More than half of industry executives say advertising was their first choice for a career, but the number is significantly higher for ad agency professions vs. their clients.

Only 41% of marketers say advertising was their first choice vs. 68% of agencies.

The study, part of a series of interviews conducted by Advertiser Perceptions for MediaPost late last year, also found that when asked what their main reason was for choosing advertising as a career, advertisers and agencies were very much in line, with a couple of notable exceptions.

The greatest percentage of marketers (29%) said it was the “opportunity to be creative” that drew them to a career in advertising vs., ironically, only 17% of their agency counterparts.

Conversely, 20% of agency executives said they picked advertising simply because it was what they studied in college, vs. only 2% of marketers.

Other top reasons drawing virtually the same responses among marketers and agency execs were “being a part of new ideas and/or products,” and that they “always loved advertising.”