By adecker@hubspot.com (Allie Decker)

Marketing seems simple, but it gets more complex as you break it down. If you don’t already know about marketing careers, scanning jobs online could convince you that this isn’t your dream job.

But marketing is fun. Marketing a company is essentially grabbing a bullhorn and saying, “Hey! We love this company, and here’s why you should, too.”

Marketing is also incredibly dynamic and diverse. It offers positions for people of all strengths. Whether you’re equipped with creative ability or analytical prowess, marketing’s got a spot for you.

In this article, we’ll break down what marketers do. We’ll show you how you can get into marketing and the different marketing jobs that are out there. We’ll give you what you need to map out your marketing career and pinpoint your goals. Let’s get started.

According to Merriam-Webster, marketing is “the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service.” But the job involves much, much more than that.

The day-to-day activities of a marketer depend on what they’re marketing, whom they’re targeting, and what platforms they use to promote products or services. There are too many marketing roles and functions to provide a single definition applicable to everyone in this field.

Before we dive into the various positions you can find within a marketing department, let’s discuss tools and education necessary to become a marketer.

What You Need to Be a Marketer

There’s not a single, definitive path to any job field. Marketing comes from people with all kinds of backgrounds — journalism, psychology, and more. I’ve mapped out a career path as it’s the most straightforward way to jump into a marketing job. Later in this article, I’ll dive into how to get a marketing job.

Education

If you’re serious about a long-term marketing career primed for growth and variety, a bachelor’s degree is the way to go. Four-year programs teach you the skills and competencies needed to join and excel in the competitive, fast-paced landscape that is the marketing world. They can help with public speaking, creative problem-solving, logistics, sales, and analytics.

The following degree programs can lead to a career in marketing:

• Marketing
• Management
• Business
• Economics
• Psychology
• Communications
• Public Relations
• Journalism

Nowadays, it doesn’t matter as much what you major in as it does where you go to school or what you get involved in. Organizations like the American Marketing Association, National Association of Sales Professionals, or Pi Sigma Epsilon (a co-ed marketing fraternity) can help you get connected outside the classroom and off-campus.

Some marketers choose to extend (or return to) their schooling by pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or graduate degree in marketing. Both programs offer in-depth studies of marketing, but they differ in education specifics and structure.

MBA programs focus on the humanity of business, such as people management, organizational behavior, and leadership. Graduate marketing …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron