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Senior marketing communications specialist job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected senior marketing communications specialist job growth rate is 19% from 2018-2028.
About 150,300 new jobs for senior marketing communications specialists are projected over the next decade.
Senior marketing communications specialist salaries have increased 5% for senior marketing communications specialists in the last 5 years.
There are over 38,527 senior marketing communications specialists currently employed in the United States.
There are 92,385 active senior marketing communications specialist job openings in the US.
The average senior marketing communications specialist salary is $67,524.
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 38,527 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 36,613 | 0.01% |
| 2019 | 35,972 | 0.01% |
| 2018 | 33,751 | 0.01% |
| 2017 | 31,480 | 0.01% |
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $67,524 | $32.46 | +3.2% |
| 2024 | $65,451 | $31.47 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $64,764 | $31.14 | --0.2% |
| 2022 | $64,877 | $31.19 | +1.1% |
| 2021 | $64,189 | $30.86 | +0.7% |
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 409 | 59% |
| 2 | Delaware | 961,939 | 284 | 30% |
| 3 | Vermont | 623,657 | 190 | 30% |
| 4 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 143 | 25% |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 327 | 24% |
| 6 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 210 | 24% |
| 7 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 240 | 23% |
| 8 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 174 | 23% |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,485 | 22% |
| 10 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,109 | 20% |
| 11 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 261 | 20% |
| 12 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,640 | 19% |
| 13 | Alaska | 739,795 | 141 | 19% |
| 14 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 551 | 18% |
| 15 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 355 | 18% |
| 16 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 187 | 18% |
| 17 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,054 | 17% |
| 18 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 949 | 17% |
| 19 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 605 | 17% |
| 20 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 270 | 16% |
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hoffman Estates | 1 | 2% | $67,651 |
| 2 | Lake Forest | 1 | 1% | $86,442 |
| 3 | Silver Spring | 1 | 1% | $74,565 |
| 4 | Weston | 1 | 1% | $53,701 |
| 5 | Atlanta | 1 | 0% | $66,588 |
| 6 | Washington | 1 | 0% | $68,539 |
University of Louisiana at Monroe
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Coastal Carolina University
Grand Valley State University
Saint Mary's College
University of Kentucky
University of San Francisco
University of Connecticut
Winthrop University
Denison University
Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi
Matthew Turner Ph.D., M.B.A.: Communication is central to pretty much every business and organization so someone with good communication skills will always be employable. The skills acquired in getting a degree in communication are transferable to many different career paths.
Erica Haugtvedt Ph.D.: The skills I think that will become more prevalent and important in the next 3-5 years are critical thinking skills. By critical thinking, I mean looking at the big picture and thinking about values, ethics, and thinking ahead to implications and consequences. AI will be able to produce a lot of words, but whether those words are appropriate to the situation, purpose, and context--whether those words are the words that we need--that will be something that only a conscientious and intelligent person can bring to the situation. People who are able to do that should be leaders in any field.
Erica Haugtvedt Ph.D.: You can maximize your salary potential by presenting your previous experience in the best light and keying it to what the jobs you’re applying for want and need, even if you don’t have experience in that exact job before. If you’re able to write a compelling resume, you could land in a better starting position with a higher salary. The other advice I would give is to always negotiate. Even if you only get a little bit more money in salary for asking, all of that adds up over the years!
Dr. Holly Sullenger PhD: Find a mentor and ask a lot of questions! A mentor can guide you as you are learning the ropes, give you advice, clear pathways, hold you accountable to your goals, and more.
Dr. Holly Sullenger PhD: Soft skills such as communication, active listening, giving and receiving feedback, writing, and presenting well are crucial and will become more important.
Dr. Holly Sullenger PhD: Don't bring up salary in the first interview, look for published salary ranges, connect with current employees on LinkedIn, ask about workplace, teams, leadership, and address salary expectations at the end of the second interview or in response to the job offer.
Mr. Daniel Routh: More and more companies want to expand their presence on social media, and someone with good video, photography, writing, and spoken communication skills is in demand. Someone who communicates well also has potential for leadership and promotion, especially in HR and PR fields.
Mr. Daniel Routh: Most communication specialists enjoy new challenges and projects that require some creativity, interacting with people, and getting a message out. Some communication specialist work is more project based, which can mean late nights before an event or video project deadline.
Mr. Daniel Routh: On a day-to-day basis, a communication specialist is likely to be interviewing or networking, planning an event, taking photos or videos, posting and managing social media on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube, meeting with teams or clients about branding and marketing, editing videos, or writing news updates.
