What can I do with a degree in Marketing?

Find out where the range of skills you develop studying marketing can take you. Here we list potential careers and tell you how you can find a job in this sector.

Marketing careers

The jobs listed below are a selection of those of most relevance to Marketing students and graduates. Although these careers may be open to graduates in other subjects, a Marketing degree will obviously be useful and some employers may give preference to relevant graduates.

Digital Marketer

Digital marketers are involved in developing marketing and communication strategies across digital media, including social media, online and mobile marketing.
Prospects job profile: Digital Marketer
Bubble jobs: Digital career portal
I want to work in Digital Marketing

Marketing Executive 

Marketing executives promote a company or an individual product or brand. This role may include planning campaigns, commissioning market research and communicating with people in all areas of the business, from production to finance, as well as externally.

Prospects job profile: Marketing executive
The Chartered Institute of Marketing: Get into Marketing
I Want to Work In: Marketing

For further information on these careers, see also:

I Want To Work In Advertising
I Want To Work In Public Relations
Prospects: Marketing, advertising and PR
Target jobs: Marketing advertising and PR

People in some Marketing roles may be self-employed.

Thank you to Prospects for the content on these pages.

Other careers

The careers listed below may be particularly relevant to Marketing graduates. Remember also that there are many other roles where the skills developed by studying Marketing will be useful to you and valued by graduate recruiters.

Advertising Account Executive

Advertising account executives are the bridge between the client and the agency. Account Executives are responsible for ensuring the smooth running of client accounts within the agency. They need to develop effective working relationships with client contacts. They will get involved with solving problems, drafting internal and external communications, and documenting progress on a variety of agency projects.
Prospects job profile: Advertising account executive
Institute of Practitioners in Advertising: Account Executive

Management Consultant

In essence, a consultant’s job is to advise an organisation on improvements that can be made. Consultancy usually involves identification and assessment of a problem or analysis of a specific area, reporting findings and formulating recommendations.
Prospects job profile: Management consultant
Inside Careers: Management consultancy

Market Researcher

Plans, co-ordinates and manages market research projects, collecting and analysing quantitative and qualitative information and communicating it to clients.
Prospects job profile: Market researcher
The Market Research Society: Your career in research

Public Relations Officer

PR officers use a variety of media and communication channels to put over messages on behalf of their clients that will build a positive reputation for that client in the eyes of consumers, investors, the media and other stakeholders.
Prospects job profile: Public relations officer
Public Relations and Communication Association: Careers in Public Relations

Project Manager

Project managers are responsible for the planning, management, coordination and financial control of a project. They ensure that a project is completed on time and within budget, that the project's objectives are met and that everyone else is doing their job properly.
Prospects job profile: Project manager
Association for Project Management: Project management career path

Purchasing Manager

Purchasing managers are responsible for buying the best quality equipment, goods and services for a company or organisation at the most competitive prices. Through effective negotiation, networking and dealing with numbers, purchasing managers can help a business or organisation save money and increase profits. They work in a wide range of sectors for many different organisations from public sector bodies to retailers to manufacturing industry, possibly on a worldwide scale.
Prospects job profile: Purchasing manager
The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply

Sales Executive

Sales executives sell a company's products and services to customers including businesses and public sector organisations, in the UK and/or abroad. They approach potential customers with the aim of winning new business; and work to maintain good relationships with existing clients in order to gain repeat business.
Prospects job profile: Sales executive
Target jobs: Sales executive

You may be interested in graduate roles outside of Business. There are many employers who are looking for graduates with good degrees but do not have a preference for the subject studied. To explore different career options see:

Path to Employment
I Want To Work In
Prospects: Job Profiles
Target jobs: Graduate career sectors


Skills gained

As well as their subject knowledge, a graduate in Marketing will typically:

  • Be able to demonstrate commercial awareness: the understanding of organisations, the external environment in which they operate, how they are managed and the future needs of organisations
  • Have skills in critical thinking, analysis and synthesis, including being able to identify assumptions, evaluate statements, detect false logic, identify implicit values, define terms adequately and generalise appropriately
  • Be effective at problem-solving and decision-making, using appropriate quantitative and qualitative skills and also be able to create, evaluate and assess options, together with being able to apply ideas and knowledge to a range of situations
  • Be effective in communication and be able to work with others
  • Have numeracy and quantitative skills including modelling and data analysis, interpretation and extrapolation
  • Self-manage their time, behaviour, motivation, initiative and enterprise.
  • Have an appetite for reflective, adaptive and collaborative learning.
  • Be self-aware, sensitive and open to the diversity of people, cultures, business and management issues
  • Have leadership and project management skills
  • Be effective at listening, influencing, negotiating and persuasion
  • Be able to research business and management issues
  • Be able to address issues at European and international levels.

(Based on the Higher Education Academy Employability Profiles page 51)

Find a job

The Careers and Employability Service provides information and advice on job searching to University of Kent students and recent graduates. This includes a vacancy database advertising a range of graduate jobs, sandwich placements and vacation work/internships and online resources.

Marketing job boards:

General graduate vacancy sites
The websites listed below will be useful when searching for vacancies and companies offering graduate jobs, internships and placement years.

Company reviews and application / interview tips for specific organisations:
Glassdoor
The Job Crowd

Useful links

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