What is it like working in the same field as your spouse?

When I moved to Atlanta and Megan was graduating and also heading into marketing, I didn't know what to expect. We both wanted to work in ad agencies and for a while, we both did. Technically, we could've been considered "competitors" on paper. It was something we had talked about at one point. Hypothetically, what if one day we had to pitch against each other. So far that hasn't been the case - but if it did happen I wouldn't worry about what happened at home after the pitch.

People ask me if working in the same field - specifically both working heavily in social and digital strategy - made things competitive at home. Honestly, it doesn't at all. If anything, it's a huge advantage for both of us.

Learning at the dinner table

Most people go to networking events, conferences and morning coffees with other like-minded folks learning from each other. We still do that but I would venture to say that much of my learning takes place at home while we're eating dinner. Naturally, as we catch up on our day, we talk about work.

It's nice to be able to talk about work with your spouse when she totally understands what you're working on and all the challenges that could be associated with it.

Whether it's been over dinner or even via a Facebook chat throughout the day, we have helped each other figure out solutions to problems, learn best practices in different areas and have learned from each others' mistakes. What we do day-to-day is just different enough that we both have complimenting strengths.

When one of us wins, we both win

For now, we aren't in a position where we'd ever pitch against each other. If we ever did, I wouldn't be worried. The nice thing about being married, we're in this together at the end of the day. If one of us wins, we both win. It's a nice place to be - and I couldn't think of anyone better to be there with.