General Sales & Marketing

Types of Degrees General Sales & Marketing Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general sales and marketing graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	485
Graduate Certificate	51
Doctor’s Degree	1

What General Sales & Marketing Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to sales and marketing were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Sales & Marketing Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in sales and marketing should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Sales & Marketing Majors

sales and marketing majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Sales & Marketing Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a sales and marketing student include the following:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a General Sales & Marketing Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with sales and marketing:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Demonstrators and Product Promoters	6.5%	$28,960
Energy Brokers	9.7%	$54,550
First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	4.9%	$73,390
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	3.8%	$39,630
Parts Salespersons	5.0%	$30,430
Sales and Related Workers	10.6%	$33,220
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products	5.2%	$58,510
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products	5.2%	$79,680
Solar Sales Representatives and Assessors	5.2%	$79,680

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in General Sales & Marketing?

This major is dominated by women with about 75% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of sales and marketing majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	37
Black or African American	12
Hispanic or Latino	16
White	26
International Students	387
Other Races/Ethnicities	7

Geographic Diversity

Sales & Marketing appeals to people across the globe. About 79.8% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Taiwan
• India
• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea

How Much Do General Sales & Marketing Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The median early-career salary of general sales and marketing students with a master’s degree is $72,657 a year according to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $66,059 (25th percentile) and $86,390 (75th percentile).

One thing to note here is that not all of these people may be working in careers related to sales and marketing.

Salaries According to BLS

Sales and Marketing majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $40,480 to $69,480 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General Sales & Marketing

Some degrees associated with sales and marketing may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for sales and marketing careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	5.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	28.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	5.8%
Some College Courses	11.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	10.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	38.0%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.3%
Master’s Degree	0.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	0.0%

Online General Sales & Marketing Programs

In 2020-2021, 329 schools offered a sales and marketing program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	104	12
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	174	22
Bachelor’s Degree	10	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	14	3
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in General Sales & Marketing Worth It?

The median salary for a sales and marketing grad is $45,080 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 13% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $103,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to General Sales & Marketing

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to sales and marketing.

Major	Number of Grads
Business Administration & Management	131,555
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	31,701
Accounting	19,309
Human Resource Management	12,117
General Business/Commerce	9,137
Finance & Financial Management	5,784
Marketing	4,011
Management Information Systems	2,766
International Business	2,007
Entrepreneurial Studies	1,823
Taxation	1,350
Hospitality Management	1,341
Real Estate	1,280
Other Business, Management & Marketing	1,073
Construction Management	466
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing	180
Business/Managerial Economics	162
Insurance	143
Business/Corporate Communications	117
Telecommunications Management	23

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Nick Nijhuis under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.