A Complete Guide to Marketing Careers

Are you interested in a marketing career but unsure which job may suit you best?

Some of the most popular marketing roles include brand manager, marketing coordinator, search engine optimization (SEO) specialist, product marketing manager, and digital marketing manager.

In this guide, we’ll explore some of the top marketing jobs to help you determine which role aligns best with your skills and interests.

Here are some common jobs you can get in the marketing field, with education requirements and salary data from PayScale:

As a brand manager, you’ll lead, develop, and implement marketing strategies to promote organizations’ brands, products, and services. These professionals work closely with research, content, social, and design teams to cultivate a brand identity and guarantee that all marketing decisions drive engagement and revenue.

Beyond marketing expertise, you’ll also need advanced project management and analytical thinking skills to succeed in this role.

As a digital marketing manager, also known as a marketing manager, you’ll lead marketing teams and campaigns from planning to execution. You’ll use email marketing, social media, and other channels to advertise your organization’s brands, products, or services.

You’ll need to learn how to analyze data to measure campaign performance. You’ll also need to learn how to negotiate advertising contracts and collaborate across departments. For example, you may create marketing budgets using your company’s financial department.

As a marketing assistant, you’ll support marketing teams by conducting market research, creating content, managing social media accounts, and assisting with promotional events to increase brand visibility.

This entry-level role requires a strong understanding of marketing trends and digital marketing tools, as well as excellent organizational and communication skills to execute campaigns effectively.

As a marketing coordinator, you’d help develop and execute marketing campaigns by creating engaging content, managing social media, coordinating events, and analyzing marketing data to measure campaign effectiveness.

To succeed in this role, you’ll need a strong foundation in marketing principles and digital marketing tools, as well as excellent communication, organization, and analytical skills.

If you’re a marketing expert with several years of experience, you can become a marketing manager. Your responsibilities can include leading the marketing team and developing and executing marketing strategies for an organization or individual brands within it.

A key aspect of this role is identifying new markets and growth opportunities to increase sales. You’ll also be responsible for mentoring and guiding your department.

As a market research analyst, you’ll gather and analyze data to forecast potential sales for your company’s products and services. This data includes consumer demographics, purchasing behavior, and competitor insights.

You’ll collect this information through surveys, opinion polls, focus groups, industry reports, and competitor research, using various analytical tools to identify trends and inform marketing strategies.

As a product marketing manager, you’ll develop and implement marketing strategies for specific products.

You’ll collaborate with professionals such as user experience (UX) designers, engineers, and product managers to craft the product’s story and communicate its value to potential customers or investors.

Public relations (PR) specialists develop communication strategies to promote awareness and create a positive public image for a brand, organization, or individual client. To accomplish this, you’ll craft public messages, organize events, manage public crises, and build relationships with media outlets.

Your responsibilities may include drafting press releases, reaching out to media contacts, and securing coverage. While PR specialists typically work in office settings, you may also travel to deliver speeches or attend industry events.

SEO specialists ensure that certain webpages rank high when people search for relevant keywords related to an organization’s website. Your role, in short, will be to boost your company’s online visibility in search engine results.

You’ll achieve this by performing keyword research, optimizing content with SEO best practices in mind, and analyzing competitor pages. Additionally, you’ll develop a link-building strategy to improve domain authority.

As a social media manager, you’ll plan digital media campaigns, identify customer behavioral trends, and analyze engagement metrics. You’ll also interact with the public on social media to grow your audience and maintain engagement.

While you can qualify for most marketing jobs with just a bachelor’s degree, positions like digital marketing director and chief marketing officer often require a master’s degree.

However, you can potentially qualify for some of these advanced roles with just a bachelor’s degree as you gain experience and establish an extensive track record.

To teach marketing in colleges and universities, however, you’ll typically need a doctoral degree.