Could a Master’s Degree in Marketing Help Your Career? November 15, 2014My CareerOff

Many people go to college after high school and earn themselves a Bachelor’s degree. But fewer move on to graduate school and get themselves a further education. Earning a Master’s degree, and even going on to do a Ph.D., can be beneficial in many fields, but it isn’t necessary for everyone. If you’re thinking about doing a Master’s degree in marketing, you could be wondering if it’s for you. After all, you don’t need to have a Master’s degree to get a job. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 17 percent of Marketing Managers in the United States don’t have any college education. That’s more than the percentage who hold a Master’s degree, which is only 16.7 percent. So if a Master’s degree in marketing isn’t necessary for a job, why should you get one?

There are still reasons that earning your Master’s in marketing can be good for your career. Although it isn’t for everyone, it can be beneficial to you. Job opportunities in the sense of employers looking at you more favorably are not the only reason to think about pursuing your Master’s. The extra time studying could help to build your confidence and connect you with important contacts. And perhaps even help you move into a more senior position when you enter the world of full-time work.

Career Advancement
Most entry-level marketing positions are available to people who only have a Bachelor’s degree. But a Master’s in marketing can help you to advance your career. Many people who pursue a Master’s in marketing already have some experience in the field and they want to speed up the process of moving into a management position. By taking a Master’s degree, they can further their knowledge on their initiative. They don’t have to wait for their employer to give them the opportunity to learn on the job. It can be especially useful if you work in a marketing position but don’t have a sales-related degree.

So a Master’s degree isn’t necessary to move into a management position. But employers can be more willing to pay higher salaries to people who have had the initiative to furnish themselves with the skills. What if your Bachelor’s degree isn’t in marketing or a sales-related subject? Even better, pursuing a Master’s degree in marketing can make sure you have the right skills. And if you want to move into education or academic research, a Master’s degree can also be a stepping stone towards getting your Ph.D. A Ph.D. can then lead you to academia or even to filling a government position. Even though a Master’s isn’t necessary for gaining a Ph.D., it can be useful if you’re struggling to find one on the back of your Bachelor’s degree alone.

Forming Contacts
Sometimes when you finish your Bachelor’s degree you can feel like you still aren’t ready for the real world. You can apply for hundreds of jobs and feel like you aren’t getting anywhere, either because you’re not standing out from the crowd or because your heart’s not in it. There’s a lot of tough competition when everyone graduates from college. Suddenly thousands of marketing graduates are all looking for jobs at once. You might have been working and interning during your degree course. But you can still feel that you didn’t get a chance to make an impression on anyone. Or perhaps you were liked but there was no room for you at the company.

Completing a Master’s in marketing can give you a chance to form more contacts. You can attend networking events before you look for a job. The professionals that you meet can give you advice on looking for work and might even recommend you to people if you leave a good impression. If you want to go on to do a Ph.D., networking with the right people might help you to find a place. And if you’re taking a break from your career to go back to college, your course can help you to transition into your new field of work. But make sure you put in the effort to form these essential contacts. They won’t just materialize on their own – you have to work at them.

Gaining Confidence
Not having the right contacts isn’t the only way that you can feel ill-prepared when you finish your Bachelor’s degree or decide that you want to switch or advance your career. You can feel like you’re not yet confident enough, either in your knowledge or yourself, to take charge in a marketing role. A Master’s degree in marketing from somewhere such as West London College can help to boost your confidence. So you feel better prepared to go into the world of work. Even if you start in an entry-level position, you might feel more comfortable learning the management skills you can use later in an educational environment. This could be better than learning them on the job. It’s best to start full-time work with both the academic knowledge and the skills and confidence to apply that knowledge to real situations.

More Work and Better Pay
Even though you don’t need a Master’s degree in marketing to find a job, it does make it more likely. There isn’t a huge difference, but the unemployment rate for people with a Master’s degree is about 1% lower than those with a Bachelor’s. But even though the difference in the employment rate isn’t huge, the difference in pay rates is more significant. A person with a Master’s degree could earn 20-30 percent more than someone who hasn’t had the two extra years of schooling. But remember that those two extra years will cost you two more years of tuition. So a higher paycheck will come in handy when your debt is also higher than everyone else’s.

Taking a Master’s degree in marketing isn’t for everyone, but it could give you an advantage when you look for work. It’s especially useful if you’ve already begun your career and want to advance or change tracks.

Photo by Monkey Business | Shutterstock

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