No one university degree will prepare an individual fully for all jobs in advertising. This means that when the spectrum of the whole advertising business is considered, there are thousands of jobs involved, ranging from large companies to individual specialists and free-lancers. These notes concentrate on the careers in the advertising agency sector. Advertising is a small world employing directly only the minimum number of people required, therefore a career in an advertising agency can be very demanding. Despite a glittering reputation, much of advertising is sheer hard work and long hours.
Salaries can be quite modest at the start and work practices are often anti-social.
It is a truism that the majority of an advertising agency's assets get up each evening, leave the office and go home. This is a business of people and ideas. So an interest in people, in working with others and in pulling together in an enthusiastic team are basic requirements for anyone who wants to succeed in advertising. If advertising were a perfect science then every product launch, and every advertising campaign, would be an instant success. Given all of this, advertising can be an immensely satisfying career.