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Running Head: MARKETING

Pursuing a Marketing Degree

Saint Peters University

Jennifer Martinez and Carhelis Abreu

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Choosing a college major is an important life decision. Professor Naatus notes, A major

helps to represent your strongest skill set and base of knowledge to begin your career. While

your major might not determine your entire career path, it can help provide you with a specific

skill set that will be useful in a particular industry or career field (personal communication,

December 1, 2017). Therefore, one must take the time to think it through carefully and patiently,

it should not be rushed (Northern Michigan University). There are steps you should consider

taking before making a big decision. For starters, when choosing a major an individual should

consider what peaks their interest. It is important to choose a major that you enjoy in order to

graduate with a degree that will get you started on an exciting journey (Mind Tools). However,

choosing a major does not necessarily guarantee you a specific career for the rest of your life. In

actuality, The average college graduate changes jobs once every three years and changes career

fields two or three times before retirement (as cited in Northern Michigan University). In

essence, the goal of a major is to provide you with skills that will be beneficial in a particular

industry or field (M. Naatus, personal communication, December 1, 2017).

Making the right choice can be difficult. For example, perhaps you are offered two

different positions at your job and you have to choose one. How do you choose the right one for

you? The starting point on choosing a major consists of weighing alternatives that relate to your

overall career goal. If your options are not hand in hand with your goals and plans, then you are

not thinking rationally. Think about how much future happiness depends on making the right

choice. Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group,

wrote in the Wall Street Journal, Ultimately, success is not about money or position, but about

living the life you want, not just the life you settle for (as cited in Morgan, 2013). Your choice

of major influences the course of your career and your life.

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A possible field an individual can pursue to gain an insight into the business world is a

marketing degree. Students generally interested in marketing choose to obtain a degree in this

field for a plethora of reasons. Most students who declare a marketing major enjoy

communication (M. Naatus, personal communication, December 1, 2017). This skill is essential

when speaking with clients, presenting ideas, and working with a team (Dosanjh, 2015, para. 4).

Another key reason that people pursue this career is because they enjoy creative thinking (M.

Naatus, personal communication, December 1, 2017). A key aspect of marketing entails creating

ways to actively develop products and services for consumers to purchase (M. Naatus, personal

communication, December 1, 2017). This requires an individual to be innovative and explore

different ways to promote the products to a variety of consumers. Students may also choose to

major in this field if they enjoy changes. One of the things that differentiates marketing from

most business careers is that they are not confided to one task. Every project that a company

undertakes allows an opportunity for growth because an individual is constantly learning

something new whether from a project or from the people they work with (Dosanjh, 2015, para.

5). Overall, marketing is a career that has become highly in demand that offers a myriad of

opportunities for individuals to explore.

One of the great parts of pursuing a marketing degree is the wide variety of careers that

are available. A student who obtains a marketing degree has the opportunity to work in various

professions. One possible career that an individual can pursue with a marketing career is a

Product Manager (M. Naatus, personal communication, December 1, 2017). The overall goal of

a Product Manager is to communicate their vision to everyone effectively which requires them to

grasp different disciplines to be able to productively communicate their ideas to different

divisions (Doyle, 2017). Another possible profession that requires a marketing degree is a
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Market Research Analyst. The duties of a research analyst include analyzing and interpreting

data to determine consumers reaction to new products, and change in advertising as well as

analyzing and researching the companies trends in comparison to competitors (Profita, 2017).

Individuals in this profession normally focus their attention on the economic side of the company

to determine how the marketing of products has either positively or negatively affected the

company. A profession that many people may overlook when pursuing a marketing degree is a

Social Media Manager. The overall goal of a Social Media Manager is to improve the image of

social media outlets such as Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook (Profita, 2017). Social

Media Managers focus on effectively creating and posting content on a platform to entice

consumers (Profita, 2017). Essentially, these are just a few careers that someone can pursue with

a marketing career which demonstrates the variety of professions available with this degree.

One of the things many individuals may not be aware of is how marketing embodies

different traits. The most common trait associated with a marketing major is high extraversion.

High extraversion relates to the notion of being sociable, talkative, and outgoing (Cherry, 2017,

para. 9-10). Most people relate this trait to a marketing major because they believe that

marketing is strictly selling products to consumers. They fail to realize, however, that as a

marketing major there are a variety of professions that do not require this trait. For example,

individuals who demonstrate low extraversion although more reserved can also pursue a

marketing degree (Cherry, 2017, para. 10). A great example of a person who enjoys marketing,

but expresses this trait could pursue a profession as a Market Research Analyst since they rarely

speak to consumers. Another desirable trait for a marketing major is openness. Individuals who

demonstrate openness are creative and willing to try new things (Cherry, 2017, para. 22). This

trait is increasingly desirable for people who are interested in becoming a Social Media Manager
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since they deal primarily with designing the image of social media platforms. Professor Naatus

notes, Marketers should also be self-motivated and flexible and have a good perception of how

people think and behave (personal communication, December 1, 2017). Essentially, marketing

is not limited to one specific trait since every profession in this major requires different qualities.

It seems that the majority of marketing experts are online defining what marketing

success is and how to achieve it. They believe that they can define and obtain marking success

through Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) (Arnold, 2016). This group of marketing experts is

convinced that marketing success should be calculated by how many qualified leads are passed

over to sales. However, Professor Naatus suggest that, Students who excel in business classes

and also have a strong understanding of the digital environment, marketing research methods and

quantitative analysis can be successful in the major and in finding marketing opportunities

(personal communication, December 1, 2017). A marketing major learns how to identify market

segments, estimate demand and set prices. It also includes market research, advertising, public

relations and sales (McKay, 2016). Many careers in the marketing field can be pursued with an

associate, bachelors, masters and/or doctorate degree. A marketing degree can give you

opportunities to work in any industry such as a newspaper, a magazine, a website, or even a

manufacturing company. Thus, when defining success in marketing their is no set guideline to

attain it since every profession is rewarding in its own way.

References

Arnold, B. (2016, December 7). How to Define Marketing Success. EyeMagazine. Retrieved

December 4, 2017, from https://www.eyemaginetech.com/blog/how-to-define-marketing-

success

Cherry, K. (2017, May 8). The Big Five Personality Traits. Very well. Retrieved November 30,
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2017, from https://www.verywell.com/how-many-personality-traits-are-there-2795430

Dosanjh, S. [Seema Dosanjh]. (2015, April 18). Why Choose Marketing And Advertising As A

Career? [Linkedin post]. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-choose-

marketing-advertising-career-seema-dosanjh

Doyle, A. (2017, June 12). Product Manager Skills List and Examples. The Balance, Retrieved

December 3, 2017, from https://www.thebalance.com/list-of-product-manager-skills-

2062460

McKay, D. (2016, September 9). Marketing Major. The Balance, Retrieved December 4,

2017, from https://www.thebalance.com/marketing-major-525373

Mind Tools Content Team. Making the Right Career Move. MindTools. Retrieved December 4,

2017, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_73.htm

Morgan, H. (2013, December 11). 6 Considerations for Choosing a Career Path. U.S.

News. Retrieved December 4, 2017, from

https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/12/11/6-

considerations-for-choosing-a-career-path

Northern Michigan University. The Importance of Choosing a Major. NMU. Retrieved

December

4, 2017, from https://www.nmu.edu/admissions/importance-choosing-major

Profita, M. (2017, October 9). The Top 10 Jobs for Marketing Majors. The Balance, Retrieved

November 30, 2017, from https://www.thebalance.com/top-jobs-for-marketing-majors-

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