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Job outlook for sem specialists in the United States
Are sem specialist jobs in demand?
Sem specialist job and salary trends over time
Sem specialist jobs over time
Sem specialist job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 638 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 605 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 595 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 560 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 523 | 0.00% |
Average sem specialist salary over time
Sem specialist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $61,808 | $29.72 | +3.2% |
| 2024 | $59,911 | $28.80 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $59,282 | $28.50 | --0.2% |
| 2022 | $59,385 | $28.55 | +1.1% |
| 2021 | $58,756 | $28.25 | +0.7% |
Sem specialist jobs by state
Most common states for sem specialists
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 155 | 22% |
| 2 | Delaware | 961,939 | 131 | 14% |
| 3 | Vermont | 623,657 | 74 | 12% |
| 4 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 786 | 11% |
| 5 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 115 | 11% |
| 6 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 99 | 11% |
| 7 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 499 | 9% |
| 8 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 286 | 9% |
| 9 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 173 | 9% |
| 10 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 92 | 9% |
| 11 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 66 | 9% |
| 12 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 326 | 8% |
| 13 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 256 | 8% |
| 14 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 224 | 8% |
| 15 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 113 | 8% |
| 16 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 48 | 8% |
| 17 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 849 | 7% |
| 18 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 633 | 7% |
| 19 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 594 | 7% |
| 20 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 492 | 7% |
Most common cities for sem specialists
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clara | 1 | 1% | $72,996 |
| 2 | Boston | 1 | 0% | $64,583 |
| 3 | Sacramento | 1 | 0% | $72,931 |
| 4 | San Francisco | 1 | 0% | $73,304 |
SEM Specialist job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of sem specialist experts
University of Louisiana at Monroe
San Jose State University
Webster University
Murray State University
University of San Francisco
University of Akron
Eastern University
Indiana University Bloomington
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Endicott College
Western Connecticut State University
The University of Tampa
University of Houston - Downtown
Southeast Missouri State University
Southern Connecticut State University
What will help SEM Specialists increase their earning potential?
Zachary Moore Ph.D., M.B.A.: Over the next few years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will continue to evolve and become more important in marketing practice. Learning to work with AI will be a very important skill for marketers. AI skills are broad and encompass many different uses of the technology. While there are some skills that are specific to certain facets of the marketing industry, all aspiring marketers should be familiar with AI tools for content creation (written, graphic, and audio/video), data visualization, text scraping, and marketing research. While AI will certainly shape the marketing field in the coming years, marketers must still be excellent storytellers and communicators. Marketers who can tell compelling stories to various stakeholder groups using traditional tools with the assistance of artificial intelligence will have a potent skill set that will allow them to succeed in their endeavors.
What will help SEM Specialists increase their earning potential?
Dr. Mithila Guha: In the next 3-5 years, marketing will undergo significant changes because of AI and large scale data. As the volume of data available to marketers continues to grow, the ability to extract actionable insights from this data will be invaluable. Proficiency in data analysis, marketing automation tools and AI technologies will also be highly sought after, as businesses seek to streamline processes and personalize customer experiences. Moreover, people growing up with AI tech (Gen AI) need different marketing. So, marketers must learn to understand all this data and use it smartly. But, as always, storytelling will still be the key for marketing. This means, skills related to content creation and storytelling will continue to remain crucial for brands to engage with audiences in authentic and meaningful ways across various platforms.
What general advice would you give to a SEM Specialist?
Dr. Mischia Taylor: Typically, with any student, my first piece of advice is to be themselves. Make sure the opportunity is a good fit for both you and the organization. There are so many organizations and opportunities for students now. They can work from home, work for a small company or a large one. The first opportunity may not always be the best one.
Julia Griffey
Associate Professor of Interactive Digital Media and Media ProductionWebster University
Radio, Television, And Digital Communication
What SEM Specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Julia Griffey: Right now it seems like a lot companies are struggling with social media strategy and SEO. It's tricky because new platforms are emerging and algorithms are changing. Someone who can not rush into the next big thing, but instead, systematically formulates a plan, executes it and then measures results is very valuable. Effective marketing is about experimenting and seeing what works and doing more of what does and less of what doesn't.
