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Marketing Managers

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeHigh pressure Bright Outlook

What they do

Plan, direct, or coordinate marketing policies and programs, such as determining the demand for products and services offered by a firm and its competitors, and identify potential customers. Develop pricing strategies with the goal of maximizing the firm's profits or share of the market while ensuring the firm's customers are satisfied. Oversee product development or monitor trends that indicate the need for new products and services.

Kinds of work

  • Enterprising: Leading, persuading, selling and starting new projects or businesses.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

High pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $166,790 Median per year · $80.19/hr Most earn $90,260–$293,610

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Formulate, direct, or coordinate marketing activities or policies to promote products or services, working with advertising or promotion managers.
  • Use sales forecasting or strategic planning to ensure the sale and profitability of products, lines, or services, analyzing business developments and monitoring market trends.
  • Identify, develop, or evaluate marketing strategy, based on knowledge of establishment objectives, market characteristics, and cost and markup factors.
  • Evaluate the financial aspects of product development, such as budgets, expenditures, research and development appropriations, or return-on-investment and profit-loss projections.
  • Recommend modifications to products, packaging, production processes, or other characteristics to improve the environmental soundness or sustainability of products.
  • Recommend modifications to products, packaging, production processes, or other characteristics to improve the environmental soundness or sustainability of products.

Job outlook

Bright Outlook Rapid Growth

United States
7% more jobs by 2035, faster than average · about 34,000 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Management of companies and enterprises11.5%
  • Management, scientific, and technical consulting services6.8%
  • Computer systems design and related services6.0%
  • Self-employed (their own business)5.3%
  • Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods3.7%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Some remote workExperience before this job: 2 to 4 years

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeExperience before this job: 2 to 4 years

Marketing Manager is usually not an entry-level job. Most people earn a bachelor's degree, then spend about 2 to 4 years in a marketing role before moving into management, so the full path often takes roughly 6 to 8 years from starting college.

  1. Bachelor's degree in marketing, business, or a related field

    4 years

    You learn how markets, customers, pricing, and advertising work, and you can build hands-on skills through projects and internships that employers look for.

  2. Marketing Specialist

    2-4 years

    You do research on customers and competitors, help run campaigns, and analyze results, which builds the experience needed to plan and lead marketing work.

  3. Marketing Manager

    Career goal

    You plan marketing strategy, set pricing and product direction, and oversee a team and budget to meet the company's goals.

Where it can lead

  1. Marketing Director

    5-8 years of experience first

    You set the marketing vision for a whole department or company, manage several managers, and take on bigger budgets and long-term planning.

  2. Vice President of Marketing

    8-12 years of experience first

    You lead marketing at the executive level, tying it directly to the company's overall business strategy and growth decisions.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take business, economics, or journalism classesThese classes build skills in writing, money, and how businesses make decisions, which all support a marketing career.
  • Join a club like DECA or a business or debate clubClubs like these let you practice presenting ideas, working on teams, and thinking about what customers want.
  • Start a small project, such as a school event or a social media pageRunning a real project lets you practice planning, promoting, and measuring how well it worked.
  • Get a starter job in retail or food serviceWorking with customers teaches you what people buy, why they buy it, and how to communicate with them.
  • Build basic computer skillsLearning spreadsheets, graphic design tools, or simple website editing helps you do marketing tasks with confidence later.

In college

  • Major in marketing or business, and take a statistics or data analysis courseA marketing major gives you the core knowledge employers expect, and statistics helps you judge whether campaigns are working.
  • Complete a marketing internshipInternships give you real experience with campaigns, research, and client or product work, which is the most useful step toward your first marketing job.
  • Work on the student newspaper, a campus group, or a student-run businessThese roles give you practice in promotion, budgeting, and working with a team toward goals.
  • Take writing and public speaking classesClear writing and presenting are used every day in marketing, from ad copy to presenting plans to leaders.
  • Learn a marketing analytics or design toolMany schools offer free or low-cost software training, and knowing these tools makes you a stronger candidate for specialist roles.

Tips for getting started

  • Get at least one marketing internship or part-time job before you graduate. Real campaign experience is one of the things that most helps you get your first full-time marketing role.
  • Learn basic data tools such as spreadsheets and simple analytics platforms. Being comfortable with numbers helps you show what a marketing idea actually achieved.
  • Keep a portfolio of school projects, social media work, or campaign ideas you made. It shows what you can do even before you have job titles on your resume.

Related jobs that often lead here

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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