Vantaggi
The network and range of specialties is remarkable The people are incredibly smart and generally very nice as well which is an unusual combination You do have a bit of autonomy but that comes with some drawbacks You will work on some of the biggest companies in the world and often on exciting projects I never had a work/life balance issue even though people say agencies work you too hard. I don't know if I'm just a hard worker by nature but I never felt overwhelmed which is often a complaint I see. The Edelman name still has impact so having it on your resume is a terrific thing even if you don't want to stay in agency life.
Svantaggi
There is little to no leadership development for VP+ roles. In other companies I've worked at there is an established management development process. I was never included in that at Edelman if there was one. Senior management rarely engages with the staff especially now that most are remote. Even mass email updates are rare. You hardly hear who is joining or leaving the company etc. While pay overall is decent the bonus structure and benefits are poor. We went many years without bonuses and they kept changing where the bonus pool was coming from, office, region, global etc.