What SEM Specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Elizabeth Thomas: Digital media is still very fresh territory. It is ever-evolving. Companies, brands, and agencies are looking to hire talented professionals with any training or experience with these relatively new sets of tasks. The most experienced people working in the communications field did not learn how to work with newer digital media when they were being trained because these literally didn't exist when most started their careers. This is why there are currently more jobs available than there are qualified applicants to fill them. As a college professor teaching public relations and digital technologies, I encourage soon-to-be graduates to hone their skills in this area because the jobs are plentiful and their expertise is not only needed but will be rewarded.
Esmat Sangari
University of San Francisco
Business Administration, Management And Operations
What general advice would you give to a SEM Specialist?
Esmat Sangari: I would advise graduates beginning their career in the field to focus on continuous learning, networking, and developing a strong work ethic. It's essential to stay up-to-date with industry trends and technologies to remain competitive.
What general advice would you give to a SEM Specialist?
Dr. Stefanie Boyer: In the next 3-5 years, job skills will require more technical knowledge, as well as the ability to think critically about the appropriate use of AI, such as prompts, strategy, effectiveness, efficiency, ethics, and safety. Because of the AI tools we have available, you will be expected to do more in less time, and your job role will expand. Your ability to connect with others, communicate, and converse effectively will be extremely valuable because these are skills that AI can't replace.
What will help SEM Specialists increase their earning potential?
Sydney Chinchanachokchai: Unlike the old days, marketing has now become a field that heavily relies on data and analytics. So, the ability to understand metrics and analytics tools, as well as the ability to interpret data to improve the campaign performance and strategies are important. In the next 3-5 years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be more common in the field so graduates should know AI tools and their usage in marketing. More importantly, they should also know the limitations and ethical issues in AI.
What SEM Specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jeff James: Businesses will always need customers! A good Marketing Specialist, regardless of which marketing discipline they focus on, is always an advocate for the customer. The global marketplace is getting more competitive, not less, so there will always be a need for Marketing Specialists who continually embrace the latest tools to help the organization build and maintain profitable relationships. Today, the key skills to add to any marketing discipline are data analytics and AI. I always advise future marketers to focus on their passion, whether that is creative design, content development, customer experiences, or advertising, and then add data analytics and AI skills to their skill set. Companies are desperate for data and AI-savvy marketers to optimize their marketing investments.
What will help SEM Specialists increase their earning potential?
Mario Schulzke: It depends on the industry, but a marketing specialist would likely do much support work at this entry-level job, such as research, presentation prep, first drafts, and grunt tasks. You won't be leading any strategy as a marketing specialist.
Catherine Cuckovich
Assistant Professor of TeachingWhat will help SEM Specialists increase their earning potential?
Catherine Cuckovich: As a Marketing professional, you are the expert on all things customers. People within the organization but outside of Marketing rely on you to look at and solve problems using customer insight. Societal changes and technological advances have revolutionized marketing in recent years creating more career paths for Marketers. The creation of two-way communication between consumers and companies through social media has made it more important than ever to understand customers. This has raised the profile of marketing within organizations.
Professor Steve Vinson
Director of Undergraduate StudiesIndiana University Bloomington
Middle/Near Eastern And Semitic Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
What general advice would you give to a SEM Specialist?
Professor Steve Vinson: Be flexible. Don't limit yourself to one geographic area in your job search. And don't decline what appears to be a "bad" job, if that's your one opportunity. It's important to get your foot in the door somewhere, and do a good job, and then you can move up from there. This is especially important if you're on the academic job market, but it's probably also true for non-academic jobs.
What will help SEM Specialists increase their earning potential?
Professor Steve Vinson: By being flexible, and by standing out. Cultivate multiple skills that complement your area studies/language skills, especially digital skills.
Dr. Robin Murphy
Professor of Rhetoric and WritingWhat will help SEM Specialists increase their earning potential?
Dr. Robin Murphy: Critical thinking and communication skills, both verbal and written, will always set you apart from others in any field. Making sure you can incorporate your skillset into social media trends and AI will be critical in the next 3 years.
Purvi Shah
Associate Professor of Marketing, The Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Marketing
What general advice would you give to a SEM Specialist?
Purvi Shah: With technology advancements and the fast growth of AI applications in marketing, content
strategy, marketing and data analytics, metaverse community management, storytelling,
customer relationship management, influencer marketing, performance marketing, growth
marketing, and continuous learning are going to be sought after skills for different marketing
roles in the future.
