Exploring Careers in Marketing

Marketing is a career field in which professionals can promote the use of products and services and analyze consumer behavior related to product sales. Obtaining a marketing degree or certification will provide you with a solid foundation in industry ethics, policies, communications, research skills, critical thinking, and decision-making. You’ll have the expertise to implement plans and strategies that help businesses generate leads and sales, expand brand awareness, and drive company success.

Marketing skills are needed across industries, and job opportunity growth for marketing managers is expected to increase by 12 percent between 2012-2022. A degree or certification in marketing can grant you the freedom to take on many types of creative and analytical roles within a variety of industries, giving you opportunities to implement ideas that can potentially be shared and acknowledged globally.

Marketing careers require you to:

• Communicate effectively with other businesses and consumers using various platforms (print, in-person, and digital).
• Think critically and solve problems in business/marketing environments related to product and service sales and consumer opinions.
• Understand buyer behavior, define target markets, identify and evaluate market segments.
• Use market research tools and procedures and communicate research findings effectively.
• Explain how competitors, consumer opinions, and additional factors outside of a company may affect the success of marketing campaigns and efforts.

There are many career options to explore with a marketing degree. Based on your motivation and the type of work you like doing, here are a few suggestions for marketing careers to explore.

If you enjoy working with people, think about a career as a:

• Sales Manager.
• Social Media Marketer.
• Business Teacher.

Professionals in these roles make connections with people and promote engagement between the business and other businesses or consumers.

Like working with data? Think about a career as a:

• Market Research Analyst.
• Product/Brand Manager.
• Marketing Consultant.

These careers often include researching and analyzing company and competitor data, and using that data to create and carry out advertising, content, product and other promotional strategies to achieve sales goals.

Are you a natural leader, creative, and capable of making major decisions? Think about a career as a:

• Marketing Director.
• Advertising and Promotions Manager.
• Creative Director.

Roles like these require you to comply with established and evolving industry standards, lead teams, and implement ethical decision-making strategies.

A degree or certification in marketing opens the doors to a number of industries and roles that will allow you to help companies advance and achieve their sales, promotional, and branding goals. As a marketer, you have the ability to see the results of how your work affects business, consumers, and the effect that your ideas can potentially have on these groups and beyond. With steady growth and many options in marketing professions, there are ample opportunities to implement your vision and achieve your marketing career goals.