Jessie:

You sound like you're in a great head space, I love that in young designers.

All I'm saying, no matter where you work, don't limit yourself and don't ever stop growing your skills. Be as great as you want to be, no matter where you work. Good luck!

I have been an in-house designer for 5 years and can certainly agree with all of the positive comments that have been provided by my fellow "in-housees", and also relate to the negative aspects in our line of work.

For myself in particular, the best thing I take away is the feeling of being part of a larger entity, a cause that is separate from design, but great in its own way (in my experience, it's been working to support healthcare). I see my design interact in the field, where it communicates to staff and patients. I come to understand the hardships and difficulties that face my clients (for example, a nurse educator trying to simplify exercies for an illustration) and am better able to provide creative solutions.

@ Angelo, I understand you've likely been in situations where you've met in-house designers that are creatively-lacking compared to those in agency environments. For the most part, in-house designers do have a difficult road ahead of them staying inspired and continously challenged, when surrounded by corporate dryness. But in this online era, I've definitely seen a shift in just the last few years. I now firmly believe an in-house design group can find "soul" and competitive creativity. The internet has opened up networking possibilities galore via blogs, Twitter and FB. I know for myself, I find a wealth of in-house design support from In-Howse, in-source.org, and AIGA's "INitiative", information that would have been scarce to an in-house designer only 10 years ago. I still think outsourced agencies will always be excellent at what they do, but what I would like to see is more involvement of the in-house creative group in the selection of outsourced agencies. From my experience, marketers and PR groups mean well, but don't often know what to look/ask for when choosing a group to work with.

It’s been a mostly positive experience being an in-house designer for the past five years at a Vancouver tech firm. I work in the Marketing department with four others — web developer, tech writer, events manager, PR manager. Being the lone graphic designer I get to work with all sorts of media and while I may be somewhat restricted as far as creativity is concerned (we have a pretty established look to our company) I love being able to expand my tasks outside of just design. It may seem like a waste of time helping out the tech writer or helping the events manager coordinate a trade show but it opens your eyes to other forms of inspiration. It helps you understand how better your visuals can aid in the broader scope of the company. I will add that monetary compensation is very stable and the security I get from working in-house is a huge plus. It’s not glamorous work or anything that wins awards but I’m greatly appreciated and well looked after working in-house. In-house isn't for everyone but for me it does the trick!

I've been in-house at several companies for about five years each and I agree that it's a double-edged sword. But IMO, the benefits to working in-house far outweighs the studio/agency approach. At an agency, you work double or triple the amount of work that you do at an in-house. In-house will allow you and a team to grow as opposed to studios, which will truly suck every last breath from their creatives to get a job done in a very short amount of time. In that sense, I work from 9 to 5 which is in direct contrast to my friends who work at agencies and barely get a weekend off. My salary and benefits are definitely on par with if not better than what an agency can offer with my experience. I have complete job security, not only because of the industry but because I understand the company culture beyond any outside designer. As long as you keep connected to the design community at large and work for a company that you care about, creative growth and maturity will follow, and there's no need to worry about the limitations of designing in-house.

While in-house design departments provide ideal security and intimate environments that are conducive to some, many creatives, especially those younger that 25 years of age should be extremely cautious of their limiting networks and resources over say larger multi-national agencies and design firms. In the end, contacts may be too narrow and the work overly repetitive for real creative growth and maturity.

I've been an in-house designer for 10 years now since I graduated and I can tell you based on my experience that being an in-house designer is a double-edged sword.

At first, it's a great feeling to have so much control of your work, not to mention all the different hats you gain. Let's assume you're working as in-house designer for a corporate company...you will most likely have an influence on every stage of a given project: from concept to production including anything else such as photography, press approvals, copywriting, etc.

This is great experience, and it IS a good thing to do this. However, some people, including me, get to a point and realize that you're doing all this extra work for the same pay. There are people out there who make a living doing some of those extra things you are doing in-house.

Employers love to find employees with several hats...it just makes business sense to do that, it cuts costs on any overhead and reduces the employee count.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of studio/agency/firm jobs out there where you have the freedom to be just as creative, do less work and get paid the same if not more than an in-house.

Also, another problem with in-house design jobs is exactly what you said.."creative wizards that can solve any problem"... Everyone expects or assumes you can solve anything, even things that have nothing to do with your job.

Anyway, just my 2 cents. Back to work I go :)

that's awesome i want to be a wizard!

There are many advantages to working in-house. I've worked in studios, agencies, and in-house and I can say that I've enjoyed in-house the most. It's not just about the work I do but the people I work with. I enjoy working with people in different departments and different walks of life. And when you're in-house, people usually treat you like you're some sort of highly creative wizard that can solve any problem. It's nice.