If you've worked in both big agencies and small boutiques, where did you feel more fairly paid once you factor in hours + stress? On paper, my current salary looks good, but when I divide it by the number of late nights and weekends, it suddenly doesn’t feel so great.

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Big agency. Small ones have made me wear a lot of hats and work more hours.

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In big organizations the roles tend to be clearly delineated, plus there tends to be more awareness of work/life balance. In smaller organizations there's the whole hero factor, people are expected to go above and beyond as a routine way of working. That can be exhilarating until it isn't.

Big agencies comes on top. You tend to wear multiple hats in small agencies which doesn’t reflect in your compensation.

Hard to say without more info. What’s your title and salary OP? What city? Do you work in a small or big agency? Remote or in-office?

Big agencies. Holding cos come with their own issues but big agencies pay better and in my experience have better WLB.

I came from a big agency and went in house. Pay was similar but in an agency I move up quickly. I went big agency back in the day compared to boutique because of the salary.

Boutiques pay less on paper but the effective hourly rate often wins — less bureaucracy, fewer pitch theater all-nighters, and you're not staffed thin to protect margins for a holdco. Big agency comp looks strong until you run the math: $95k with consistent 55-hour weeks is $33/hr. That's not a salary, that's a subscription to stress. The honest answer is neither is "fair" — agencies structurally monetize your hours beyond what they pay you, that's the model. The real question is whether you're building something transferable — skills, relationships, a book of work — because that's what converts the grind into leverage later. What does your current effective hourly actually come out to?

So interesting. Can you elaborate?

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