Working for Digital Agencies as a Server side developer

[acontractor]

Hi,

Just want to know the views of fellow server side developers about working for a digital agencies/email marketing clients.

I have recently applied for a position at a digital agency (there are quite a few adverts out there). I am a .NET C# developer (WebForms) and just thinking about how is it to work for a digital agencies (I don't have any experience for the same).

My areas of interest/specialities is around working on server side technologies such as API/Framework development, Large data base driven applications, SaaS, Web services etc but I also have experience of front end UI dev. Html,Css, javascript to name the few. I know that digital agencies works with some of the well known brands and you do get opportunity to work with CRM systems (for e.g.).

My only concern working for a digital agency is that if I get too much into front end UI dev., 'I will loose touch with the skills that interest me' i.e. server side technologies.

Any inputs...

[meanttobeworking]

I'm not a server-side developer, but I used to run the development team of a large digital agency before turning to contracting.

Obviously it will depend which agency, client and project you're talking about. But to generalise, agencies expect team members to be flexible and able to work across more skill sets than perhaps you would expect in a large corporate. Designers might dabble in HTML, Front End Developers might dabble in Photoshop, Server Side Developers might do quite a lot of DB work, and so on. In many cases, agencies grow from small start-ups, so there is a history of 'wearing many hats', even when it comes to the 'sharp end', so sales people end up doing account management and project management.

A lot of agency work is campaign work, especially if they look after what you might call high-street brands. These do tend to be more front end focused, with little need for complex back-end systems. Obviously there are big builds to get involved agency-side, but I would say they are less common.

Like I say, all this really depends on what type of agency you're talking about, but I would suggest that if you are genuinely concerned about diluting your server-side skills (which I can totally understand), any hesitance to get involved in it will show through on the job and won't do you any favours, you'll just be seen as awkward. Agency work can be very enjoyable if you don't mind just getting stuck in, but if you really want to focus on one skill set, it might be something best avoided. On the other side of the coin, if you throw yourself into something there and show you're not 'scared' to work in a mixture of technologies, they'll be more likely to consider you for future gigs which may be more to your liking.

[acontractor]

Thanks for the detail input that is indeed very valuable ...

...if you throw yourself into something there and show you're not 'scared' to work in a mixture of technologies, they'll be more likely to consider you for future gigs which may be more to your liking.

Abs.

I don't want to tide myself to particular technology and I am flexible to work on any technology as far as I retain my core skills. I have worked in small team where I had to create framework and do design work as well.

One of the main area of interest is that sometimes working with digital agencies; you may get to work on e-commerce or CRM systems (purely my imagination at the moment) for their clients, which opens up opportunities in these areas (CRM/ecommerce) which can be very valuable for future gigs (with same client or another)?

[meanttobeworking]

There are definitely a lot of agencies out there delivering ecommerce solutions for their clients. It would be hard to get a gig on one of those projects directly without good experience, but (as I think you're alluding to) one route in would be to secure work at an agency on non-ecommerce roles, gain their trust and respect, and hope that they see your potential for an ecommerce role. This is another advantage of not being fussy on the tech - you could end up doing some supporting work on an ecommerce project, and slowly start crossing over.

[amcdonald]

The other thing to mention is they all tend to have a long hours culture, but rates are rarely higher than less pressured roles, but ironically permies tend to face the brunt of it.

The worst you'll face as a contractor is getting lumped with the difficult clients sometimes, otherwise you're almost allways better off work wise than the permies there

On the otherside you will get lots of varied experience, so as way of stretching your skill set it's a good thing

Just go into it with your eyes open...

[jmo21]

The other thing to mention is they all tend to have a long hours culture, but rates are rarely higher than less pressured roles, but ironically permies tend to face the brunt of it.

I've avoided so called "digital agencies" for these 2 reasons. Any adverts I see for them (where they mention the words digital and agency) are always way lower than I'd be looking for.