Marketing majors learn how to identify what consumers want, how much they’re willing to pay for it, how to promote it, and where to sell it. It’s a very complex discipline with many different specialties, and for this reason, good marketers are always in high demand. Just about every business in every industry needs to hire people with the ability to effectively sell and market their products or services.

The vast majority of marketing majors go on to work in sales and marketing. In fact, more than 80% of all graduates with marketing degrees go on to work in an occupation that’s closely related to their major. Some graduates work in market research, public relations, brand management, advertising, and other closely related occupations. Since so many graduates end up working in a closely related field, it’s safe to say that marketing programs provide students with training that directly translates to the working world.

Marketing majors earn a median salary of $59,000 per year, which is about 8% higher than the median salary of all college graduates combined. New graduates can expect to earn a salary closer to $40,000, which will increase steadily as their experience allows them to become more productive and valuable to the companies they work for. By the age of 55, the median salary for those with a degree in marketing rises to over $75,000.

College graduates with marketing degrees have an unemployment rate of 5.9%, which is significantly lower than the nationwide average.

Careers for Marketing Majors

Below is a list of the careers most commonly chosen by graduates with a marketing degree. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list, but it should give you a good idea of the types of work that would be available to you with a degree in this field.