A marketing manager is a marketing professional responsible for promoting an organization's brand and image and their products and services in order to create new sales leads or generate growth and brand recognition and interest. Their duties generally center around this and, as such, include working with designers and writers to create necessary content, keeping abreast with user response and market trends, and managing entire marketing teams. Furthermore, the manager must determine budgets and schedules and meet with directors, shareholders, and other managers to present quarterly and annual marketing and sales reports.
Summary. We reviewed real candidate profiles to learn the best path to become a marketing manager. We'll guide you through the education, experiences, and skills hiring managers look for in a marketing manager.
Most companies require a marketing manager to have a bachelor's degree degree in a related field, such as business or marketing.
It's important to have relevant work experience, with typical job requirements ranging from 4-6 years in related fields.
Common job titles before becoming a marketing manager include marketing coordinator, account executive, and marketing internship.
Hiring managers expect a marketing manager to have soft skills such as analytical skills, communication skills, and creativity.
Once you have all the required skills and experience, it takes an average of 1-3 months of job training to become a marketing manager.
Getting a certification as a Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) will help you to earn more as a marketing manager.
We found that 75.4% of marketing managers have graduated with a bachelor's degree and 12.8% of people in this position have earned their master's degrees. While most marketing managers have a college degree, you may find it's also true that generally it's possible to be successful in this career with only a high school degree. In fact, our research shows that one out of every nine marketing managers were not college graduates.
Those marketing managers who do attend college, typically earn either business degrees or marketing degrees. Less commonly earned degrees for marketing managers include communication degrees or management degrees.
If you're interested in becoming a marketing manager, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 75.4% of marketing managers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 12.8% of marketing managers have master's degrees. Even though most marketing managers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a marketing manager. When we researched the most common majors for a marketing manager, we found that they most commonly have business, marketing and communication.
| Marketing Manager Major | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Business | 25.50% |
| Marketing | 21.20% |
| Communication | 11.10% |
| Management | 5.00% |
| Other Degrees | 37.30% |
It'll be a good idea to develop marketing manager skills before applying for a job. Here are some skills commonly requested in marketing manager job descriptions:
| Skills | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Digital Marketing | 13.72% |
| Marketing Campaigns | 6.92% |
| Project Management | 4.43% |
| Integrated Marketing | 3.89% |
| Email Marketing | 3.88% |
Marketing managers spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. During this time, new marketing managers learn the skills and techniques required for their specific job and employer. The chart below shows how much time it takes to gain competency as a marketing manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real marketing manager resumes.
When you decide to become a marketing manager, It's important to know what duties and responsibilities are required for this position. Some common responsibilities are a part of most marketing manager jobs. Here is a list of the main duties that define the role:
Finally, when you already have checked the skills and responsibilities for this role, you can start creating your resume. Everything that goes into creating a perfect resume can take hours, days, or even weeks. No worries, we created a resume builder to make this process as easy as possible with tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and a summary.
Yes, you can become a marketing manager without a degree. One way to gain the necessary skills is to take a comprehensive course. Additionally, you can also gain experience by working on relevant projects or volunteering as a junior marketing manager. Networking and building relationships with other professionals in the field are also great ways to break into the industry.
Here are courses we recommend for marketing managers at the beginning of their career paths.
1. Product Management (Part Time)
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Build confidence and capability to apply modern marketing strategies on the job. Drive growth with multichannel campaigns powered by data and customer insight. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
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12. Product Management 101
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13. Facebook Ads & Facebook Marketing MASTERY 2022 Coursenvy
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Apply the most effective SEOand social media Internet marketing strategies for 2022 and finally get the growth you've been hoping for! Lost in your marketing? Did you hire freelancers with no results? Not sure what...
16. Online Marketing For Your Local Business Made Simple
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The career path for a marketing manager includes roles such as marketing coordinator, marketing manager, and chief marketing officer. Marketing managers generally complete at least a bachelor's degree in marketing or a related field before beginning work. Additional education may be required for different career paths.
To become a marketing manager, you should study marketing. While marketing is a popular choice for prospective marketing managers, there are other relevant areas of study.
It is necessary for someone interested in this field to obtain a bachelor's degree in a field relevant to marketing management. Business degrees that specialize in marketing, communication, and management are very good choices for aspiring market managers. Regardless of the degree, it is important for candidates to study coursework related to consumer behavior, product pricing, and business management.
Because a marketing manager is a management position, it is important that candidates have experience in the field. This is not always possible for college students, and it is therefore crucial that internships are a part of the degree-seeking process. Working in the field offers hands-on experience that graduates can bring with them when interviewing for entry-level positions in marketing management.
While it is not strictly necessary, some aspiring marketing managers choose to get an MBA. The degree provides a broader understanding of finance, leadership, and human resources. Specialized MBAs can focus on marketing and brand management and provide graduates with a potential advantage while interviewing for their first positions in the field.
