5 Years In Ppc But I Don’t Feel Like A Senior. Should I Choose A Bigger Agency With Less Support Or A Smaller One Where I Can Learn More?

Hi guys!

I really wanted a career advice. I’ve been unemployed for 6 months, I’m based in Portugal, and I’ve recently received two job offers that I’m struggling to choose between.

I’ve been working in PPC for about 5 years, but I honestly feel like my professional development has been somewhat compromised by the experiences I’ve had.

A bit of background:
I’ve worked at three companies during these 5 years.

At my first company, I started as a Facebook Ads intern and was promoted to analyst. However, due to financial difficulties and layoffs, I was moved to email marketing to replace someone who had left. So, out of the 2.5 years I spent there, only about 1 year was actually focused on Facebook Ads as an intern.

At my second company, one of the biggest e-commerce businesses in Portugal, we were investing around €300k/month in Google and Meta Ads. Within my first 5–6 months, the specialists managing those channels left for better opportunities, and I ended up responsible for everything on my own, despite being hired as an assistant.

I was managing accounts, reporting directly to the CEO, and dealing with enormous pressure. Looking back, I feel like I was mostly working on autopilot instead of thinking strategically because I simply didn’t have the time or support.

Eventually, a senior manager joined, and I finally had someone to learn from. However, he was responsible for most of the strategic work, such as audits and action plans, while I mainly focused on execution. I learned a lot during that period, but I still had limited autonomy to make strategic decisions myself.

After that, I joined an agency in a more junior position, specifically because I wanted to strengthen my fundamentals in performance marketing. I genuinely loved the work, but I was let go after 8 months due to what I believe was a difficult relationship with a new manager.
That dismissal had a significant impact on my mental health and professional confidence, and I still struggle with it today.

So, although I technically have 5 years of experience, I feel like I’ve only had around 1–2 years of proper exposure to the strategic side of performance marketing. I still feel that I need to strengthen my ability to develop strategies, make optimization decisions, plan channel investments, and align performance with business objectives.
And I think that’s where a lot of my impostor syndrome comes from.

Now, my dilemma:

I’ve received two job offers, both for senior positions.

Option 1: A bigger agency: Publicis, Wpp, Havas… – Senior Performance Marketing
It’s a globally recognized company with major clients, better salary and benefits, and potentially great career opportunities.

However, the role requires complete autonomy in managing accounts, building cross-channel investment strategies, besides google ads, they also work with meta, LinkedIn, Amazon and others, handling client relationships, and managing a junior employee.

The person who would be my manager was transparent about not having much time to support me, except in particularly important situations.
And that honestly scares me.

I’m worried about ending up in the same situation I experienced before: having a lot of responsibility and pressure without enough guidance to actually develop my strategic skills.

Option 2: A smaller but well-known agency in Portugal – Senior Google Ads-focused role

This agency has around 150 employees, so it’s still a reasonably large company.
The biggest difference is the support I’d receive.
Their recruitment process was much more thorough. They were incredibly attentive, arranged several calls to answer my questions, and clearly explained what I could expect from the role.
I felt much more comfortable with them, especially knowing I’d have experienced colleagues to exchange ideas with, discuss strategies, and learn from.

And honestly, that’s exactly what I feel has been missing throughout my career.
The difference in salary is €400, and the benefits are also quite different. That’s obviously something to consider after being unemployed for 6 months.

However, my main priority right now is to build stronger strategic foundations and become more confident in my abilities.

My goal is to start freelancing in some years, so I want to choose the opportunity that will actually prepare me to manage clients independently, develop strategies, and make decisions with confidence.

And that’s where I’m torn.
Part of me thinks I should take the bigger opportunity, challenge myself, work with huge clients, and maybe grow by being pushed outside my comfort zone. But another part of me wonders if I’d just be repeating the same experience of being overwhelmed, without the support I need to fill the gaps in my knowledge.

The smaller agency feels like a safer environment to learn, develop my strategic skills, and exchange ideas with more experienced people.

I also can’t tell whether my fear of joining the bigger company is just impostor syndrome or whether I’m being realistic about what I need at this stage of my career. My biggest concerns are to lead clients’ meetings, answer them strategically and adjust their goals to the platforms. I’ve never done this before.

Both companies are waiting for my answer, so I need to decide soon.

What would you do in my position? Would you take the bigger opportunity with more pressure and less support, or choose the smaller agency to strengthen your skills, even if it means earning less?

I’d also love to hear from anyone who transitioned from a junior to a senior role at a different company and faced a similar situation of lack of support.

(Had to translate because English is not my native language)

Thanks for reading!