Is Marketing Communications A Good Major Pros And Cons From An HR Expert - Algrim.co

Is Marketing Communications A Good Major Pro’s And Con’s From An HR Expert - Algrim.co Marketing and Communications has always been a major that students go into when they don’t have a clear path for their careers after graduation. This is what guidance counselors often suggest because “Communications” can encompass a lot of potential job functions and opportunities. So is “Marketing and Communications” still a good major? The short answer is that it absolutely is. But you need to understand what you’re getting into before you decide to major in this. Let’s take a look at the job outlook for marketing professionals, first. Marketing & Communications Job Outlook In general, based on a cumulative total of averages from the US Department of Labor, we are seeing marketing positions have an average of a 2% increase per year into 2020. This means that there is a growing number of jobs projected to be available. While this might not mean that it is easy to get a job because it doesn’t indicate how many recent graduates are going into the job market with a Marketing background, it does help to know that there are companies looking to employ professionals in this sector. What Types Of Jobs Are Hiring In The Marketing & Communications Profession (Recent Graduates) It’s vital to know what types of jobs are hiring in the marketing department. Primarily, marketing has moved to digital marketing. This means running PPC ads, running SEO campaigns, running display advertising campaigns and knowing how to integrate those into a unified strategy that impacts business objectives. Here are a few jobs that are in high-demand as it pertains to 2019 numbers and statistics: Product Marketing Specialists Product Marketing Managers Marketing Analyst General Marketing Specialist Marketing Director Marketing Assistant Direct of Digital Marketing Chief Marketing Officer These jobs are most commonly seen posted on job boards. Most notably a new type of position, the product marketing specialist. This is someone who has a keen understanding of knowing how to market digital products (software, SaaS products, digital forms of business). What Do These Jobs Pay On Average (Salary Ranges) It’s helpful to know the median average pay for these positions, so you can better judge how you might want to spend your college tuition as well as what to expect when you depart from your graduation. Here are the US median averages for the positions we spoke about: Product Marketing Specialists: $125,290 Product Marketing Managers: $91,300 Marketing Analyst: $63,000 General Marketing Specialist: $48,800 Marketing Director: $109,000 Marketing Assistant: $15 per hour Direct of Digital Marketing: $176,000 Chief Marketing Officer $175,900 While some of these numbers can be helpful for you to understand what compensation you might receive, it’s insightful to know that there is upside opportunities in your job search, as well. This includes the opportunity to advance yourself and become a director-level professional. Pro: Where You Might Work Is A Creative Environment When it comes to your work environment, one great pro to getting a degree in Marketing & Communications is that you’ll be able to work in creative environments. A majority of the environments that are hiring marketing professionals are either digital agencies or software organizations. These companies usually pride themselves on creating a collaborative and educational environment. These environments are conducive to those who want to accelerate their careers, learn quickly, and advance themselves. This is absolutely one of the major benefits of getting into this sector. Con: Higher Degrees Of Competition In This Sector A major con for this sector is that the competition is increasing. More specialists or young professionals who decided to hone in on their talents outside of the workplace are becoming common. And those individuals possess skills that you might not if you depend on your college education to teach you everything. You’ll need to find what makes you a unique candidate and how you might be able to position yourself in your future interviews as a unique talent, in order to land a job. The higher degrees of competition for this job function could also mean a more stagnated salary range for the foreseeable future. Meaning, more professionals who are willing to work at lower compensation rates, simply because there is a glut of professionals available in the market. What Schools Should You Attend For Marketing If you’re trying to figure out what school you should attend for marketing, it’s going to be a challenge because most schools offer it. The best advice I can provide is to think through what outcome you want for your career. What position do you think you want to start applying for? And what position is best for you? Once you have those answers, look up their average salaries. Use tools like Salary.com to help you with this research. Once you’ve done that, you might choose to go to a less expensive school so that you can save yourself from high student loans. U.S. News has put together a really helpful guide which outlines the best universities and private schools where you can attend for Business Programs such as Marketing & Communications. Other Perks Of Having A Job In Marketing Here are some perks that you wouldn’t know unless you’ve had years of experience working in a professional environment already. Perk #1: Marketing departments often have the largest budgets as it pertains to the business. This is helpful because, during times of stress on the business, marketing departments are often the ones who are the safest. Meaning, you have increased levels of job security. Perk #2: Marketing professionals are often highly respected in the work environment. Marketing is seen as a critical function of the business. This means that your executive leadership team will spend more time with you. That’s a benefit because it gives you more opportunities to learn. And more opportunity to advance yourself and your career. Perk #3: You’ll be exposed to all of the other departments. Marketing is absolutely a cross-functional position. That means you’ll have to interact with Product teams, legal teams, and all other teams in order to do your job effectively. This exposes you to a lot of portions of the business which can be a wonderful value for your career. Those are three of the top perks I would advise anyone to consider before they decide to get a major in Marketing & Communications. Is It Worth It? Should I Get My Major In Marketing? The answer is yes. Getting a major in marketing will help you no matter what. Even if you decide you’d like to go into engineering or some other form of job function, having a marketing background will be beneficial. And for the time being, at least into 2020, the Marketing & Communications major is still very transitional. This means that it can be a valid form of requirement for many types of job functions, even those that aren’t necessarily in the Marketing Department. Good luck with your career!