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“Not exciting agency” and “doing great work” seem to be at odds?
Since salaries are similar, it comes down to your priorities. Are you in advertising to make great work and have a long career as a CD? Or do you value job stability and work/life balance? Do you believe in the brand you’d go in-house for?
Without knowing the companies involved I would definitely go in-house. Pre-IPO and short commute are extremely attractive perks.
Depending on your age/family needs...gotta go with ACD making great work. You can jump to client side later in life. Climb the agency ladder now before you settle down if you haven’t already.
Expand on “significant commute”. Life is too short to spend over an hour just getting to work.
I would probably always take the shorter commute as long as it was a good job too.
I guess it depends more on the situation, but titles can sometimes be irrelevant. So I wouldn’t worry about the title too much, and take whichever offer feels best.
B. To live near where you work is great. In this life how much you make isn’t everything. It is what you save and don’t spend that is so important. Besides, why can’t you do great work client side? What’s wrong with that.
Go in house
The ACD commute at the okay agency < AD at the cool agency 20 minute commute. Factor in gas, upkeep, the stress of the trek. That extra 1.5 hrs of YOUR LIFE isn't worth it. You do your best work when you love what you do. I recently had the same situation. My commute used to be 1.5 but I took another offer, the commute is now 35 mins. I have more time to do me! I can read books I've put off, hang with friends and family more often, make plans that won't affect my commute because I can afford to sleep in (an hour longer if needed!). Plus I have more energy to think about making cool shit. Life balance is more important than a title. Some places pay better than others for various roles. 🤷🏾♂️
Unsure how the salaries would compare but B might be more. For now let’s assume they come in at around the same compensation. Also, B isn’t public yet and I’d expect the total comp to include equity.
In house (in SF at least) pays more. I got $145k in house at my last full time AD job a few months ago. Some agency ACDs seem to be making not much more than that here.
Go for the work at A, you’ll probably be stressed for a while but it’ll pay off later.
Thanks everyone! Very helpful points to think about.