I hope you aren't expecting a short, simple answer to that question. You won't get one here. There's no short answer to that question that's right for everyone unless you accept: "It depends." -- Which is more of a cop out than an answer, but completely true.
Only you, or a close friend, family member, or counselor who really knows you, your likes and dislikes, and your abilities and aspirations, should even attempt to answer it for you. What I've tried to do in a slightly longer article than this which you can reach by clicking here is highlight some of the things you need to consider in trying to answer the question.
The first thing you need to realize about any job you have early in your public relations career is that you won't have a free hand to do everything your own way, regardless of the type of job or the organization for whom you're working.
In a non-public-relations organization, you may be supervised by another public relations person with more experience than you or, at the very least, by an experienced manager who is used to working with and supervising public relations practitioners. Their role is to help you adjust and succeed in your new job, but also to protect the organization from any mistakes that might result from your lack of experience. Similarly, if you're in a public relations firm and assigned to be a consultant for a particular client, you will either become part of a client-service team with other, more experienced professionals, or you'll be assigned a senior member of the firm as a mentor and supervisor. Either way, you'll have a safety net to protect you, the client, and the public relations firm's reputation from your inexperience.
A key question to ask yourself is what type of working environment and relationship with colleagues suits you best. Do you like working in the same, familiar environment every day so that it becomes your "home turf" and you get to know most of the players and "everyone knows your name?" Or, do you see yourself as more of a "hired gun" who travels around from client to client, going wherever you're needed to solve whatever problems have arisen and then moving on?
Both types of public relations practitioner are needed. But, which one are you?
Read more about consultants and staff members.
