Where Would You Rather Work, In-House or at a PR Agency?

There are basically two places in private enterprise where PR people can work: inside a company, or at a PR agency that has companies as clients.

Both offer their own pluses and minuses. For starters, check out a post on PRSA’s blog on the subject, which got me thinking about the subject. They posted on the blog as a promo for an upcoming webinar on Oct. 7 on the subject.

But here’s a quick list of my thoughts on the pluses and minuses of both settings:In-house:

Pluses: 

• In-depth experience, working directly with decision-makers


• Opportunity to directly influence corporate strategy


• Oftentimes more stability and in big companies, better benefits


• Potential for career advancement beyond PR

Minuses:

• Corporate politics


• Subject matter can get stale; potential lack of variety


• Tendency to get myopic about the company and its story


• Can be somewhat straightjacketing and confining

Agency:

Pluses:

• Range of experiences and different clients


• Usually fast-paced


• Stars tend to rise quickly


• Exposure to many clients may lead to in-house job/career advancement

Minuses:

• Pressure to bill hours and show results


• Pressure on account leaders to always find new clients


• Pay and benefits tend to lag corporate jobs


• Often inadequate training and supervision, leading to poor results and client dissatisfaction

Got other insights to share? Leave a comment!