How To Become A Market Development Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a market development specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Andrew Gershoff Ph.D.

Companies employ marketing development specialists to help them grow a particular business segment. Their primary roles include advertising the company's goods and services, designing marketing activities, and working with other departments to meet marketing objectives.

A market development specialist secures grants and sponsorships for a variety of organizations. Therefore, you will support the company's programs by actively finding allies, either by assisting department leaders in designing fundraising strategies, sustaining donor partnerships, or securing new ones. To achieve revenue and premium targets, you will also run training programs and provide sales materials.

Most businesses look for an applicant with a bachelor's degree in marketing, business, communication, or a similar field when recruiting for a marketing development specialist position. Experience in marketing and knowledge of the industry are both big pluses. To convert cold leads into loyal customers, you'll need good communication skills as well as the ability to persuade and persist. The average annual salary for a business specialist is $61,370.

What general advice would you give to a Market Development Specialist?

Andrew Gershoff Ph.D.

Department Chair, The University of Texas at Austin

First, graduates may find that they need to do more leg work to find jobs in this environment. Schools with career services often have long-term relationships with the same businesses, who tend to hire multiple students in any given year. If one sector falls apart, there may be fewer jobs available at the career center. But students should take advantage of any services that help them understand the jobs in the marketplace, develop their resumes, and practice interviewing.

Second, students should try to think more broadly about following their interests and still finding employment. So taking some time to learn about career paths that they hadn't considered is worth doing. Many jobs rely on similar skills and may offer similar fulfillment and happiness.

Third, students should be ready to explore possibilities at companies they may not have heard of. Now, is an excellent time to look at companies that may only have a few jobs to offer, but may be doing some of the most exciting things a student can be part of. Finding a good fit is essential to happiness in a career, which may not be at a "name brand" firm.

Finally, students should keep in mind that their journey is their own. It is easy to discourage if you are having a difficult time, and your peers find success. But it can be freeing to focus on developing new knowledge and skills that interest you. Your success will come, and it doesn't have to be defined by someone else.

ScoreMarket Development SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $58,991

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.9

Growth Rate 19%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.13%

Asian 9.62%

Black or African American 5.20%

Hispanic or Latino 12.42%

Unknown 5.01%

White 67.62%

Gender

female 40.45%

male 59.55%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress Level

4.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.2

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.6

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a market development specialist

Explore market development specialist education requirements

Most common market development specialist degrees

Bachelor's

78.3 %

Master's

13.0 %

Associate

6.8 %

Start to develop specific market development specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Market Development	21.14%
Healthcare	15.05%
Heart Failure	7.80%
Sales Growth	6.52%
Trade Shows	6.04%

Complete relevant market development specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New market development specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a market development specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real market development specialist resumes.

Research market development specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage all negotiations of catalog advertising for reseller channel, including proofing and approving placement of ads.
Conduct keyword research and selection for pay-per-click campaigns and SEO projects.
Provide ongoing support of all SEO initiatives including reporting, analysis and optimization recommendations.
Maximize equipment productivity by ensuring proper placement and usage by developing working relationship with suppliers, distributors and their sales force.

Get market development specialist experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a market development specialist. The most common roles before becoming a market development specialist include sales representative, account executive team lead and account manager.

Apply for market development specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a market development specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average market development specialist salary

The average Market Development Specialist salary in the United States is $58,991 per year or $28 per hour. Market development specialist salaries range between $39,000 and $87,000 per year.

Average Market Development Specialist Salary

$58,991 Yearly

$28.36 hourly