Dispelling Myths about In-House vs. Agency Life

Written by: Carly Mednick

There has been a long-standing debate between in-house versus agency, with each side claiming superiority over the other, specifically within the creative industry. Deciding between in-house or agency life is not an easy feat, as many people hear about agency horror stories of sleepless nights, no vacation time and demanding client requests. However, what you don’t hear about as frequently are the potential downsides of the in-house world, making it seem like the more desirable career path. There’s no right or wrong side of the debate here, only myths about each one, that make the other look more desirable. Below we outline the top myths about in-house, with our Monday Talent take on it.

Again, whether agency or in-house life is for you depends on the industry, work, personal preference, lifestyle, and more. We’re just here to use our extensive insight into both worlds to help guide you. 

MYTH: In-house has better work-life balance: People believe that since you aren’t working on multiple clients, you get to pack up and leave the office at 5:30 pm every day. 

Monday Take: Just because you may not be working on multiple clients while in-house doesn’t mean you don’t have multiple internal partners that you need to answer to. Each organization has stakeholders you need to deliver to, which sometimes means late calls, tight deadlines, etc., that can go beyond work hours. 

MYTH: Higher pay and better benefits: There’s a longstanding notion that if you work in-house you will have a higher salary and stronger health benefits. 

Monday Take: Agencies have to be competitive with pay and benefits to attract and retain top talent, and therefore have similar if not higher salaries than in-house. Another way that agencies retain talent is through out-of-the-box benefits and perks such as flexible work hours, paid lunch, unlimited vacation time, summer Fridays, etc. 

credits: @summerfridays

MYTH: Better look for your resume: Many employees within the creative industries believe that having in-house experience is the gold standard on your resume. 

Monday Take: The majority of employers (both agency and in-house) prefer, and often require agency experience. This is specifically true for leadership positions because there are lots of valuable skills that someone learns while working in an agency that they wouldn’t necessarily have from only working in-house. 

MYTH: Job security: People like to go in-house because they believe that during uncertain times that their job will remain stable and they can avoid being laid off. 

Monday take: As we have seen with many of the major layoffs so far in 2023, when you work in-house, you are a cost center. Management looks at where they can cut costs to meet their bottom line and your job can be impacted as a result. On the other hand, in an agency, you are the revenue generator. Your work clearly impacts the bottom line, where in-house marketing or communications isn’t so clearly tied to the money and can often be viewed as a non-essential function because it is hard to directly tie it to ROI.

At the end of the day whether you decide to pursue a career at an agency or in-house is up to your personal preference and what workplace characteristics are most important to you. What people often forget is that you aren’t tied down to one side. There’s always time in your career to switch it up and see what is best for you, and you should consider all options!