A career in an advertising agency? 
Advertising is one of the few sectors that offer careers combining creativity and business experience and an opportunity to shape the industry itself.
Early in their career individuals will be exposed to a wide range of industries and products and will very often be dealing with senior clients, making key decisions that will fundamentally affect their businesses.
IPA member agencies
IPA member agencies recruit 600-700 graduates a year. However there are also opportunities beyond the graduate schemes into agencies, with advertising employing around a quarter of a million people in the UK. Find out how to apply
IPA agencies account for over 80% of all display advertising revenue in the UK as recorded by Nielson Media Research. IPA agencies are committed to the development of staff through its mandatory Continual Professional Development programme, its qualifications and its training courses. This commitment to professionalism is just one of the reasons why ISBA, the voice of British advertisers, recommends IPA agencies. See our full list of member agencies
There are over 20,100 individuals working in IPA member agencies, with 76% of these being found in London, 20% outside of London in the England, and 3% in Scotland (source IPA Census 2008).
Graduate Openings and Career Path
Generally the largest number of graduate openings will be found in account management, account planning, media planning and media buying. Advertising agencies tend to have one intake of graduates per year between September and December whereas the majority of Media agencies will take graduates on throughout the year. Find out how to apply
As in other professions the career path in advertising agencies is dependent upon age, experience and responsibility. The majority of agencies have a defined professional development programme that runs alongside the day-to-day on the job experience.
The career path will vary according to department. In account management a typical career path can be mapped out, though it will vary depending upon agency and the individual merits of each employee.
Year 1 - Graduate Trainee
Year 2/3 - Account Executive
Year 3/4- Senior Account Executive - Account Manager
Year 4/5 - Account Manager - Senior Account Manager
Year 6 + Account Director
Year 8 + Board Account Director
Year 10+ Group Account Director
Salaries can vary between agencies, roles and worker attitudes. However a potential salary for a career in Account Management can be plotted.
Graduate - Up to £15 - 20k
Account Executive (1-2 yrs experience) Up to £30k
Account Manager ( 3-5 years experience) Up to 45k
Account Director (5-10 years experience) Up to £80k
Group/Board Account Director - Up to £100k
Head of Client Services - Up to £150k
Similarly, in media agencies, a typical career path might be:-
Year 1 — Graduate Trainee/Assistant
Year 2-4 — Planner/Buyer
Year 4-6 — Manager
Year 6+ - Group Head/Account Director
Year 8+ - Director 
Again, salaries will vary by agency, role and employees’ abilities. Average media agency pay scales for 2008 can be seen below.
Graduate - £18-24k
Planner/Buyer - £20-45k
Manager - £20-60k
Group Head - £45-95k
Director - £60-145k
Often individuals will move up through the various grades by gaining experience in a number of agencies and across a variety of accounts.
After gaining experience in the industry there is potential for high achievers to form their own agency. Examples of this include James Murphy at Adam and Eve, and Robert Senior at Fallon, who is now also UK Chief Executive of the SSF Group.
Courses
Advertising and media agencies will generally look for someone with a degree, yet this can be in almost any area. The industry tends to recruit from a broad base of degree subjects in order to achieve diversity of thinking and ideas. For example, some of the best newcomers to the industry last year studied subjects as diverse as Law, Russian & French, Politics, Pharmacology and History, to name but a few.
For up to date listings on degrees available within the UK please click through to UCAS
Courses specifically focused on advertising are listed on the creative choices’ website
In addition, information on courses specifically tailored to the Creative Disciplines can be found on the British Design and Art Direction website (known as D&AD).
Development Programmes
There exist three successful development programmes that we are aware of: One run by the Ideas Foundation . The second by the IDM who are a skills and qualifications provider for direct, data and digital marketing professionals. They have an annual competition hugely popular with students, educators and businesses alike, designed to give students the opportunity to apply the theory they've learnt to a 'live' direct marketing assignment. The winning team last year, won a prize of £1500, whilst the runners up secured an £800 prize. Entrants also benefit from establishing useful links to the business world and publicity for their university or college. The other programme available is run by the Sorrell Foundation who contribute actively to the curriculum of primary and secondary education. These are not restricted to advertising but encompass advertising within a broader creative industries agenda, as far as we know.