Changes in technology, buyer habits and the economy are rapidly shifting the marketing landscape. Companies are trying to navigate change and seize opportunities brought on by these new realities. That’s why marketing careers are in high demand—with positions like market research analysts expected to grow by an astounding 20%.
Companies in all industries need savvy marketing professionals to get ahead. But how do you master the technical, creative and interpersonal skills needed to be successful?
Marketing is an exciting and versatile field that offers many potential career paths. As a marketing major you will gain skills to help businesses promote their products, analyze data conduct market research, and engage with consumers. However, some may wonder – should I major in marketing? Here is a detailed overview of what it’s like to be a marketing major.
What Will I Learn as a Marketing Major?
As a marketing major, you will take courses that provide important foundational business knowledge while also developing specialized skills. Here are some of the main things you will learn:
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Consumer Behavior – Understanding what motivates consumers to make purchasing decisions is crucial for developing effective marketing campaigns Marketing majors take courses in consumer behavior to gain insight into how cultural, social, and psychological factors influence buying habits.
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Market Research – Conducting research is an integral part of marketing, providing vital data to guide campaign strategies. You’ll learn quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to gather and analyze data on consumers, competitors, and markets.
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Brand Management – Managing and promoting brands is a key part of marketing. Courses in this area teach strategies for building brand awareness and loyalty among target audiences.
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Marketing Analytics – Analytics allow marketers to quantify and optimize their efforts. Marketing majors take courses in analytics applications and metrics to extract insights from data.
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Advertising and Promotions – You’ll learn how to develop advertising and promotional campaigns across platforms like print, digital, and social media to engage consumers.
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Marketing Strategy – Bringing all the pieces together, you’ll practice developing cohesive marketing strategies and plans for product launches, brand growth, and more.
What Types of Marketing Degrees Are There?
Marketing degrees are available at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Here are some of the common degree options:
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Bachelor’s in Marketing – A 4-year program providing well-rounded training in marketing foundations. Graduates may enter fields like marketing coordination, account management, market research, and more.
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Bachelor’s in Business with Marketing Concentration – Combines general business courses with specialized marketing classes Ideal for those interested in business careers with a marketing focus
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Master’s in Marketing – Lets students dive deeper into marketing, including consumer psychology, data analytics, and research methodologies. Positions in marketing management, brand management, and marketing insights are common outcomes.
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MBA in Marketing – An MBA with a marketing concentration is geared towards current or aspiring marketing managers. You’ll gain leadership training and advanced marketing strategy skills.
What Careers Are There for Marketing Majors?
Some top careers for marketing majors include:
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Marketing Manager – Oversee marketing campaigns, initiatives, and teams. Median salary: $142,170.
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Market Research Analyst – Design surveys and collect data to uncover consumer insights. Median salary: $65,810.
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Digital Marketing Specialist – Manage digital campaigns across platforms like email, social media, and websites. Median salary: $73,940.
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Brand Manager – Responsible for strategizing how to increase brand awareness and loyalty. Median salary: $116,720.
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Social Media Marketing Manager – Create and oversee social media campaigns, messaging, and engagement. Median salary: $72,940.
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Account Manager/Executive – Act as the main point of contact between clients and the marketing team. Median salary: $64,700.
Should I Major in Marketing? Key Considerations
When weighing whether to major in marketing, here are some important factors to think about:
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Your interests – Do you enjoy studying consumer behavior? Are you creative and analytic? Marketing may be a great fit for those who like connecting business strategy with psychology, analytics, communications, and creativity.
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Career prospects – Job opportunities for marketing roles are projected to grow over the next decade, so majoring in marketing can lead to an in-demand career.
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Work environment – Marketing careers exist in many industries from corporate brands to ad agencies. The culture and work-life balance can vary greatly between companies.
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Skills developed – The mix of soft and hard skills gained as a marketing major, like data analysis, communications, and strategic thinking, are versatile for many business roles.
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Business focus – Since marketing works hand-in-hand with most business functions, it can be a launching point for diverse business leadership careers later on.
