Most common destination first. Every card carries the national median annual wage, projected employment change and openings over 2024–2034, and the typical education people already in the job hold.
What Can You Do With a Marketing Degree?
Below are 15 occupations that marketing graduates commonly move into, most common first. Market Research Analyst and Marketing Specialist leads at $78,760 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025); across the whole list the middle occupation pays $78,760 and 0 of 15 typically need a graduate degree. A major is a body of study, not a job assignment, so treat every entry as a common destination rather than a promise.
What the degree actually involves: Consumer behaviour, research methods, branding, analytics, and live campaign projects.
Marketing graduates end up either on the analytical side, where the work is research, measurement and search, or on the communications side, where it is campaigns, brand and press. The modern version of the field leans much harder on the analytical half than its reputation suggests.
- Common destinations
- 15
- Median pay range
- $61,160–$166,790
- Projected to grow
- 13 of 15
- Need a graduate degree
- 0 of 15
9 with a full profile page
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP typical entry, 2024–2034
How this list was built
- The destinations are the occupations marketing graduates commonly move into. They are ordered by how common the destination is, not by what it pays, so the ordinary outcomes sit at the top where they belong rather than being buried under the flattering ones.
- Every destination is matched to a real occupation in the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. A destination that does not resolve to a bank occupation is dropped rather than shown without data.
- All pay, growth, openings and education figures come from that bank: BLS OEWS May 2025 for wages, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 for projected change, annual openings and the typical education needed for entry, and O*NET 30.3 Database for what the work involves. Nothing is estimated and no figure here is generated by an AI model.
- Destinations whose BLS typical entry education is a master’s or a doctoral or professional degree are marked Graduate study on the list. That flag is read from the federal data, not asserted by us.
- What this list is not: a ranking of which destination you should pick, a statement of how many graduates reach each one, or a promise that the degree entitles you to any of them. Read the full methodology.
15 careers a marketing degree commonly leads to
1. Market Research Analyst and Marketing Specialist
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $78,760
- Growth
- +6.7%
- Openings/yr
- 87,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Research conditions in local, regional, national, or online markets.
Market Research Analyst and Marketing Specialist salary & outlook →2. Public Relations Specialist
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
- Median pay
- $74,750
- Growth
- +4.8%
- Openings/yr
- 27,600
- Education
- Bachelor's
Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations.
Public Relations Specialist salary & outlook →3. Search Marketing Strategist
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $78,760
- Growth
- +6.7%
- Openings/yr
- 87,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Employ search marketing tactics to increase visibility and engagement with content, products, or services in Internet-enabled devices or interfaces.
Search Marketing Strategist salary & outlook →4. Advertising Sales Agent
Sales and Related
- Median pay
- $64,820
- Growth
- -6.4%
- Openings/yr
- 9,300
- Education
- High school
Sell or solicit advertising space, time, or media in publications, signage, TV, radio, or Internet establishments or public spaces.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
- Median pay
- $72,080
- Growth
- +0.3%
- Openings/yr
- 114,800
- Education
- High school
Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals.
Sales Representative, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products salary & outlook →6. Marketing Manager
Management
- Median pay
- $166,790
- Growth
- +6.6%
- Openings/yr
- 34,300
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate marketing policies and programs, such as determining the demand for products and services offered by a firm and its competitors, and identify potential customers.
Marketing Manager salary & outlook →7. Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $61,160
- Growth
- +4.8%
- Openings/yr
- 15,500
- Education
- Bachelor's
Coordinate activities of staff, convention personnel, or clients to make arrangements for group meetings, events, or conventions.
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner salary & outlook →8. Business Intelligence Analyst
Computer and Mathematical
- Median pay
- $120,230
- Growth
- +33.5%
- Openings/yr
- 23,400
- Education
- Bachelor's
Produce financial and market intelligence by querying data repositories and generating periodic reports.
