Home • Education Center • Business • Marketing

Marketing professionals combine creativity and logistical know-how to achieve a company or organization's marketing goals. Some of the primary responsibilities of a marketer may include:

• Promoting products or services
• Judging the level of public interest in a product or service through various testing methods
• Developing new products
• Identifying new audiences for existing products
• Implementing various marketing strategies and research methods
• Help ensure company profits and customer satisfaction

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary for a marketing manager was $118,160 in 2008.

What to Know About Pursuing a Marketing Career

To succeed in marketing, you should have strong creative and communication skills, and also possess core knowledge of statistics and finance. Marketing is a broad field, and the skills and strategies of marketing are often applied to careers in advertising and public relations. Marketing courses or a marketing-related degree can give you a well-rounded foundation. Entry-level positions often require a bachelor's degree; for some advanced positions a master's degree or higher is preferable. Marketers work in all kinds of specialty areas, from business marketing to television and online advertising. There is a field for every passion, be it sports marketing or product advertising. Some typical marketing job titles include:

• Marketing Manager
• Market and Survey Researcher
• Product Development Manager
• Market Research Manager

Some marketing positions like market and survey researcher are expected to see much faster than average job growth throughout the decade ending in 2018, while others, like marketing managers, will see more average growth. Managerial positions in general tend to be competitive, so having the right education could be a significant boost to your career credentials.