Marketing Major Courses and Curriculum
While specific requirements vary between universities, here is an overview of typical courses in a marketing major curriculum:
Introductory Business Courses
- Principles of Management
- Principles of Microeconomics
- Principles of Macroeconomics
- Financial Accounting
- Business Statistics
Core Marketing Courses
- Principles of Marketing
- Consumer Behavior
- Market Research
- Marketing Analytics
- Digital Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Marketing Strategy
Advanced Marketing Courses
- Advertising and Promotions
- Brand Management
- Services Marketing
- International Marketing
- Marketing Internship/Capstone Project
Electives
- Public Relations
- Sales Management
- Retail Management
- Graphic Design
- Web Analytics
Developing Skills as a Marketing Major
In addition to gaining marketing knowledge, majoring in this field allows you to develop versatile skills:
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Communication – From writing to public speaking, marketing hones communication abilities critical for any business role.
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Research – You’ll become adept at gathering and making sense of consumer data through market research projects.
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Analytics – Analyzing metrics and translating data into insights is an integral marketing skill.
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Creativity – Marketing thinking requires strong creative skills for designing campaigns, crafting messages, and developing strategies.
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Collaboration – Marketing teams must collaborate closely with other departments like product development, PR, and sales.
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Leadership – Marketing courses and internships provide opportunities to guide teams and projects, building leadership capabilities.
Is Majoring in Marketing Worth It?
While challenging at times, majoring in marketing provides knowledge and skills invaluable for a variety of business careers. From brand management, market research, and digital marketing to product development, public relations, and advertising, a marketing degree opens doors across industries. The mix of critical analysis, creativity, and business strategy involved makes it an engaging and versatile discipline. So for those drawn to understand consumers, position brands, and develop impactful campaigns, majoring in marketing can be an investment well worth it.
Frequency of Entities:
marketing major: 21
marketing: 15
consumer: 7
market research: 5
brand management: 4
business: 4
careers: 4
analytics: 3
strategy: 3
communication: 2
data: 2
leadership: 2
courses: 2
degrees: 2
skills: 2
consumers: 2
promotions: 1
advertising: 1
digital marketing: 1
social media: 1
statistics: 1
insights: 1
salary: 1
prospects: 1
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Changes in technology, buyer habits and the economy are rapidly shifting the marketing landscape. Companies are trying to navigate change and seize opportunities brought on by these new realities. That’s why marketing careers are in high demand—with positions like market research analysts expected to grow by an astounding 20%.
Companies in all industries need savvy marketing professionals to get ahead. But how do you master the technical, creative and interpersonal skills needed to be successful?
Here’s why a marketing degree is the answer.
Earning a marketing degree is about much more than learning about advertising or selling. Along with knowledge of basic marketing principles and constructs, a successful marketing professional couples an ability to determine strategy with an ability to communicate those ideas in a compelling way. In addition to deep knowledge of the profession, a successful marketer must have an understanding of the other business disciplines because they work cross-functionally across an organization. Understanding the functions of operations, human resources, accounting, finance, and technology are all part of a good marketing degree program.
Unlike a more general education, like business administration or communication, a marketing degree helps you learn current industry best practices and industry-standard tools, and prepares you to apply those to real-world situations. If you’re competing for entry-level positions, this specific knowledge will set you apart from other candidates. It will also prepare you for specialized positions in areas like digital marketing, search engine optimization and social media—in addition to entry-level generalist marketing roles.
As with many careers in todays environment, marketing has changed dramatically over the past 5 to 10 years. The marketing profession now requires more than an understanding of traditional marketing and promotional techniques.
Digital advertising, marketing automation, and new technologies—from virtual and augmented reality to voice assistants—are all shifting the marketing landscape. Even more, the ability to collect and analyze data on each and every individual consumer in the marketplace has been a dramatic development. It allows marketers to target their products and offerings to consumers more precisely and cheaply than ever before.
Companies are investing in digital marketing and transformation to increase efficiency and grow their business. They need marketers with specialized skills who can create targeted, data-driven and multi-channel marketing initiatives. As a result, a new graduate entering into the marketing profession is expected to have foundational skills in these areas.
- Digital marketing: Paid digital marketing across search engines and social networks now dominates marketing spend in many industries. You need to understand how to develop paid campaigns, audience targeting, budgets and creative that will break through the noise.
- Data analysis: Data-driven marketing is an essential aspect of a successful business. While not every marketer needs to be a data and analytics master, they must have a strong understanding of the various tools and metrics you can use to track, analyze and optimize marketing campaigns.
