Advertising can be an exciting field to work in, but it is also a very challenging and high-pressure environment, where most people will work on or manage several different projects at once, and must be able to manage their time effectively to complete all projects according to strict deadlines.

Working in Advertising requires the ability to:

• think creatively and imaginatively
• excellent written and verbal communication skills
• good interpersonal skills
• time-management and organizational skills

Ad Designers and other creative Advertising professionals should also be able to cope with criticism of their work, as their supervisors and clients may often request alterations of the designs they create.

Careers in Advertising are highly competitive, as this is a very popular industry. Anyone interested in a career in Advertising should be prepared to work towards a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as Graphic Design or Advertising. People interested in senior positions such as Art Director or Account Manager will spend several years working in Advertising before being eligible to attain these positions.

Radio, Print and TV Ad Designers can expect salaries of $30,000 to $70,000 depending on their experience and geographical location. Media Buyers typically earn salaries of $40,000 to $85,000, Account Managers $60,000 to $140,000 and Art Directors $60,000 to $110,000.

The US Department of Labor predicts faster than average growth and an excellent outlook for Advertising jobs through to the year 2014. However, Advertising jobs will be highly sought after and fierce competition should be expected for anyone planning to enter this field.

Radio Ad Designers are people who concentrate on creating verbally-based advertisements to air on radio stations. Much of this work involves writing the script for the advertisement, determining the types of voices that should be used to create the finished project, and deciding what types of music, sound effects and other aural cues should be added.

The Radio Ad Designer will first meet with clients to discuss their needs and budget for the project, and then work with other Advertising professionals such as Copywriters to brainstorm ideas and create a script for the advertisement. Once the client has approved the script, they are responsible for supervising the transformation of the script into a finished advertisement. This may include hiring voice actors, locating music and sound effects, and arranging studio time for the advertisement to be recorded.

Radio Ad Designers should be creative and imaginative people who have a thorough understanding of this form of media. They should have excellent communication skills, be able to work well in a team, and be able to work to deadlines and under budget even when under pressure.

Print Ad Designers create advertising for printed media such as for magazines, flyers, billboards, and even the internet. They may specialize in one particular area of printed design, or may work with a variety of different visual printed media. Print Ad Designers are responsible for creating the overall look and feel of an advertisement, as well as devising the smaller details of each piece of printed advertising.

The first task of the Printed Ad Designer is to meet with clients to discuss their needs for the project. Next the will work with other Advertising professionals to brainstorm ideas and come up with some initial ideas for suitable images. Next they will begin to work on creating designs for the client to view. They may work on several designs for the same project, so that the client has a choice of different designs, and will often have to alter their designs based on feedback from the client. The Printed Ad Designer will also work with other Advertising designers such as Copywriters, to ensure that each aspect of the project harmonizes with other aspects.

The Printed Ad Designer should be a highly creative and imaginative person, with good artistic skills, computer skills, and an excellent understanding of color and design elements. They should also have good communication skills and interpersonal skills, be well-organized and able to meet deadlines under pressure.

Account Managers are the link between the clients they work for and the Advertising team they supervise. They are responsible for organizing creative and administrative team members to ensure that projects are completed according to the clients needs, including time and budget constraints.

Account Managers meet with clients to discuss their advertising needs, work with other Advertising professionals to create campaigns to meet those needs, supervise the Advertising team, solve any problems that may arise during the creative process, and stay in regular contact with the client and the team to ensure both parties are on track. They are also ultimately responsible for managing the project’s budget. Another important aspect of the Account Manager’s job is winning new clients by making advertising ‘pitches’ to convince the client their team is capable of meeting the client’s needs.

Account Managers must have excellent interpersonal skills and communication skills, be self-confident, well-presented and persuasive. They should have excellent organizational and time-management skills, be able to motivate their team, and be willing to work long hours to meet deadlines under pressure.

Media Buyers are responsible for placement of advertisements for their clients. They work with clients and other advertising professionals to determine the most effective method of advertising for the client’s target audience. After this has been decided, they must negotiate with media sales people to obtain advertising slots at the most favorable rates possible. Once the advertisements are running they will be involved in monitoring viewing figures and sales data to evaluate the success of the advertising.

In addition to these tasks, Media Buyers will also spend time preparing budgets and reports for their clients, and must ensure that each campaign they work on does not go over budget. Professional relationships are extremely important to a Media Buyer, and it is crucial that they develop good professional relationships with clients and with other media professionals such as media sales people. Media Buyers must also keep up with current industry research, such as, for example, television viewing habits and lifestyles of people in different age groups.

Media Buyers must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and be well-presented. They should also be highly motivated people with good negotiation skills, organizational, time-management and planning skills, be able to work accurately even when under pressure to meet deadlines, and work well both alone and in a team. They must also have a certain amount of business knowledge and computer literacy.

TV Ad Designers create advertisements for television and similar forms of media such as movie commercials. They are responsible for creating an overall look and feel for a TV advertisement, including details such as locations, props, and the types of actors to be used in the advertisement. Their work on any given project begins with a client meeting in which they discuss the client’s specific needs for the project, as well as budget and time constraints.

The TV Ad Designer works with other Advertising professionals such as Copywriters to brainstorm ideas for the project, before deciding on a specific angle and beginning work on designs. Their ideas are developed and presented using storyboards, which separate the advertisement into a series of scenes like the panels in a comic. Each scene includes details of locations, props and any actors involved in the advertisement, and the completed storyboard is used as a guide when the advertisement is filmed.

TV Ad Designers must be highly imaginative, creative people who are able to produce original designs to promote a given product. They should have good artistic skills, be able to work with computers and use computer-aided design tools, have excellent communication skills, and be able to work well in a team, and work to deadlines under pressure.

In an advertising team, Art Directors are the people responsible for creating visual concepts for advertising campaigns. Art Directors works closely with copywriters, who are the people responsible for providing verbal or written text for the images. Along with the rest of the Advertising team.

The Art Director begins work by meeting with a client to discuss their advertising needs. They then work with the copywriter to create original advertising ideas that meet those needs. They produce sketches, designs or storyboards and then present their ideas to the rest of the team, including account managers, and then help present the completed campaign to the client.

Art Director are also involved in working with graphic designers and other artists to create artwork or television advertising, and may choose studio or public locations, attend filming or photo shoots, and oversee editing of completed advertisements. They must also ensure that the project is completed within the client’s budget and to a deadline.

Art Directors should be highly creative, imaginative people, able to produce original images and designs. They should have good design skills, be familiar with various types of visual medial, and have an excellent eye for detail. They should also have good communication skills, work well in a team, and be able to meet deadlines and budgets under pressure.