If you are a creative problem-solver who would like to go into business, consider getting a degree in marketing.
What is a Marketing Major?
If you major in marketing, you'll learn the art of persuading people that a particular product is desirable. Because the world is so over-saturated with advertisements and other messages about products, it takes a creative marketer to figure out how to effectively get the message across when there's so much competition. Good marketers are able to convince people that a product fulfills one of their needs. Great marketers are able to convince consumers that a product fulfills a need they didn't even know they had.
Marketing majors learn how to promote products in traditional ways, like sales, print ads, and television ads. However, as the media change, so does marketing. Increasingly, marketing students are learning to work with new media as well, including social marketing through sites like Facebook. In addition, marketing courses are increasingly geared towards the global economy and strategies that students need to sell products worldwide. Marketing students also learn how to conduct marketing research through surveys, focus group interviews, and other techniques.
Marketing is a hands-on major, and students typically have an internship while they are in school. After graduating, it's important that you have an impressive portfolio of marketing materials that you can show to potential employers.
What Courses Does a Marketing Major Take?
Like all business majors, marketing majors generally take a wide range of general business classes. Students also take courses that deal specifically with how to sell products and how to conduct research. Some courses that a marketing major might take include:
- Consumer Behavior
- Persuasion
- International Marketing
- Marketing Research
- Marketing Strategy
- Professional Selling
- Sales Management
- Public Relations
- Accounting
- Finance
- Business Management and Administration
- Business Communication
- Business Ethics
- Public Speaking
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of a Degree in Marketing?
One disadvantage of this major is simply that it's popular. Classes may be large and difficult to get into, and like many business majors, you may need to apply to become a marketing major. An advantage of this major--and one of the reasons why it's so popular-- is that it gives students a change to be creative while honing skills that will be very useful in the workplace.
What Careers are Available to Marketing Majors?
A marketing degree lends itself to careers in just about any field, as just about every business and nonprofit organization needs creative and competent people to market their message. It can be difficult to get a marketing job just out of college, so many new graduates work in sales first. If you're good with numbers, market research can be a lucrative career path. Other students find jobs in communication fields such as public relations, advertising, or event planning.
 |
