Marketing

Types of Degrees Marketing Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many marketing graduations there were in 2018-2019 for each degree level.

View the 2021 Best Marketing Schools

What Marketing Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, marketing majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Marketing Majors

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

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Skills for Marketing Majors

When studying marketing, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• 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.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Marketing Majors

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

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

What Can You Do With a Marketing Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with marketing:

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Marketing?

This major is dominated by women with about 65% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	112
Black or African American	238
Hispanic or Latino	383
White	982
International Students	990
Other Races/Ethnicities	234

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Marketing, too. About 33.7% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

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

How Much Do 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 marketing was $45,500 per year. These stats come from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $45,500 (25th percentile) and $59,000 (75th percentile).

It’s important to note that just because the people reporting these salaries have a degree in marketing, it does not mean that they are working in a job related to their degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $70,960 to $140,320 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to marketing. 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.

Median Salary for a Marketing Major  ( 70960 to 140320 )

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Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )

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Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )

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Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )

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Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Marketing

Some careers associated with marketing require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. 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 marketing have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	1.0%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.4%
Some College Courses	2.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	38.5%
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.	2.3%
Master’s Degree	17.2%
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.	0.7%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	2.4%
Doctoral Degree	16.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.6%

Online Marketing Programs

In the 2018-2019 academic year, 1,137 schools offered some type of 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)	163	46
Certificate (1-2 years)	112	31
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	266	98
Bachelor’s Degree	58	25
Post-Baccalaureate	163	46
Master’s Degree	169	50
Post-Master’s	17	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	17	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Marketing Worth It?

The median salary for a marketing grad is $103,330 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 159% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,268,600 after 20 years!

Explore Major by State

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Wyoming

Majors Related to Marketing

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to 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
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
General Sales & Marketing	637
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

• 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 Youngson under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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