Is marketing a good career for you?

February 18, 2025

Whether you're new to the working world or simply looking to switch career paths, a marketing job can be an appealing option. Within the realm of marketing careers, there are many avenues to explore. To choose one that suits your interests and experience level, it helps to understand exactly what a marketing career is and the options available to you.

What is a marketing career?

A marketing career encompasses many aspects of generating awareness of a company's brand and enticing people to use its products or services. As a marketing professional, you may be responsible for:

Creating designs or logos
Analyzing market trends and statistics
Planning events and experiences
Writing blogs or social media posts

Your duties will depend on the company you work for and its marketing needs. Because of today's heavy reliance on and use of technology, most marketing careers require some knowledge of computers, the internet, and social media.

"Marketing requires you to be a creative person who can come up with innovative ideas that motivate people to move in the right direction."

What are the types of marketing careers available?

The types of marketing careers available vary widely, and knowing about each one can help you choose the right path. Here's a list of marketing careers and some details about each one to give you insight into what to expect in different areas of marketing.

Brand marketing

Brand marketing entails creating a strong brand image for a company. In this type of marketing career, you're responsible for ensuring brand cohesion across every aspect of the company. You'll oversee many parts of a brand's persona, such as communication with internal and external sources and unification of all marketing materials.

Content marketing

Content marketing has to do with written material that helps a company establish itself as an authority in its niche. A content marketer may write blog posts to engage an audience and provide information on a subject related to a product or service. They could also write technical manuals or descriptions about products or processes to help consumers or employees better understand aspects of the business. Content marketers may write short product descriptions or full-length e-books, but it will all need to align with a company's brand and preferences.

Social media marketing

Social media marketers are responsible for making posts on popular social media platforms. These posts help with brand exposure. The material can be anything from short sentences to videos. Social media marketers might have to plot out their ideas months in advance while still making posts that are timely and relevant to current events or situations. For social media marketing, you should be familiar with using hashtags, uploading images, and finding what's trending on individual platforms.

Strategic marketing

Strategic marketing involves researching and planning brand-specific, targeted advertising campaigns. Your duties in a strategic marketing position may include monitoring a marketing campaign and recommending changes when necessary. You'll also need to create marketing campaigns based on information you collect about the needs of those you're trying to reach through your marketing efforts.

Event marketing

Event marketing revolves around planning and executing events to promote a brand. These events can be small or large but must help a brand gain positive attention and awareness. An event marketer might hold in-person or virtual events that engage people so they're more knowledgeable about a company and its products or services. This is the ideal role for someone who's outgoing and personable, as there's a lot of interaction required for this type of marketing career.

What skills do you need for marketing jobs?

Having the right skills on your marketing resume can help boost your application to the top of the list. These are some of the skills you might need to excel in a marketing career.

Creativity and design

Marketing requires you to be a creative person who can come up with innovative ideas that motivate people to move in the right direction. You may need to write blog posts about new product launches, create videos to demonstrate how to use products or come up with a company logo that aligns with its messaging. Having design skills can help you lay out a flyer to announce an upcoming event or make an appealing website.

Communication

Knowing how to communicate well with your colleagues and audience is a must for a marketing job. The ability to write clearly will ensure people understand your message and ideas while speaking with confidence helps others follow your directions so you get the outcome you're hoping for from your marketing efforts. Excellent communication skills can help you avoid misunderstandings that could lead to issues with a marketing campaign.

Technical

Technical skills for marketing jobs are important because, in this role, you need to ensure your audience can access the materials you create when and where you want them to. Whether it's making a user-friendly website or navigating a social media platform, you'll need to have technical skills that help you interact with people in the digital world.

Research and analytics

Marketing professionals should have strong research skills that allow them to gain insight into effective marketing strategies. This means you'll need to look at what other companies are doing or have done in the past and how it's been effective so you can come up with your own marketing campaign based on what works. Analytical skills are another necessity for a marketing career because you need to look at data to understand whether your marketing is working and where it can improve for better reach and engagement.

With the numerous options for a marketing career, finding the right one can be a challenge. When you understand your options and passions, it can be easier to choose from the many types of marketing careers available. Creating a profile on CareerBuilder can make it easier for employers to find you so you can get a marketing job that works for you.