David Painter Ph.D.: Today, a Communication or Public Relations Specialist's day-to-day tasks involve creating, implementing, and managing communication strategies that effectively convey messages to engage, inform, and influence internal and external audiences. These activities may include content creation for social media accounts, websites, newsletters, and press releases; managing and overseeing corporate messaging; and coordinating with marketing teams to promote events, products, services, or causes. Additionally, communication specialists may also handle crisis communications and build relationships with journalists or media outlets to ensure positive coverage. For someone entering the field, these responsibilities require a balance of strong written and oral communication skills, project planning expertise, and relationship-building abilities.
David Painter Ph.D.: Many Communication Specialists appreciate the variety in their work as well as their ability to decide which industry they want to promote. From crafting compelling brand narratives for tourist or hospitality organizations to managing digital platforms for financial or legal organizations to strategizing communication plans for sports, fashion, or automotive companies, the possibilities are nearly infinite. Moreover, communication specialists enjoy the creativity, strategic thinking, and collaboration their role demands. However, the job can also be stressful, particularly during crises or when managing conflicting narratives. Long hours and balancing multiple projects can be challenging, but for many, the fast-paced nature and the ability to shape public perception make it worth it.
David Painter Ph.D.: The communication field continues to rapidly evolve with digital and technological advancements making it a dynamic profession involved in many aspects of our daily lives. Indeed, today’s consumers are the best informed and most empowered in history with online reviews, ratings, and critiques of every imaginable product, service, and experience. In this context, organizations recognize the need for skilled professionals to manage their brand image and convey messages effectively, particularly in today's digital world where public perception can shift quickly. Communication Specialists are crucial in navigating these ever-changing conditions, making it an exciting, rewarding, and in-demand career.
Andrew Wood Ph.D.: The best way to maximize your salary potential is to demonstrate flexibility in at least two ways. A growing number of employers are expressing generational concerns with recent graduates' abilities to balance their personal priorities with organizational needs. Flexibility in this case reflects an capacity to recognize a problem and to provide solutions to unexpected challenges without needing excess managerial oversight. That said, flexibility also refers to an employee's recognition that they ought not plan to stay at one job (or even within one career) for a lifetime. Dedication to the present job is important; maintaining a broad network beyond one's workplace, though, is also essential to longer-term success.
Andrew Wood Ph.D.: Communication Studies, a field that traces its roots back to ancient inquiries into the nature of persuasion, remains in many ways an emerging field. After all, while traditional notions of public speaking emerge from time-testing insights, our field is constantly evolving to address new challenges, modalities, and opportunities. Thus my general advice to anyone entering the field is to avoid relying solely on established career pathways. Yes, there are plenty of jobs in marketing, media production, speech writing, education, management, and the like. But the most effective job-seekers are those who are nimble, flexible, and focused on how they can articulate the value-add of their training to an organization's unique exigences.
Amy Mehaffey: A Marketing Specialist's daily tasks include developing and implementing marketing campaigns, analyzing market trends, and creating content for various platforms. They also coordinate with other departments at any given company to ensure brand consistency and monitor the effectiveness of marketing efforts through data analysis. Oftentimes, a marketing specialist may be the only person at a company who has an understanding of the importance of outreach, communication, marketing, and telling the business's story. Therefore, this person often becomes somewhat of an internal advocate for the purpose of marketing itself and acts as an educator to their peers on various marketing concepts and tactics. Day-to-day duties are highly dependent on the number of marketing people on the team, ranging from ad buying, writing, public relations, content creation, and more. Larger firms may have marketing specialists with specific emphasis areas like email marketing, social media, analytics, etc.
Amy Mehaffey: There is an increasing reliance on digital marketing and data analytics in the field of marketing. Businesses understand the importance of digital technologies, online platforms, and targeted marketing, creating a high demand for skilled professionals in this dynamic and evolving field. Understanding the strategy behind marketing and the connection between data, psychology, and human behavior is crucial. Marketing offers creativity, strategic thinking, and the opportunity to see tangible results from efforts, making it a rewarding career.
Amy Mehaffey: People like being a Marketing Specialist because it offers creativity, strategic thinking, and the opportunity to see tangible results from their efforts. It can be fulfilling to help a business grow. However, individuals in this field may dislike the fast-paced environment, tight deadlines, and the constant need to stay updated with rapidly changing marketing trends and technologies. It requires risk-taking, trusting instincts, and a commitment to lifelong learning to succeed in the marketing field.