- Market research: Understanding consumer behavior is the foundation of product development, marketing and sales. You need the skills to conduct, distill and analyze first-hand and secondary research to give your company an edge on the competition.
- Search engine optimization (SEO): Nearly every transaction today begins online. That’s why SEO is ingrained into every aspect of marketing—so your products, services and content can be found organically.
- Customer relationship management (CRM): CRM is used to organize and manage customer information and interactions with a company. It helps bridge the gap between sales and marketing and is pivotal to building loyal customer relationships.
If it was ever the case that an entrepreneur could succeed by merely pursuing a great idea, those days are long gone. The United States currently has 27 million entrepreneurs and nearly 14% are starting or running new businesses. If you are, or aim to be, one of these business owners, you also need to understand an unmet consumer desire, translate that understanding into a product or service, and then craft a compelling offering that meets the consumer on their terms.
Entrepreneurs with marketing degrees are able to effectively brand their business, promote their products and services, and reach the right customers. Undergraduate degrees in marketing also provide a broad-base of business knowledge, which often includes a business core of accounting, finance and management. These essential business skills will help you start, run and manage your business as it grows.
Even in todays labor market, with unemployment at or near historic lows, a college degree—bachelors or masters—is often considered the minimum requirement. Perhaps even more important than getting a job, a college degree can significantly improve the speed and the extent to which an individual can progress through a career. That ease of entry and ability to progress equate to higher pay and better opportunities.
We see advertising and promotional activities all around us. Some of what we see we like, others we dont. It’s tempting to believe that our intuition about what works and what doesnt is evidence of our own marketing prowess. That perception, along with the creative, interesting, fast-paced nature of the profession make marketing attractive to both those who are degree-qualified and those who arent.
Yet, marketing is a profession that, like any other, requires more than a perceived knack for one aspect. If you’re looking to change careers, your intuition alone may not be enough. Successful entrants into the field are expected to have, at minimum, a broad-based subject area knowledge. Preferably, that general knowledge will be supplemented with a deep knowledge in a particular sub-topic. Ideally, that knowledge can be demonstrated through a portfolio of projects or work experience. An applicant with that sort of knowledge and preparation will be the first to get considered, the first to get hired, and the first to get promoted.
That’s why, even if you have professional experience or a degree in a different field, a bachelor’s or master’s degree in marketing is highly beneficial. A bachelor’s degree will provide foundational knowledge in marketing principles and an opportunity to develop projects that show your prowess. For those who already have a bachelors, a master’s degree in marketing will help you gain specialized marketing expertise to complement your previous experience. Either way, getting a marketing degree can help you change careers seamlessly and put you on the path to advancement within your new career.
Marketing is integral to the success of any business, no matter the industry or business model. That offers a wide variety of career paths for marketing graduates. Usually, professionals tend to gravitate to one of two sides of the profession—the client side or the agency side. On the client side, you work in a marketing department of a company, diving deep into their business, products and services to create the most compelling marketing campaigns that accomplish strategic goals. On the other hand, agencies work on a much broader client portfolio, acting as consultants for any number of marketing projects.
Whichever path you choose, there are exciting, high-growth careers waiting for you.
Is a MARKETING DEGREE worth it?
FAQ
Is it worth majoring in marketing?
How do I know if marketing is for me?
Is it a good idea to go into marketing?
What degrees can I get as a marketing major?
You can earn a marketing degree at every level of higher education, including an associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree. There also are many certifications available in marketing that aspiring professionals may find useful. Here are some degrees and certifications you can earn as a marketing major:
Should I get a bachelor’s degree in marketing?
A bachelor’s degree in marketing can be a strong addition to your resume, especially as you continue moving forward in your career. But there are other options if you’re interested in pursuing a marketing career and don’t want to commit to a four-year degree program.
How long does it take to become a marketing major?
Here are some degrees and certifications you can earn as a marketing major: Associate and bachelor’s degrees are undergraduate certificates that often are the first formal degree you can earn in marketing. A bachelor’s typically takes you four years to earn, while an associate may take two years.
Should I major in marketing?
If you enjoy being creative and strategic, majoring in marketing may be a good choice for you. Marketing is a versatile major designed to introduce you to key concepts in business, communications, advertising, and sales—all of which can be applied to a career in marketing or another related field.
