When you’re in college, you want to know that the degree path you choose will lead to a successful and enjoyable career. If you’re a business marketing major, you may wonder whether the education you’re getting now will pay off in terms of the type of job you’ll qualify for after you graduate, and what you can earn.
Let’s look at exactly what you can expect as a marketing major during your studies, as well as what work looks like after.
What Does a Marketing Major Learn?
As a marketing major, you will learn various aspects and strategies for promoting a company or product, creating brand awareness, and building relationships with customers.
You may study marketing tools like social media, content marketing, and advertising, as well as public relations, sales, marketing strategy, and consumer behavior.
Once you complete your degree, you should have a thorough understanding of how to employ these tools and tactics in the real world on behalf of your employer.
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Who is It Good For?
If you’re still trying to determine the best college major and are considering marketing, here’s a bit more about the type of person who might thrive in a marketing career.
If you’re curious about how brands connect with customers and find yourself analyzing ads in magazines and on television, you might be a natural marketer. Marketers are typically creative and good communicators; you’ll need that ingenuity to come up with innovative marketing campaigns to compete with others in a given industry.
Depending on the job you get after college, you may work with a team on campaigns, or you may be solely in charge of doing multiple different tasks on your own. Ideally, you’ll be excited and confident about sharing your ideas for projects.
If you’ve got an analytical mind, so much the better. You’ll be able to analyze data to better understand what types of marketing efforts are working to reach your audience and which aren’t.
Why Consider Marketing?
If the last section resonated with you, but maybe you’re already planning to study communications or English, for example, would you switch your major to marketing?
Marketing isn’t a frivolous industry; it’s one that every brand on earth needs, and that means there will always be careers in marketing. Because marketing is what propels a company to sell products or services, it has a return on investment, and that means that companies are willing to also invest in smart marketing professionals.
Everywhere you look, there’s marketing, from the product placement in your favorite television show to the daily Instagram quotes you like from your favorite clothing brand. Being a part of this exciting field gives you the opportunity to shape how consumers connect with brands.
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What Careers Can a Marketing Major Get?
So you’ve majored in marketing and now you want to know your career options. What does a marketing major do after graduating? And what #professionalgoals can you set down the road, once you’ve had more experience?
Entry-Level Marketing Jobs
Depending on your specific interest in marketing, there are several paths you could take upon graduation.
If you enjoy working with advertising, you could get work as a media buyer, who is in charge of purchasing ads, both digital and print, to achieve marketing goals. Entry-level salaries start at $48k.
If you enjoy dabbling in different aspects of marketing, you could be a marketing coordinator. You might be a part of planning and launching marketing campaigns and events, managing email marketing, and writing content for different platforms. Salaries start at $44k.
If you lit up in your public relations coursework, a public relations specialist might be a good first job. You’ll be tasked with creating press releases and pitch letters, and connecting with the media to get interviews and media coverage for your brand. Salaries vary, but the average is around $50k.
Marketing Jobs for More Experienced Professionals
Once you have a bit of experience in your entry-level marketing job, you may be eligible for a promotion or could qualify for a more advanced role with a different company like the following ones.
A public relations manager has approximately six to eight years of experience working in PR. In addition to building relationships with journalists and securing media coverage for a brand, this role may also hire and manage other PR roles as well as writers and designers. The average salary for this role is around $70k.
A marketing director could be a good goal after you build experience as a marketing coordinator and have five to 10 years of marketing experience. This role is involved in the planning of marketing activities, building a budget, and forecasting sales. You may oversee a marketing team, including internal staff and freelancers. The average salary for this position is approximately $90k, but can vary widely.
Another option once you have one to five years of experience, specifically in sales, is as a sales manager. This role analyzes sales data to shape sales and pricing strategy and may train or manage sales staff. The average salary for a sales manager is $77k.
Launching Your Own Marketing Business
You’re not limited to working for someone else in your marketing career; many professionals get experience under their belt by working for companies of all sizes, then decide to open their own business. That could be a one-person content marketing business run out of your home or a PR firm with several freelance publicists.
Starting your own business gives you the flexibility of working when you want, and to choose exactly the marketing, advertising, or PR services you want to specialize in. It does, however, require plenty of hard work and dedication: without the stability of a regular paycheck, you aren’t guaranteed to make a certain amount of money.
What Can a Marketing Major Earn?
Understandably, you want some reassurance that what you’ll make in your career after graduating will help you quickly pay off your student loan and help you become financially successful.
Generally, students can expect to make the least right after graduating, since they’ll have little to no work experience. Salary expectations for entry-level marketing positions can vary based on factors like where you live and the industry you want to work in. Some companies may offer hiring bonuses or commission on top of that salary.
As you build experience, your salary will generally increase. Again, this will depend on your specific experience and accomplishments as well as the industry and company you work for.
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The Takeaway
Only you know whether marketing is a field that you will thrive in and enjoy being a part of, but suffice it to say that there is an opportunity to learn a wide range of marketing skills and career advancement potential if you’re willing to put in the work to climb that corporate ladder.
Your future begins now. Paying for college shouldn’t be stressful. With SoFi private student loans, you have the money you need to secure that future, in marketing or any other field of study.
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