I started my post-graduation advertising career at the start of February, joining team Miller after a turbulent ride around the modern job market. In many ways, it differs from my educational experience, but in other ways it parallels. For everyone else just starting their journey into the world of advertising: here’s what the industry is like.
School Days
While attending the University of North Texas, I had many enriching opportunities to simulate agency life. Through internships like SWOOP student ad agency, group projects, and my capstone seminar class I was put into a role and went through every step of what it takes to make an ad. It taught me a lot about collaboration, idea development, and the structure of the ad process. But at the end of the day, the client is fictitious, your budget is made up, and the sky is truly the limit. In the real world, there are a lot more lines to work between.
Work Life
Like anything else new, starting this job felt like a serious learning curve. While I was used to juggling a few different classes at once, keeping up with a number of various clients is a new ball game. Putting names to faces, keeping up with my inbox, and navigating new digital communication services were all things I was challenged with while starting out. Of everything that felt like a change, this is what I deem to be the biggest differences.
Turnaround Time
Project deadlines in an educational setting are long. Classes typically only meet 2-3 times per week, and you’re usually granted two weeks or more to accomplish a given task. In an agency, that shifts to a few days up to a week. Efficiency is the name of the game.
New Software
College programs thrive on group messages. And I can admit, they’re just as much for fun as they are for work. Everything gets funneled into one group chat with a silly name, and the organization is only as good as your project partners. In an agency, depending on which one of course, there is specialized software dedicated to communication and project management. You have to learn your way around, but it is a serious time saver when done correctly!
A New Meaning of Teamwork
As a student, your peers all come from different backgrounds, but you have one thing in common: you’re all still learning. Agency life is different because, as a new hire, most of the people around you have tenure. You’re not just getting input from one professor, most of your coworkers are there to point you in the right direction. The team at Miller has been especially great at this. I feel that in just a month I’ve really gotten to broaden my horizons and soak in a lot of exceptional knowledge!
Conclusion
In conclusion, higher education can prepare you for a lot, but it doesn’t all translate to real-world experience. School teaches you all of the background information and skills: research, presentations, writing, and structure. Being on the field teaches you how to apply those skills.
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