General Sales & Marketing
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Types of Degrees General Sales & Marketing Majors Are Getting
The following table lists how many general sales and marketing graduations there were in 2018-2019 for each degree level.
| Education Level | Number of Grads |
|---|---|
| Master’s Degree | 590 |
| Graduate Certificate | 45 |
| Doctor’s Degree | 2 |
What General Sales & Marketing Majors Need to Know
O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to sales and marketing and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.
Knowledge Areas for Sales & Marketing Majors
This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:
- 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
A major in sales and marketing prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:
- 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?
People with a sales and marketing degree often go into the following careers:
| 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?
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 | 27 |
| Black or African American | 15 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 10 |
| White | 32 |
| International Students | 496 |
| Other Races/Ethnicities | 10 |
Geographic Diversity
Students from other countries are interested in Sales & Marketing, too. About 84.1% 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 starting salary of students who graduated in 2015-2017 with a master’s degree in sales and marketing was $76,750 per year. These stats come from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $76,025 (25th percentile) and $77,475 (75th percentile).
We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to sales and marketing so take that into consideration.
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 you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.
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. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.
How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to sales and marketing have obtained the following education levels.
| 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 the 2018-2019 academic year, 351 schools offered some type of general sales and marketing program. 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) | 201 | 36 |
| Certificate (1-2 years) | 103 | 19 |
| Certificate (2-4 Years) | 3 | 0 |
| Associate’s Degree | 191 | 29 |
| Bachelor’s Degree | 7 | 3 |
| Post-Baccalaureate | 201 | 36 |
| Master’s Degree | 12 | 4 |
| Post-Master’s | 2 | 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!
Top Ranking Lists for General Sales & Marketing
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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 | 135,757 |
| Accounting | 21,904 |
| Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods | 14,136 |
| Human Resource Management | 10,770 |
| General Business/Commerce | 10,236 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 6,277 |
| Marketing | 3,308 |
| Management Information Systems | 3,158 |
| International Business | 2,417 |
| Entrepreneurial Studies | 1,778 |
| Taxation | 1,611 |
| Other Business, Management & Marketing | 1,240 |
| Real Estate | 1,186 |
| Hospitality Management | 1,072 |
| Construction Management | 507 |
| Business/Managerial Economics | 267 |
| Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing | 221 |
| Insurance | 173 |
| Business/Corporate Communications | 80 |
| Telecommunications Management | 38 |
| Business Support & Assistant Services | 0 |
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.
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