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Online Degrees

Part of Western Governors University

Career Guide | Marketing B.S.

A bachelor's degree in marketing is a crucial first step to an exciting career.

Marketing is a fast-paced, dynamic career focused on crafting the right message to the right audience at the right time. A bachelor's degree in marketing is key to helping you understand customer messaging, consumer behaviors, technologies, and the other skills you'll need to be successful. If you're looking for a lucrative and exciting career, marketing could be the perfect fit. A bachelor's degree in marketing from WGU can set you up to be a leader in the field, giving you critical skills that will help you to thrive.

Marketing manager at whiteboard

Marketing Specialist

Average Salary—$56,000 per year | Job Outlook—20% growth by 2028

A job as a marketing specialist is an entry-level opportunity in the field. Marketing specialists are in charge of helping the marketing team meet their goals. They may manage websites or social media, write web copy or ad copy, develop campaigns, analyze competitors, work on TV or radio advertisements, and more. Marketing specialists may have different responsibilities based on their roles on the marketing team and what their company sells. Larger organizations may have marketing specialists for a variety of marketing tasks, such as an email specialist or social media specialist. Smaller organizations may have marketing specialists that perform many tasks. Overall, marketing specialists work on the team to find the most effective ways to reach customers and promote their products or services.

Marketing specialists earn an average annual salary of $56,000 per year. The bottom 10% of marketing specialists earn around $37,000 per year, while the top 10% earn more than $71,000 per year. Marketing specialists are in an entry-level position, so professionals can expect to work their way up to higher positions and higher salary levels over time.

Marketing specialist positions are expected to grow 20% by 2028. Every organization needs marketing teams and professionals to help them get their products or services out to their audience. Marketing is a fast-paced and always-growing field, which is why the role of marketing specialist is expected to continue to grow so much.

A bachelor's degree in marketing is the perfect way to start a career in marketing. A marketing bachelor's degree will give you an important credential to boost your résumé as well as help you acquire skills in digital marketing, consumer behavior, sales marketing, communication, and more. 

Group gathered around table doing marketing

Marketing Manager

Average Salary—$65,000 per year | Job Outlook—8% growth by 2028

Marketing managers are in charge of helping direct all the marketing efforts in an organization. In a larger organization, the marketing manager may have a specialization they are in charge of, such as SEO or email. In smaller organizations, a marketing manager may help direct all the marketing efforts. Marketing managers may do many things, including SEO optimization, paid media strategies, traditional marketing like billboards and radio ads, email marketing, website strategy, brand specialization, and more.

Marketing managers earn an average annual salary of around $65,000 per year. The bottom 10% earn about $43,000 per year while the top 10% can earn more than $100,000 per year. The specific role in marketing that you take, the years of experience you have, and the size of the company you work for will all impact how much you can earn.

Marketing manager positions are expected to grow 8% by 2028. Every company needs a great marketing team to help them promote their products or services to consumers. And many organizations are expanding the number of marketing managers they have, hiring specific social media managers or email marketing managers to help run their efforts. 

A bachelor's degree in marketing is a crucial step to becoming a marketing manager. Many organizations will require this credential in order to be considered for a position, as a bachelor's degree will help you gain important skills and knowledge about marketing techniques and strategies. 

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Advertising Manager

Average Salary—$72,000 per year | Job Outlook—8% growth by 2028

Advertising managers play a vital role in an organization, helping with every advertisement a company needs. While marketing goes beyond advertisements, advertising managers focus on those specific ads that appeal to consumers. Advertising managers are in charge of larger campaigns that an organization may run, coordinating efforts between the web ads, radio ads, TV ads, social media ads, and more. These managers help create the advertisements and overall messaging of advertisements for an organization. 

Advertising managers earn an average annual salary of $72,000 per year. The bottom 10% earn around $44,000 per year, while the top 10% earn more than $104,000 per year. The amount of experience you have and your education level play a large part in determining your salary as an advertising manager. 

Employment of advertising managers is expected to grow 8% by 2028. Internet technology has changed how advertising works and has opened new avenues, requiring more advertising managers to help run all of these new ad opportunities.

A bachelor's degree in marketing can be a great place to start a career in advertising. A degree will help you learn about digital marketing, sales, consumer spending, and other important elements of advertising. It will also help you learn about good design, messaging, and communication to customers. This will be key in helping you develop smart advertising strategies for your organization.

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Public Relations Manager

Average Salary—$72,000 per year | Job Outlook—8% growth by 2028

Public relations and marketing are similar but have different goals. A public relations manager has the responsibility of working closely with the media and using interviews to promote a business. Instead of focusing on directly selling a product to consumers, they work to enhance the brand by using media avenues, campaigns, and incentives to increase brand awareness and positive interactions with the organization. PR managers write press releases, create positive messaging media, create opportunities for the organization to be involved in the community, and more.

Public relations managers earn an average annual salary of $72,000 per year. The bottom 10% earn about $44,000 per year, while the top 10% earn around $98,000 per year. The amount of money you can earn as a public relations manager will vary based on the size of your organization, your experience level, and your education. 

Public relations management positions are expected to grow 8% by 2028. Public relations is an important element of an organization, helping to ensure there is good community involvement and positive interactions with the organization. Public relations is becoming more important as social media and technology are growing in popularity.

A bachelor's degree in marketing can be a great way to begin a career in public relations. This degree program will help you learn about communication, writing styles, media connections, and brand management. These skills are all crucial in developing positive brand awareness of your organization.