Dr. Alice Veksler Ph.D., BCPA: Practice your interpersonal skills and think about how what you have learned in your coursework translates to your chosen field of work. Teamwork, conflict resolution, social media savvy, and professionalism can make or break a career. Being able to articulate and demonstrate mastery of these skills with concrete examples during an interview can help land the job and then embodying the skillset of an excellent communicator will lead to professional success. Networking is also key so making sure that you do internships and engage with others in your chosen field helps with securing a job. Forging connections early in one's career can pay massive dividends down the road. We say that 'you get jobs by talking to people' and this maxim is especially true for a broad field like communication studies. Finally, I always encourage a healthy work-life balance to avoid burnout and maximize productivity.
Dr. Alice Veksler Ph.D., BCPA: The single most important thing you can do is learn effective negotiation skills so that you negotiate a good salary and benefits package. Starting salaries will often set the baseline for future earning potential so being able to ensure that you are paid your worth early on is very important. New hires are often hesitant to negotiate salary to their detriment. Effective salary negotiation requires knowing how to do some basic market research to know what is reasonable and requires an understanding of the basics of principled negotiation. For example, it is important to know about positions vs. interests and what a BATNA/WATNA are. Beyond that, you need to stay proactive to ensure you are getting regular salary increases commensurate with norms in the field. Those increases are largely contingent on performance so excelling at the job then becomes the key to ongoing financial success. Making yourself an indispensable and irreplaceable asset to the employer is also very important.
Zachary Moore Ph.D., M.B.A.: Marketing is a very diverse field, and salaries can vary considerably depending on the types of jobs young marketers pursue. But generally, taking a bet on oneself by pursuing jobs with a commission-based compensation plan can lead to higher earnings in the long term. In marketing, these positions tend to be in sales. Being willing to take risks and betting on yourself to succeed are important determinants of your career earnings potential.
Zachary Moore Ph.D., M.B.A.: Marketing is a dynamic, rapidly evolving field. It always has been, and it always will be. Marketing tactics are driven by the popular culture of the societies companies serve. This said, aspiring marketers must realize that as things change, they must be willing to adapt their tactics to meet the consumer where they are. However, just as things change, there are enduring truths that shape marketing practice. Consumers want to be valued and heard. By keeping these touchstones in mind and staying up to date with modern trends, marketers can develop long-lasting careers and maintain relevancy as society evolves. My biggest advice is to be a successful marketer, you must do three things: 1. Keep your customers at the heart of what you do. 2. Meet your customers where they are. 3. Create value for your customers, company, and self. If a marketer can accomplish these three things, they can develop a career that will withstand the forces of change.
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.
Yao Sun: On a day-to-day basis, a Communication Specialist takes care of any work relevant to human interaction. This area of knowledge can be applied to a wide variety of jobs. For example, in an IT company, you can find a Communication Specialist in the marketing department for promoting the product, or in the product management department responsible for team building and knowledge integration.
Yao Sun: People like being a Communication Specialist because of its dynamic and vibrant working environment. However, sometimes people dislike being a Communication Specialist due to the fact that this job demands high energy in dealing with various relationships, and this is a capability that not everybody can have.
Coastal Carolina University
Communication And Media Studies
Wendy Weinhold Ph.D.: Curiosity is the most importantly thing when it comes to skill building. Your college classes have you a solid foundation, but there is always more to learn. Seek out mentors who will help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, and be open to opportunities that help you grow.
Wendy Weinhold Ph.D.: Communication is a major that offers you tremendous flexibility as you start your career, so use that to your advantage. Apply for jobs that interest you and build your portfolio. Your first job is highly unlikely to be your final job, so seek a job that will help you gain skills and prepare you for what’s next.
Dr. Mikhila Wildey PhD: Maximizing salary potential often has to do with knowing your worth. It is important for individuals to do some research on what similar positions in the field are being paid in order to understand what an acceptable salary range may be for a particular position. In order to argue for an offer to be on the higher end of a typical salary range and maximize earning potential, it is important to vocalize your skills and assets within interviews and in your application materials. Individuals will need to self-advocate to show why they should earn a higher salary. It can be helpful to write out their skills and assets on paper first and rehearse saying them out loud to feel more comfortable and confident within an interview.
Dr. Mikhila Wildey PhD: I think the ability to engage and connect with people will be very important in the field as we shift more and more to a culture that is driven by AI. Although AI can be a useful tool, it likely won’t ever fully replace the value of human interaction and connection. In addition, employers often comment that they want to see employees with strong work ethic, and I think this will continue to be the case in 3-5 years. Having a strong work ethic can separate the people that move forward in their careers to those who remain stagnant.
