bonuses that are tied to the company’s profits.
• Increased opportunity to advance your degree/education.

Cons

• Each person in an agency needs to have his/her own brand, specialty, and expertise in order to stand out.
• Challenging to come up with new ideas and standout design when faced with very short deadlines.
• The hours can be brutal.
• Job security is based on your accounts’ stability.
• Burnout. Particularly for young, fresh designers who are eager.

In-house Creative

Pros

• More stability than a freelancer or possibly an agency creative.
• More normal working/office hours.
• Better health benefits in most cases.
• Payment for work is not in question.
• Respectable portfolio pieces, depending on your company’s brand.
• Junior staff may have more opportunities to design and get involved with the creative work than at an agency.

Cons

• You may not have a mentor to help you with your career choices. In fact, you could be a team of one.
• Your work/department may be viewed as a cost center versus a business investment.
• Your creativity may become stilted since you work on the same brand/design style continually.
• In-house clients may take you for granted and may not “respect” you as much as if you were a freelancer or with an agency.
• Less pay, generally.
• Dull workspaces. Can you say cubeville?
• Corporate dress code might hinder your creative style.
• Less tolerance for additional training/education in your field. You may have to foot the bill for an advanced degree or training.

Freelancer

Pros

• Flexible hours.
• You choose your clients/hours/rates. You are your own boss.
• Work environment is where you choose it to be.
• Possibility to make the most money.
• Your jobs are as creative as you are.
• Write off degree/training and expenses part of the business.

Cons

• You do more than creative work. You have to run a business, market, sell, pay taxes, secure health benefits, etc.
• Health benefits are expensive.
• You’ll need to be somewhat extroverted to network and generate income as well as to increase your client base.
• Lacks steady income. Great high and low periods.

One thing to keep in mind is that your skills are transferrable. If you are a great designer, have a solid grasp of layout, know the ins and outs of brand management, whatever your specialty may be, you can use those skills in an agency, as a freelancer, or as part of an in-house creative team.

What you have to determine is what works best for your personality, your station in life, your career goals, and satisfying your creative juices. Remember, it’s not always about the projects as much as it is about you.

Let’s chat more about this in the Forum. Lend your voice to the experience you’ve had and let’s keep the conversation going.

Ciao!

Becky