Yes, marketing is a good major for career growth, competitive salaries, and creative thinking. Marketing combines advertising, public relations, and messaging for businesses to reach their target audience.
In the United States in 2020, there were over 300,000 advertising, promotions, and marketing managers at corporate and regional marketing firms nationwide, according to BLS. According to CNN, the 2021 Super Bowl sold commercials for up to seven million dollars, and ads like these are directed and curated by specialists that majored in marketing. Here are some of the perks:
- Applicable across business sectors
- Is essential to business development and growth
- Requires skilled professionals that understand how to communicate with their target audience in an effective way
- Job outlook continues to grow
- Competative salary ranges and earning potential
Is Marketing a Good Major for Me?
Marketing is a great major for students who bring strong interpersonal and communications skills to the table, as these are critical when developing messaging strategies to reach a particular audience. Additionally, marketing majors tend to be creative, thinking of new ways to design and create marketing campaigns that appeal to a certain audience.
Empathy and storytelling are two other important skills for marketing majors to have in order to better understand what their clients need and how to engage them and discuss these needs in an effective way through an ad or a commercial.
On the other hand, if you’re more of an introvert and prefer to work alone or bury yourself in data, then marketing may not be the best major for you. Accounting, finance, or IT may be a better fit to suit these types of invaluable skills.
What is Marketing?
Students enrolled in a marketing degree program learn ways to think strategically about how to reach their target audience through digital and print media, as well as how to craft narratives to compel more customers to interact with their company's services. Marketing students enroll in courses like communications, macroeconomics, and corporate messaging.
What Can You Do with a Marketing Degree
Marketing is a good major that offers a variety of career paths. Graduates with a marketing degree can work in businesses of any size and virtually any industry. Every business needs a marketing team to help promote their products and services. This can range from digital marketing and social media to print ads or paid marketing.
Let’s take a look at a few different marketing career paths:
Marketing Manager
- Average salary: $130,000+/yr
- Projected job growth: 10% increase from 2020-2030
- Recommended education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, advertising, or journalism
Fundraising Managers
- Average salary: $120,000/yr
- Projected job growth: 13% increase from 2020-2030
- Recommended education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, public relations, or communications
Advertising Sales Agents
- Average salary: $52,000//yr
- Projected job growth: 3% increase from 2020-2030
- Recommended education: Associate degree in marketing, communications, or advertising
Public Relations Specialists
- Average salary: $62,000/yr
- Projected job growth: 11% increase from 2020-2030
- Recommended education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, or public relations
Social Media Specialist
- Average salary: $56,000/yr
- Projected job growth: 10% increase from 2020-2030
- Recommended education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, journalism, or communications
*Average salaries and project growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Marketing Major Salaries
Some students may be wondering whether marketing is a good major to declare, and for a variety of reasons, it is! Marketing majors have a great job outlook, and multiple career tracks to entertain once they graduate. Earning potential can vary depending on the type of role they land, and it is critical to assess how each job compares in terms of salary.
The salary range for marketing majors is $50,000 - 130,000+, with managerial roles at the top end of the spectrum.
- For graduates with a bachelor’s degree entering the job market without any professional experience, earnings are expected on the lower end of this range.
- Entry-level roles like social media specialist or advertising agent typically earn between $50,000 - $60-000 nationwide, which can be a great starting point for those that want to break into the industry.
- Those who enter the workforce with graduate-level degrees like a Master’s in Marketing or Doctorate in Marketing can expect higher salaries and more leadership opportunities in roles like Marketing or Digital Media Manager grossing over $100,000 annually.
How Long Does it Take to Get an Online Marketing Degree
Online marketing degrees offer students flexible hours and personalized schedules that are conducive for working professionals and those that want to earn their degree at their own pace.
- To complete an online Associate Degree in Marketing, a two-year track can allow graduates to apply to roles that pay anywhere from $40,000 - $50,000.
- For those who pursue an online Bachelor’s in Marketing, salaries increase substantially and can range from $60,000 - $100,000.
- Students who choose to enroll in online Master’s in Marketing programs that last one to two years can exceed these earnings and make over $120,000 in leadership and management roles.
How Much Does an Online Marketing Degree Cost?
Online degrees are all the rage these days. With our “work and learn from home” culture, why not explore earning your marketing degree online? The field of marketing can vary in cost depending on if your school is in or out of state, and whether the institution is public or private.
Tuition and fees range from just under $20,000 to over $40,000, so it is always important to evaluate post-graduation job placement and concentrations of interest before applying to a particular program.
Since online degree programs eliminate typical costs like room and board and meal plans, as well as on-campus activities such as student-led organizations and sporting events, these are typically more cost-effective than in-person programs.
Most online degrees can save you up to $10,000 compared to in-person programs, since these programs eliminate the need for a lecture space, and compel professors to develop lesson plans that can be replicated and reused each year with ease.
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