Agency vs In-house. Which is better?

I can't speak for agencies as while I've worked with the big ones, i.e., Weber Shandwick, Ogilvy, etc., I've only ever worked in-house.

That said, having worked in-house for 8 years, I can tell you what I liked about it: the sense of belonging.

When 'youre the client', you get to focus on yourself and your business.

That single-mindedness, I feel, is way better than having to split your attention and, ultimately, sweat across several clients.

The companies I worked for were also mission-driven, meaning whatever overtime or underpaid work I did was worthwhile. I'm not sure you get that with agencies.

I also got my CV out of in-house. In-house brands are usually much better known than agencies.

Most people outside of ad land will never have heard of your agency, but I used to get, 'Oh, you worked at a smartphone brand? That's cool.'