Business Intelligence Analyst salary & outlook →9. Web Designer
Computer and Mathematical
- Median pay
- $104,000
- Growth
- +7.0%
- Openings/yr
- 9,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
Design digital user interfaces or websites.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
10. Wholesale and Retail Buyer, Except Farm Products
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $77,710
- Growth
- +5.8%
- Openings/yr
- 52,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Buy merchandise or commodities, other than farm products, for resale to consumers at the wholesale or retail level, including both durable and nondurable goods.
Wholesale and Retail Buyer, Except Farm Products salary & outlook →11. Fundraiser
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $72,550
- Growth
- +4.3%
- Openings/yr
- 10,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Organize activities to raise funds or otherwise solicit and gather monetary donations or other gifts for an organization.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
12. Advertising and Promotions Manager
Management
- Median pay
- $133,660
- Growth
- -2.2%
- Openings/yr
- 2,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate advertising policies and programs or produce collateral materials, such as posters, contests, coupons, or giveaways, to create extra interest in the purchase of a product or service for a d…
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
13. Public Relations Manager
Management
- Median pay
- $146,910
- Growth
- +5.0%
- Openings/yr
- 6,600
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities designed to create or maintain a favorable public image or raise issue awareness for their organization or client.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
14. Art Director
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
- Median pay
- $114,850
- Growth
- +4.2%
- Openings/yr
- 12,300
- Education
- Bachelor's
Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media, such as print, broadcasting, video, and film.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
15. Sales Manager
Management
- Median pay
- $148,270
- Growth
- +4.7%
- Openings/yr
- 49,000
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer.
Sales Manager salary & outlook →
Does a marketing degree decide your career?
For most people, no. Federal survey data has consistently found that only a minority of US graduates work in a job closely related to their degree field, and that share falls further with each year after graduation. The exceptions are the fields where a licence sits at the end of the degree, and they are exceptions precisely because the route is fixed.
The practical reading of the list above is this: every destination on it lists a bachelor's degree or less as the typical entry requirement (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034), so the decisions that matter after the degree are about experience rather than more study.
Not sure this is the right major in the first place? Take the free college major quiz — fifteen questions that score what you like doing against what each major actually asks of you, and show the same real occupations underneath every match.
Marketing degrees: FAQ
Do you need a master's degree after a marketing degree?
Not for the destinations on this page. BLS Employment Projections (2024–2034) list a bachelor's degree or less as the typical entry requirement for all 15 of them. Individual employers can still ask for more.
What is the highest-paying career a marketing degree leads to?
Of the 15 destinations on this page, Marketing Manager has the highest national median wage at $166,790 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), against $50,980 for all US occupations. Typical entry education for it is bachelor's. A median is the midpoint of everyone in the job today, so a first salary normally sits well below it.
Which of these careers hires the most people each year?
Sales Representative, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products, with about 114,800 projected openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). Across all 15 destinations on this page the combined figure is roughly 540,800 openings a year. Openings include replacing people who leave, not just new jobs, which is why a slow-growing occupation can still hire heavily.
Is a marketing degree worth it?
That depends on the price you pay for it, which this page cannot know. What it can tell you is where the destinations sit: the middle occupation on this list pays $78,760 a year against $50,980 for all US occupations, the range runs $61,160–$166,790, and 13 of the 15 are projected to grow over 2024–2034 (BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034).
How was this list of careers put together?
The destinations were curated as the occupations marketing graduates commonly move into, ordered by how common rather than by pay, then matched against the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. Every figure shown comes from that bank: wages from BLS OEWS May 2025, projected change and annual openings and typical entry education from BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, and occupation descriptions from O*NET 30.3 Database. Nothing is estimated, and no figure on this page is generated by an AI model.
What can you do with other degrees?
- Computer Science
- Nursing
- Mechanical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Business Administration
- Finance and Accounting
- Psychology
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Education
- Communications and Journalism
- Graphic Design
- Political Science and Pre-Law
- Environmental Science
- Kinesiology and Exercise Science
- Social Work
- Mathematics and Statistics
- Hospitality and Event Management
- Criminal Justice
- Sociology
- Public Health
- Philosophy
- Health Science
- History
- Anthropology
- English
- Nutrition and Dietetics
- Art History
- Information Technology
- Human Resources
- Economics