The marketing profession is a bit of an enigma. Despite being a relatively well-paying field, less than half of marketing professionals at all levels are satisfied with their compensation. Those who work in marketing report high levels of satisfaction with their profession overall, but less than half of marketing majors are satisfied with their career path- a discrepancy that could be explained by marketing majors who are unable to find marketing jobs.
Average Annual Wages for Marketing Professionals
Market research analysts earned $67,500 on average in 2009, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Median pay was $61,580- meaning that half made more and half made less than that figure. The top 25% of market research analysts earned salaries of more than $85,000, while the bottom 25% made less than $45,000.
Marketing managers earned $120,070 on average in 2009, according to BLS; median pay checked in at $110,030. The top 25% of marketing managers earned salaries of more than $149,000, while the bottom 25% made less than $79,000.
Marketing Majors' Average Starting Salary
The average starting salary offered to college graduates with a bachelor's degree in marketing was $41,670 for the Class of 2010, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' Fall 2010 Salary Survey. After increasing by 1.8% to $42,260 in 2009, average starting pay for marketing majors dropped by 1.4% in 2010.
Marketing Professionals' Job Satisfaction
A joint study by Aquent and the American Marketing Association found that a vast majority of marketing professionals (86%) are satisfied with their profession overall. The December 2008 survey reported little difference in overall satisfaction among junior, mid-level and senior marketers. These high ratings are remarkable, given the lower levels of satisfaction reported in other areas.
When it comes to satisfaction with professional responsibilities and challenges, entry-level and mid-career marketing professionals are significantly less satisfied than those in the upper rungs. More than half of entry-level marketers desire greater job responsibilities and more challenging work, according to the Aquent/AMA study. Mid-level marketers aren't much better off, with slightly more than half reporting satisfaction in these areas. At the other end, nearly three-quarters of senior marketing professionals find their work challenging and are satisfied with their level of responsibility.
Satisfaction levels dipped again on the question of compensation. Less than half of senior marketing professionals (48%) are satisfied with their compensation, compared with only 39% of mid-level and 26% of entry-level marketers.
Marketing Majors' Career Satisfaction
In a 2010 survey by PayScale.com, nearly 11,000 college graduates who earned bachelor's degrees from 1999 to 2010 were asked to rate how satisfied they were with their career path. Less than half (43%) of respondents who majored in marketing reported career satisfaction- tied for the fourth-lowest percentage out of 20 selected majors. Advertising majors reported greater satisfaction, with 50% being "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their career path.
For related articles see "Accounting Careers: Pay vs. Job Satisfaction" and "Engineering Careers: Pay vs. Job Satisfaction."
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