Jobs For Advertising Majors Looking For A Career Path
I remember when I made the decision to pursue a career in advertising like it was yesterday.
I was an enthusiastic freshman in college who was going into my second semester as a declared finance major. I knew I wanted to be in business and thought finance was the best course of action.
Of course, that was until I sat through my first 2-hour class on macro-economics. I realized the number-crunching wasn’t for me. I wanted to have a career that allowed me to think freely and exercise my creativity all while still being a part of the business world.
That was the moment when I decided to make the switch over to advertising.
Now, I am sure there are plenty of similar cases like mine and with that decision, you may not be aware of the opportunities that lie ahead.
Advertising is a whole world of possibility and I compiled a list of career paths you can take with an advertising degree.
Table of Contents
Art Director
Art directors are the ones behind all visual styles and images that make up the advertisements we see every day. It is a big responsibility considering they are the main contributor to the end product.
They are the ones who bring a creative vision to life.
Art directors are needed for all forms of advertising including packaging, commercials, magazines, billboards, etc.
Starting Salary: $48,000/year
Average Salary: $71,097
Graphic Designer
If you find yourself to be more on the creative side of advertising you may want to look into becoming a graphic designer.
Graphic designers create visual concepts either by computer software or by hand.
This job is ideal for anyone with a creative eye and is proficient in designing software such as the Adobe Creative Suite.
Job responsibilities range in everything from logo design to magazine layouts.
Starting Salary: $37,513/year
Average Salary: $43,836/year
Marketing Manager
In the simplest definition, a marketing manager is someone who manages the marketing of a business or product.
As a marketing manager, you can have a variety of job responsibilities such as setting campaign budgets, negotiating contracts, preparing sales pitches, developing strategy, analyzing data and much more.
Their goal is to create and oversee the best marketing solution for the business.
Starting Salary: $85,468/year
Average Salary: $145,620/year
SEO Specialist
A search engine optimization (SEO) specialist is someone who reviews and implements changes to a website in an effort to increase their search engine rankings and traffic.
Becoming an SEO specialist is a fairly new career path in the world of advertising but every major business needs one in the age of the internet.
An SEO specialist’s responsibilities include optimizing and monitoring websites for search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo.
Implementations include a variety of practices such as content writing, backlinking, online video production, accessibility and more.
Starting Salary: $62,000/year
Average Salary: $65,200/year
Account Coordinator
As an account manager, your career path should have the end goal of becoming an account manager.
Account coordinators typically are the point of contact between the agency, customer and client. Their job tasks include assisting in all aspects of client operations.
Depending on the size of the agency, an account coordinator could be responsible for one or more client accounts.
Starting Salary: $36,732/year
Average Salary: $44,131/year
Project Manager
A project manager’s job responsibility is in the name. Project managers are accountable for the success or failure of any project implemented by the client or agency.
This involves overseeing the project from start to finish including assembling an action plan, delegating the work, overseeing the project’s completion and measuring the results.
Often times, the project manager may even be responsible for setting a budget and handling the finances of a project.
Starting Salary: $40,000/year
Average Salary: $69,848/year
Media Planner
A media buyer is a person responsible for getting the agency’s work out in front of the right people.
They are the ones who find, negotiate and purchase the advertising space and channels on behalf of their clients.
A media buyer can have experience in all forms of advertising including commercial airtime, billboard space, magazine placement and more.
A media buyer also plays a role in suggesting the best options for reaching the client’s target audience.
Starting Salary: $36,000/year
Average Salary: $54,014/year
Sales Representative
Being a sales representative in the advertising world is the same as every other sales representative across all industries.
The sole job responsibility is selling advertising space or services to potential clients.
They are the ones who contact potential clients, hold meetings, assemble sales presentations and maintain client accounts.
Along with the account manager, a sales representative also is the point of contact between the agency and the client.
Sales representatives tend to have a low base salary but have the opportunity to make more money through commission. The better the salesman/woman you are, the more money you will make.
Starting Salary: $26,052
Average Salary: $38,936
Content Marketer
A content marketer is responsible for creating and distributing content to attract potential customers.
This applies to all forms of advertising with the primary objective of creating a sale.
Content markers also strive to create and distribute content that builds the company’s brand by establishing positive relationships with their target market.
The content created comes in all forms including everything from blog postings to video.
Starting Salary: $35,000/year
Average Salary: $81,078/year
Web Designer
Going back to the creative side is web design. Being a web designer combines creativity with a digital platform. A web designer’s responsibility is to visualize and actually create an attractive and fully functional website for a company.
This includes everything from web layout to color choice to backend development.
Apart from knowing the ins and outs of the advertising industry, web designers should be knowledgeable in the basics of web development and graphic design.
Starting Salary: $34,000/year
Average Salary: $46,596/year
Copywriter
Copywriters are the ones who create a symphony of written content for all advertising, marketing and descriptive texts.
They are the one’s responsible for choosing what wording to use, how to structure the sentence, etc.
Other main responsibilities of being a copywriter include coming up with slogans like Nike’s “Just Do It” or jingles such as “Break me off a piece of that Kit..Kat..Bar!”
Starting Salary: $35,000/year
Average Salary: $50,194/year
Public Relations Specialist
Public relations specialists are the ones who maintain a company’s image.
They communicate to the target audience on behalf of the client through a variety of channels such as social media.
Their primary job duty is to spread the client’s message to the public while upholding the client’s values and image. The client doesn’t always know best and it is the public relations specialist to help guide them in the right direction when it comes to communicating with the public.
Starting Salary: $33,000/year
Average Salary: $58,360/year
Social Media Specialist
If you love social media then this definitely a career path for you.
As advertising progresses further into the digital age, a lot of advertising budgets are going to be allocated to social media.
Social media is a prime channel for building a company’s brand and awareness and in order to an agency must have an expert on their team.
Social media specialists are responsible for maintaining a company’s social media profiles on multiple platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, etc.
They monitor content performance and their target market’s interests. The job involves communicating with the target market and spreading content on social platforms on behalf of the client.
Starting Salary: $33,000/year
Average Salary: $50,173/year