Dr. Mikhila Wildey PhD: My general advice for a graduate beginning their career in the field is to work hard, stay open-minded, and network! Most employees won’t stay in the same position for their entire career, and so I often tell graduates to not get too hung up on the first job needing to be the 'perfect' job for them. Often, the first job will be a place where they learn how to navigate the workplace, learn about their own strengths/weaknesses, and figure out what they like and don’t like. I encourage graduates to use this information to help them make decisions about the next steps in their career. And, if they are working hard and networking with people at their job, then opportunities will often times present themselves or be more available to them as they navigate their future career path.
Dr. Veronica Hefner: I would recommend that a new graduate shows up and does the work to the best of their ability. So much of success is determined by reliability, competency, and effort. Aim to achieve a work/life balance that helps you stay mentally and physically healthy, but realize that means that when you're at work, you need to work. The most successful people are not always the most talented or the most educated, but they are the ones who exert the most effort and ambition. However, when you go home at the end of the day, leave work behind and focus on yourself. Finally, show respect to others. If you disagree with them, or just don't like them, you still need to show respect. Respect diverse people, ideas, perspectives, and consider the experiences you have with people and ideas that are different from your own as a privilege that helps you learn and grow.
Dr. Travis Simkins: Likes: Creativity, Analytical and Quantitative Aspects, Variety, Impact, Collaboration. Dislikes: Pressure and Deadlines, Uncertainty, Measurement and Accountability, Constant Change
Dr. Travis Simkins: There are a lot of great reasons to enter the field of marketing now. The demand for digital marketing skills is high, marketing blends creativity and strategy, marketing is about building relationships and understanding consumers, marketing is dynamic and constantly evolving.
Dr. Travis Simkins: Here are some activities that a marketing specialist might engage in on a day-to-day basis: Market Research, Campaign Planning and Execution, Content Creation, Digital Marketing, Brand Management, Relationship Building, Analytics and Reporting, Project Management, Continuous Learning
University of Kentucky
Hospitality Administration/Management
Ying Lu Ph.D.: Communication skills. This is a service industry and requires strong communication skills to coordinate various departments and interact with diverse customers. A strong communication make you stand out in the team and make your job easier.
Ying Lu Ph.D.: Introducing and instructing customers on how to use various tech equipment to have a better consumption experience.
Ying Lu Ph.D.: Work experience. Gain work experience in the industry as much as possible while studying the degree colleges. If possible, get a promotion to a supervisory position before graduation.
Tika Lamsal PhD: You may want to look for career opportunities that provide a platform for your professional growth through deeply engaging and responsive communication practices across languages and cultures.
Tianxu Chen: But if you could kindly send me the questions you have, I'll coordinate with the career center to gather relevant information.
Tianxu Chen: I have completed the questions and attached them to this email.
Tianxu Chen: I may be able to help, because starting later this month, I'll be becoming one of the faculty fellows at UConn's Center for Career Development.
Winthrop University
Public Relations, Advertising, And Applied Communication
Bonnye Stuart: First of all – have an e-portfolio of your work to show what you can do! Share that during the interview. Build trust with your employer during the interview stage that you have the skills and can-do attitude necessary to be an asset to his/her company! Be willing to go the extra mile, take on extra tasks, work long and hard on projects – all without asking if you will be paid extra for doing this!
Bonnye Stuart: Communication skills – in-person and mediated – will become more important as personal communication becomes less frequent and online communication takes center-stage. Analyzing analytics will be crucial as companies and organizations strive to 'really know' their publics behaviors and reach them where they are. Understanding Search Engine Optimization will be a great skill. Writing for a variety of formats – from long form storytelling to blogging will be important. Other skills will include videoing, photography, content creation, website editing and revision and trend watching!
Bonnye Stuart: I would say be flexible - you may be asked to do a variety of tasks. Some tasks you may feel comfortable doing, others you may feel you don't have the experience to tackle. Be confident in your abilities – you probably know more than you think you do – especially in the areas of technology and social media. Above all, be a sponge – soak up all everything you can from soft, people skills to specific industry knowledge. You can learn from every experience in the workplace (even mundane meetings can yield much information about the culture of the company or organization and who's voice is heard and valued). There is much to learn as you begin your career, even if your first position is not your 'dream job'!
Dr. Charles St-Georges Ph.D.: Advocate for yourself by clearly articulating all the skills and knowledge your language degree brings with it. This is something that is often underestimated and undervalued as a pay differential conceived of strictly in terms of language competency. Let your employer know everything else your language competency brings to the table.
Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research And Clinical Nursing
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