Feel good about improving the world with smart, kind colleagues
Pros
I worked at Big Duck for 12.5 years, so there were a lot of pros for me. I joined the team because it was an agency dedicated to helping nonprofits and, having worked at a traditional marketing agency before, I never took for granted that I was doing no harm in the world (and even doing some good). But honestly, it was the consistently high-quality colleagues that kept me there as long as it did. It's a small company, where a single employee makes a big difference to the culture, and there was a blessed shortage of a**holes. Collaboration among colleagues was consistently fun and rewarding and seldom fraught. The company values work-life balance — late evening or weekend hours are rare — unusual for agency life. The DUMBO location provides great views of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges with lots of light during the day and riverside parks for walks and breaks. Also, I brought my dog to work almost every day.
Cons
Working at a for-profit with exclusively nonprofit clients comes the unfortunate reality of a nonprofit pay scale without the benefits that some nonprofits provide, such as having all national holidays off. Mostly, I felt that Big Duck made me feel valued as an employee despite this reality, but I always knew that I was trading a higher salary for the satisfaction of working on nonprofit clients with super smart, super conscientious colleagues.
