What can you do with a degree in marketing?

What can you do with a marketing degree? Graduate jobs in marketing are an obvious choice: you might apply for an entry-level role as a marketing assistant or social media manager, for example. However, if a career in marketing doesn’t appeal, there are a huge number of other professions that your degree in marketing (or digital marketing) will have equipped you for. Whether you hope to pursue a marketing career or put the skills from your marketing degree to use elsewhere, read on to discover some of the possible career options open to you after graduation.

Marketing degree skills | Jobs you can do with a marketing degree | How to maximise the skills from your degree | What marketing graduates typically go on to do | Key areas of employment for marketing graduates

What can you do with a marketing degree? Any job that uses these skills

Many employers don’t seek a specific degree background but instead look for evidence that you have transferable skills. The skills that are most in demand will depend on what the job involves and you can usually find them listed on the job advert – see the next section for examples of roles you could consider. Your marketing or digital marketing degree will have given you an impressive combination of creative, analytical and other skills, which include:

• verbal and written communication skills
• numerical and analytical skills
• commercial awareness and an understanding of how different organisations work
• customer service skills
• creativity and innovative thinking
• good business sense and entrepreneurial skills , as your degree will teach you to spot new opportunities and make the most of them
• problem solving and decision making
• time management and project management
• critical thinking
• presentation skills
• event planning
• negotiation and persuasion
• research skills.

Read more about examples of marketing skills .

What jobs can you do with a marketing degree?

Roles and career areas you could consider include both marketing and non-marketing options.

Marketing careers

A career in marketing is probably an obvious choice – after all, you’ve chosen to study a marketing or digital marketing course. Jobs you could consider include:

• marketing assistant , which could lead to the posts of marketing executive or marketing manager
• SEO analyst
• social media manager
• brand manager .

If you choose to work in marketing, you could work on behalf of multiple organisations as part of a marketing agency or SEO firm, for example. Alternatively, you could work as part of an in-house marketing team at almost any organisation that promotes a product or service – choosing which sector appeals to you is another decision you’ll need to make. You may also be able to find work in the public sector or with a charity instead of a profit-making business.

Search for marketing jobs and graduate schemes on targetjobs .

Alternative careers for marketing graduates

On the other hand, you might prefer to go in a different direction after completing your marketing degree. The skills listed above are likely to be particularly useful for careers such as:

• marketing’s close cousins advertising and PR
• sales
• retail
• event management , hotel management or hospitality management.

Examples of job roles you consider include:

• PR officer
• advertising copywriter
• market research executive
• charities fundraiser
• event manager
• sales executive
• retail merchandiser
• retail buyer .

A general commercial or business graduate programme may be a good choice for marketing graduates who aren’t set on a career in marketing. These can be offered by large employers in any sector but are most frequently found in fast-moving consumer goods companies. They involve rotating around different business functions such as marketing, sales and corporate governance, usually giving you the opportunity to specialise in or apply for a role in a particular function you enjoyed at the end. Such a scheme allows you to keep marketing as an option while exploring alternatives.

While the above suggestions are based on the qualities a marketing degree gives you that are attractive to employers, it’s also worth noting that marketing graduates can in theory go into any role that accepts all degree disciplines: you could work in accountancy, insurance or consulting, or complete a postgraduate conversion course to enter law or property, for example.

How marketing graduates can build on the skills from their degree

As we outlined above, you will have developed skills through your marketing degree. But, for the best chance of being offered a job afterwards you should try to gain knowledge and experience outside of the course. This is not only true if you are exploring alternative career options; it can also give you an advantage when competing with both marketing and non-marketing graduates for jobs in the sector.

• Complete short online courses to explore areas of interest.
• Apply for internships in the sectors that interest you. This includes marketing if you are considering it – the practical skills you’ve picked up from your course are no substitute for workplace experience.
• Volunteer. If you want a career in marketing, an example could be managing a charity’s social media accounts.
• Create your own projects. Sophie Olive, who has a degree in marketing management from the University of Lincoln, set up her Instagram account @sophieolivemarketing when she graduated and it helped her secure a full-time job. To learn more about Sophie and how personal projects can help you maximise the skills you’ve gained from your marketing degree, read our articles on building your personal brand and promoting your work through social media .

For more ways to maximise the benefits of your marketing degree, see our article on the activities that will give you marketing skills .

What do marketing graduates go on to do?

Here’s what marketing graduates who finished their degrees in 2018 or 2019 were doing 15 months after graduating, according to the What do graduates do? report published in January 2022.

Destination	Percentage
Working full time in the UK	66.1
Working part time in the UK	10.8
Unemployed, including those due to start work	9.2
Working and studying	7.6
Further study	3.2
Other	3.2

Source: What do graduates do? 2021/22

Key areas of employment for fresh marketing graduates

These are the top five types of work taken up by 2018/19 marketing graduates 15 months after graduation, according to the 2021/22 What do graduates do? report. Perhaps unsurprisingly, over half ( 53.9% ) are marketing, PR and sales professionals, while the rest are working in other areas.

Areas of employment	Percentage
Marketing, PR and sales professionals	53.9
Retail, catering, waiting and bar staff	13.2
Business, HR and finance professionals	8.6
Clerical, secretarial and numerical clerks	8.6
Managers	4.1

Source: What do graduates do? 2021/22