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Is working for an agency really so awful?

almost 7 years ago from Al M, Designer

  • Mike Wilson, almost 7 years ago (edited almost 7 years ago )

    I actually recommend designers work for agencies (or start-ups) in their early career and don't move to that cushy big company gig until you've built up some experience in a more fast paced environment.

    The fact is, there is no other place where you will get to work on so many varied and different projects, in such a short amount of time than an agency. Now there are good agencies and bad agencies just as there are good companies and bad companies to work for, however on average the agency environment will be much more fast paced. It will be stressful and uncomfortable at times but you will get better, faster. You'll be building things from the ground up and learning what processes work and what doesn't work.

    My opinion: Working for a giant, stable company is better in many ways. None of them have to do with your development as a designer. The Money, Stability, and Prestige they add to the resume are the main benefits. However for the most part, you will be doing minor incremental improvements to already successful products and getting better at corporate politics rather than design.

    This is perfect for when you're ready to settle down and already have the experience and chops developed from agencies or startups, but if you go to the big company first, I think you're missing something. You'll be trained to meet the end goals of that particular flavor of corporate machine and it'll be very easy to stay employed while doing mostly nothing.

    32 points
    • Al M, almost 7 years ago

      Thank you so much for this reply.

      That's my worry. I feel like I'm "doing minor incremental improvements" to an already successful product and not really getting a varied enough experience of design. Honestly, most of my work recently has involved moving or reworking existing work. I'm just bored. I go months without actually designing anything new!

      I'll start applying for agencies once this Christmas stuff is over.

      2 points
    • Adam KAdam K, almost 7 years ago

      This is exactly what I told my two interns that just finished their work terms.

      1 point
    • Daniel FoscoDaniel Fosco, almost 7 years ago (edited almost 7 years ago )

      However for the most part, you will be doing minor incremental improvements to already successful products and getting better at corporate politics rather than design.

      That's not entirely true. Working for big a company usually means working at an organization that moves at a slower pace, but it doesn't mean all projects and aspects of the work will move slower than an agency.

      Speaking from that experience, of course there are lots of legacy systems or dated business practices we might have, but working to fix big problems in a big machine to make it better is a super exciting challenge for me.

      PS: You can see recent examples of big companies learning to ship great design in IBM Design, Microsoft and Android.

      1 point