If you are looking for a degree that will guarantee a job in a consistently growing field, look no further as the marketing industry is booming. With a marketing degree, you are sure to find just about any job you can imagine and with plenty of positions available for every education level, you can easily find entry-level work and then pursue further studies online while maintaining employment.
By 2028, the demand for marketing managers is expected to grow by eight percent, much faster than most occupations. While this percentage will vary based upon the individual job title, it is safe to assume most positions will be in demand by the time you complete your degree.
The field of marketing encompasses all sorts of promotions and advertisements, from paper flyers to social media posts. To put it best, marketing is the process of creating, communicating, and delivering promotions and advertisements to and from customers, clients, partners, and society.
There are a ton of different types of marketing, but the most common type we see today are ads on social media. You know those ads that pop up when you scroll through Facebook or Instagram? Marketers helped create those.
Read on to find out more about marketing and what positions require which degrees.
What Can You Do with a Marketing Degree?
If you are considering earning a marketing degree online or on-campus, you will likely want to know what you can do with it. There are many jobs available for those with only an associate degree and even more for those who pursued higher levels of education.
Marketing Careers with an Associate Degree
To earn an associate degree, most colleges will require a high school diploma or GED. After graduation, you could secure one of the below jobs.
Direct Marketer
Direct marketers are the people who typically make phone calls or hand out coupon books and catalogs. This line of work requires in-depth knowledge of consumer behavior and habits. Working as a direct marketer, you can make an average salary of $54,268 per year.
Business Marketer
For those looking for work in the business world, business marketing may be a nice option. Business marketers deal with the marketing and promoting of goods and services between businesses. A unique aspect of business marketing is that you will often work closely with regular businesses as customers, allowing you to build more professional relationships. Working as a business marketer, you could make the same salary as you would in direct marketing, around $54,268 per year.
Digital Marketer
If you are looking for a position working with more modern marketing techniques, a digital marketing interview may be in your future. Digital marketers use social media and websites to determine what type of marketing would resonate best with consumers and then use that information to create the most attractive digital marketing campaigns. These are typically in the form of videos, promotional ads, and even hosting your own podcast. Working as a digital marketer, you can expect to earn an annual salary of around $50,000.
Public Relations Specialist
Public relations specialists are the people responsible for maintaining good relationships with the public. This involves everything from making speeches and public announcements to advising on social media responses to even writing press releases. As a public relations specialist, you would likely earn around $48,700 per year.
Marketing Careers with a Bachelor’s Degree
To earn a bachelor’s degree, most colleges will require you to have earned an associate degree in a related field. Here are some jobs in marketing you could secure upon graduation from a bachelor’s degree program in marketing.
Advertising/Promotion Manager
As an advertising/promotion manager, you would be in charge of creating any needed advertising policies and programs, as well as producing advertising and promotional materials such as posters and coupons. Working as an advertising/promotion manager, you can make anywhere between $50,000 and $80,000 every year, and with more experience, upwards of $130,000 per year.
Director of Internet Marketing
As a director of internet marketing, your responsibilities would include overseeing and managing budgets, developing online marketing strategies, and ensuring the creative and business aspects of marketing work well together. This job pays an average of $50,000 per year for those with little experience, but with 10 to 20 years of experience, you could make over $160,000 per year.
Digital Optimization Analyst
Digital optimization analysts work with the rest of the digital marketing team to ensure any online advertisements and promotions are optimized to their best quality for consumers. In this job, you would likely earn around $68,000 per year.
SEO Manager
Search engine optimization (SEO) managers are in charge of the development of SEO practices and strategies, as well as organizing and designing content for social media to be SEO-friendly. SEO managers regularly make around $60,000 to $70,000 per year.
Marketing Careers with a Master’s Degree
To earn a master’s degree, most colleges will require you to have earned a bachelor’s degree in a related field and maintained a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Marketing Research Analyst
Marketing research analysts are responsible for watching and identifying marketing trends, successful campaigns, and failing campaigns. These identifications are then used to readjust marketing strategies within a company to better ensure marketing successes. Marketing research analysts make anywhere from $68,000 to $88,000 per year.
Fundraising Director
Rather than focusing solely on marketing for businesses, fundraising directors help advertise and promote fundraisers. This is typically done through common marketing techniques and ensuring the public not only knows about the event, but also the goals and reasons behind it. Fundraising directors can easily make around $130,000 per year.
Writer
In marketing, writers are generally tasked with content writing, writing product descriptions, and ensuring the best possible search engine optimization (SEO) practices for a company. This is the work that helps businesses more easily reach customers. Working as a writer in marketing, you can make anywhere between $60,000 and $76,000 per year.
Sales Representative
Sales representatives are responsible for building relationships with customers and clients to ensure a better response to sales pitches that will be made in the future. Sales representatives will also be around to answer any questions about the products and services that customers may have. Professionals in this job make an average yearly salary of $61,000.
Marketing Careers with a Doctorate
To earn a doctorate, most colleges will require you to have earned a master’s degree in a related field and maintained a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Survey Researcher
For anyone interested in research, earning a doctorate is a good idea. Survey researchers help develop surveys and decide which methods they think are best for collecting results. Working this job, you would make an average of around $60,000 per year, which is not as high as the salaries of other doctoral-level jobs, but it may be more satisfying for you.
Financial Manager
Financial managers are not technically required to have a doctoral degree, but if you are hoping for a higher salary, this is the way to go. As a financial manager, you would be responsible for creating and monitoring budgets and expenses to ensure funds are being used in the best possible way. If you decided to become a financial manager, you would make around $130,000 per year.
Professor
If you are interested in teaching a subject you have expertise in, you should think about a doctorate in marketing. With this degree, you can become a professor of marketing and pass on all of your knowledge to the next generations. In this field, you can easily make $120,000 per year or more.
Sales Manager
As a sales manager with a doctoral degree, you would be responsible for helping customers, employees, and employers. Sales managers’ regular tasks involve responding to customer complaints about a product or service, helping employers set pricing and assigning employee quotas, and creating any training programs necessary for new employees. Working as a sales manager pays off, with the average salary for this job being around $126,000 per year.
Conclusion
Earning a degree in marketing is a smart move for anyone who wants a job in a stable career field. With job opportunities for every degree level, you can choose to work while continuing your studies or, if you are content with only an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, you can find a decent job that only requires an undergraduate degree.
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Marketing degrees are available at almost any college, with hundreds of varying programs available to you. With whatever path you decide to take, you should definitely consider pursuing a marketing degree if you hope to one day work in the field.
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