Marketing is a big part of every business. After all, organizations can't exist unless they convince people they're worth investing in or buying from.
This means the rules for required education and experience for marketing roles are ambiguous at best. Some say you need years of professional experience and a degree, while others think you can start a marketing career from home in your spare time.
So what can students who are pursuing a degree in marketing do?
Top Jobs for Online Marketing Degree Graduates
Whether you intend to work from home, be part of a nonprofit, or own a business, here are the top positions for online marketing degree graduates.
1. Social Media Manager
10 years ago, businesses didn't really use social media, it was new, strange, and unprofessional. Now, social media advertisements are one of the biggest ways that companies reach consumers.
And that means marketing majors are learning more about using social media platforms to their advantage. Some even specialize in the subject and become social media managers and consultants.
Social media managers can work from home, have multiple clients, and make over $40,000 a year on average.
2. Copywriter
Copywriters write ad scripts, sales pages, and product descriptions for brands.
Marketing majors with a knack for writing would do well to apply their knowledge toward a copywriting career. Copywriters put extensive audience research and effective written communication skills to work to create interest in businesses and promote sales.
Marketing copywriters make $50,000 a year on average, but freelance copywriters can make much more by working with more than one company at a time.
3. Marketing Researcher/Analyst
Researching and analyzing marketing trends is one of the best jobs for online marketing degree graduates.
In classes, you learn all about marketing trends and how to interpret marketing data, so you can put it to good use in a job designed to help you act on niche knowledge and data. Working as a marketing researcher or analyst will let you make impactful decisions in your company.
A market research analyst position nets workers more than $60,000 a year on average.
4. Public Relations Specialist
While there are other degrees well-suited for public relations, marketing can take you a long way in the field. Marketing majors can think of public relations as trying to sell the business itself rather than its products.
Public relations specialists coordinate and attend events, provide information to customers and investors, and try to ensure that every interaction between their company and the public is positive.
Public relations specialists average just under $60,000 a year and often work in person with only one company.
5. Digital Marketing Specialist
With social media, personal websites, email, and mobile phones being a big part of people's lives, a new kind of job for online marketing degree students emerged - digital marketing specialists.
This position focuses on all things virtual, from email campaigns to mobile ad banners and pay-per-click web search results. The main goal of a digital marketing specialist is to learn consumer behavior and use customer activity to create virtual marketing strategies.
Digital marketing specialists make roughly $62,000 a year working with a single company.
6. Product and Sales Manager
Getting more hands-on as a marketer means working directly in sales and product management. It's the best way to learn about the products you're advertising intimately and work directly with customers to find advertising and purchasing trends.
Becoming a product or sales manager will let your marketing skills shine while also teaching you leadership and business ownership skills.
Sales managers in the United States make over $80,000 a year while in charge of their own team in a single company.
7. Content Strategist
Content strategists and managers work with every kind of media and advertising available to a business.
A content strategist creates ad campaigns and determines how to use them, makes promotional content for the company, and works with the company and other content producers to establish and promote the business' desired image.
Content strategists can work for a single company or as a consultant for multiple clients, often earning $60,000 to $64,000 a year.
8. Event Marketing Coordinator
Event marketing coordinators help develop and showcase a company's brand through promotional events like luncheons and launch parties. Their job is to get investors, customers, and the public at large to interact with and support the company.
People in this position are always on the move, going from department discussion to customer event to stockholder meeting to keep everyone on the same page.
Event marketing coordinators can make as much as $65,000 a year and can work virtually with their company, but often have to make public appearances at events they create.
9. Brand Manager
A brand manager is securing a company's position in the marketplace - keeping their brand a positive influence in the minds of consumers and ahead of competing businesses.
Most of a brand manager's job is to research and analyze things like customer loyalty numbers, competitor success (and failure), market trends, and the implementation and impact of campaign strategies.
On average, a brand coordinator makes over $50,000 a year, while a brand manager can make nearly $105,000 annually.
10. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Specialist
If your business has a page on Google or a website they want customers to be able to find, they'll need a Search Engine Optimization specialist.
SEO specialists use keywords to help businesses rank on Google and other online search engine results pages. The higher the business ranks, the closer to the top of the first page they get.
Specialists work with clients to form and meet marketing plans through keyword testing.
SEO specialists make about $52,000 annually and can work with multiple client companies simultaneously.
Find a Degree Program That Works for You Today
Now that you know about the 10 best jobs for online marketing degree graduates, it's time to get back to work on your own degree program. If you know what your future career will be, you can start planning for it during your higher education.
