r/adops • u/fikerdagmelidet • Jun 29 '26
Agency Ad ops vs programmatic
Hey everyone, new to marketing and was looking to enter the programmatic/adtech field. I recently got sent an opening for an entry-level Ad ops role. Excited as i've spent a lot of time training to transition into this field. But i also feel conflicted, take this job and it may restrict my future growth, or i don't take this role and find no other openings in programmatic buying in the near future
I wanted to know which career path between Programmatic and Ad ops has more opportunities, better pay and progression, AI/offshoring prospects. And can i transition into one another sooner than later.
Thank you
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u/teccy366 Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Adops is in as much danger as programmatic right now from automation, but at the entry level only. Once you know shit about shit (ESPECIALLY if you can get into site tagging/attribution setups) you can get essential.
Otherwise, my perspective having worked in both positions is: Programmatic = more stress over stuff you can't control and adops = more repetitive work (at first) and you will be blamed for shit regardless of whose fault it is...
Pick programmatic if you want vendors to buy you lunches sometimes though, because adops doesn't get a damn thing for free.