Having said that, a marketer's core competencies are here to stay even in the future. These
include knowledge of marketing concepts/frameworks, market research, communication skills,
presentation skills, creativity, and strategic, lateral and analytical thinking.
Then, there are a set of skills specific to the marketing role an individual chooses as a career
option. These will also be in-demand specific to the role. For e.g., Digital and social media
marketers must be proficient in at least one or few of the following skills: content marketing,
email marketing, search engine optimization and management, video marketing, data-driven
decision making, social media marketing, storytelling, influencer marketing, ability to self-learn
and adapt, web designing, user experience, branding, and ethics. They should also be tech
savvy and persuasive.
Career Committee
Endicott College
Radio, Television, And Digital Communication
What SEM Specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Career Committee: Solid work can be made with small or large crews, and small or big budgets. Be flexible. Develop several essential skills, not just one. If you can write and edit, operate a camera and direct, or toggle between full-time and contract work, then you stand a better chance of adapting to change.
JC Barone Ph.D.
ProfessorWestern Connecticut State University
Communication And Media Studies
What general advice would you give to a SEM Specialist?
JC Barone Ph.D.: Research areas that match your skills and are realistic. Pursue additional training in person and online. Follow and seek advice from pros and continue to network. When meeting new people, have 1-2 sentences summarizing who you are and what interests you. Before contacting professional organizations, learn all you can about them, their mission, goals, reputation, personnel, and products or services. Show prospective employers your potential and value. Embrace feedback and grow from it. Don't be afraid to be proactive. Remember to balance work, life, and play.
Jennifer Burton Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Marketing, Vice President of the Faculty SenateThe University of Tampa
Marketing Department
What skills will help SEM Specialists earn the most?
Jennifer Burton Ph.D.: Being able to bring quantitative marketing skills to the table along with the traditional set of marketing skills is an advantage that will help you command a higher salary in the field. This includes a more advanced understanding of things like marketing research and marketing analytics. Along with this, a strong understanding of financial management will help you communicate better with your finance department and hopefully garner you a bigger marketing budget with which to achieve better marketing outcomes!
Dr. Richard Conde Ph.D.
Assistant ProfessorUniversity of Houston - Downtown
Marilyn Davies College of Business
What general advice would you give to a SEM Specialist?
Dr. Richard Conde Ph.D.: For a graduate just beginning their journey in the marketing field, my main advice would be to remain endlessly curious and always keep learning. The marketing landscape is evolving rapidly, constantly emerging new technologies, platforms, and consumer behaviors. Embrace change with an open mindset and be a perpetual student. At the same time, develop a specialty area that becomes your value proposition - a specific industry vertical, channel expertise like social media or email marketing, or proficiency with analytics, artificial intelligence, and insights mining. Plus, there is a focus on hyper-personalization, which both data and artificial intelligence will perpetuate. That focus will make you more hireable.
Scott Thorne Ph.D.
InstructorSoutheast Missouri State University
Department of Marketing
What skills will help SEM Specialists earn the most?
Scott Thorne Ph.D.: In today's market, a strong grounding in social media as well as the soft skills of leadership, teamwork, and taking the initiative. Also, I always point out to students that, in marketing, there are more millionaires in the field of selling than any other, so skill in both B2B and B2C sales is vital.
Charles Gamble
Adjunct ProfessorSouthern Connecticut State University
Marketing Department
What hard/technical skills are most important for SEM Specialists?
Charles Gamble: -Data Analysis
-Google Adwords
-SalesForce.com
-Photoshop
-HTML
-Hubspot, Pardot, Eloqua (or similar MAP)
-WordPress (or similar web platform)
What skills will help SEM Specialists earn the most?
Charles Gamble: -Lead Generation - Customers are the lifeblood of the business. Having the ability to generate leads will make you a valuable team member.
-Writing - Positioning, value proposition, messaging, and effective written communication are foundational to promoting or selling a product or service
-Data Analysis - Almost everything in marketing can be measured now. Data analytics can help to measure, improve and report on the performance of all marketing activities.
-Scalability - Always look to make a greater impact and operate on a larger scale.
-Leadership - As a marketer, you have the opportunity to work with almost every department in the business. Look how you can empower your team, as well as other departments, to be successful.