Marketing MBA
Marketing is absolutely essential for successful businesses to convey their product to the market. Everywhere you look, you see large and small corporations trying to grab your attention and entice you to buy their product or service. Most people give very little thought to the minds behind those clever ad campaigns even though they are an integral part of any business. Naturally, this also means they are always in demand. The path to becoming a marketing guru isn’t as complex as it may seem and getting an MBA in marketing can be a great way to get a foot in the door.
What is an MBA?
A Masters of Business Administration (MBA) is a graduate program which can cover a variety of different business topics. Anything from accounting, human resources management, consulting or finance are all specialties available to you as an MBA student. MBAs are definitely worth their weight in gold. According to US News, 2018 MBA grads earned an average of $102,495 in salary and bonus- which makes it one of the highest paying careers.
What is an MBA in Marketing?
An MBA in marketing is just one of the many concentrations a student can pick from within an MBA program. Overall, it is one of the most popular pathways out there. In 2018, US industries spent a total of $223 billion on advertising- which is expected to increase over the course of the next few years. Thus, it is very clear that there is a massive market for advertisements. Of course, this helps explain why marketing MBAs are one of the most popular Master’s degree concentrations. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that market research analysts jobs will grow 20% or 139,200 jobs between 2018-2028.
What does it take to get an MBA in Marketing?
While a marketing concentration will provide advanced training and insight into the world of marketing, you will still gain some basic knowledge that is commonly associated with a business degree such as:
- Mathematics
- Communications
- Analytics
- Management
As you advance through your program, you will likely take more relevant classes such as:
- Marketing management
- Marketing channel strategies
- Sales force management
- Branding
- International marketing
- Product development
- Advertising management
Along with classes, you will be required to complete an internship at a company. This is to provide you with hands on learning experiences so that you can enter the job market with some experience under your belt. Large corporations such as L’Oreal and Walt Disney offer graduate students summer internships. While not all internships are paid, your work as an intern will speak volumes to your abilities which cannot be expressed with a simple grade and therefore is one of the most important parts of your MBA. Furthermore, some internships could also turn into full time paid positions upon graduating.
You will also likely complete a capstone project which allows you to put all the skills you have learned to use in an academic setting. This can be a project, thesis or seminar.
Some degree programs allow you to further specialize in a certain aspect of marketing. While marketing is a concentration, schools have specific concentrations within that. Therefore, with some schools you can choose to specialize in areas like E-commerce, global marketing or social media marketing.
Can I Get my MBA in Marketing Online?
Online MBA programs are some of the most popular pathways for students to earn their masters degree. In some cases, online MBAs are more affordable and often times work better with a busy life schedule. Strong economic conditions are also making it harder for people to leave their jobs to pursue a degree. However, an online program will better allow you to balance your work and family time.
Getting your MBA is a great way to advance your career or start a new one higher up in the chain of management. Even more so, getting a concentration in marketing can open up more job opportunities and set you up for a very successful and secure career. Want to learn more about getting a marketing MBA? Check out our guide or our blog for more information!