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Advice on choosing Marketing as a career!

I need help.

I really want to major in Marketing for the ability to work remotely, but I’ve also heard that marketing is not the most stable job and so many people say that these kinds of jobs start off super low paying (Which is something I don’t want).

I feel super called to this career, I know I would have fun with it and I know there is potential in moving up in salary with more years of experience. I am currently in college getting my bachelors in marketing so far…

But I am having second thoughts being that the starting salary is super low, this has me feeling really unsure and uncertain and I feel like I’ve been in this Limbo space for a while now.

I have also been considering becoming an ultrasound tech as an alternative…

So I am really just looking for some help and reassurance from a professional who can give me some guidance on this career choice! I really just want to be certain and confident in choosing to work in Marketing if I’m going to continue to university for it.

Thanks so much!! 💖💖

Sincerely,
Katelyn

career college job marketing
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Dillon’s Answer

Hey Katelyn,
If you feel called to a career in Marketing, then stick with it if you're passionate about it. Marketing is a wide world so my advice is find out what kind of companies you'd want to work for and what types of marketing positions you'd want to have. You can find positions in strategy, creative, social media, analytics, and many more roles. While you're in school, try to find local businesses you can shadow and learn from and roll that experience into applying into more specific internships that will teach you even more. It's a lot easier to get these kind of learning opportunities when you're a student.

As for remote work, it's true a lot of marketing positions have gone remote especially since the pandemic. However, the most common openings these days are hybrid remote/in-office and require you to live within commuting distance of the office. Full remote positions are out there, but they're more competitive since the potential applicant pool is nearly limitless. My recommendation would be especially for some experience while in school, apply for hybrid or fully in-person positions to show to potential employers you have experience collaborating in person. Then after graduation, apply at the company that's the best fit for you and don't limit yourself to only remote positions. As you gain more experience, you'll be able to be more choosy where you apply and understand how to make your resume stand out. Do the in-person roles now as I've found the older I get, the more I value the option to work remote more as I get busier with side hustles and family.

While it's true marketing does tend to pay a lower starting salary than other specialized fields like software development or medicine, there are plenty of higher paying roles in marketing out there. It really depends on the area you live in and the companies that are hiring. In a rural area, I'd expect to make $35k to $50k a year right out of school, in an urban area $40k to $60k per year. As you gain more experience you'll be able to also be more choosy about the salaries on offer. You can also boost your resume and experience by volunteering your knowledge and expertise to non-profits whose mission aligns with your personal beliefs and convictions.

Hopefully this answers your questions, but feel free to reach out if you have any others.
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Jemma’s Answer

After finishing my Marketing degree and working in the field for over 17 years, I can truly say it's an amazing career path if you're passionate about it! While most of my experience is on the client side rather than with agencies, I've had the chance to work on exciting and sometimes high-profile campaigns and sponsorships. The skills you gain are diverse and can be used in many other business areas too.
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Abigail’s Answer

Hi Katelyn! It's completely normal to feel unsure about your career path in college, especially without any hands-on experience. I was in the same boat, starting undecided and exploring different courses to find my interests. I initially chose Advertising as my major and later interned with a Marketing and Communications team at a tech company during summer break. This experience led me to add Communication Studies as a second major.

To move forward, focus on what excites you and aim to secure a summer internship. This will help you discover if the work truly interests you. Stay committed, and the right opportunities and career growth will come your way. You can do it!
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L’s Answer

Hello,

Choosing a major can be an exciting journey because you have so many options. You can create your own path with choices like a double major, major and minor combinations, or various electives. Whatever you decide, technology will be a part of it, influencing your future work. This summer, why not explore new ideas in marketing? Look into how AI and GenAI are shaping the field and how different types of marketing, like product marketing, help industries grow. This way, you can combine your passion with opportunities for growth and enjoy your work while being rewarded for your efforts.
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Michelle’s Answer

Hi Katelyn,

It sounds like you are passionate about Marketing and it's so important to feel energized by what you are doing so that you can prevent burnout. If you have found something that you love, I'd say go for it. Marketing is so broad and essentially every business needs marketing is some fashion. That's what I told myself when I started my career in marketing years ago.

As an English major I interned as a marketing specialist and learned how diverse marketing is. You can market in many sectors from engineering to tech to consulting. The options are limitless. I'd say start out with a company that you can get a wide range of experience in from social media to email marketing to proposal development, video production, corporate marketing and see what fits you and inspires you. You can start out as an analyst in a consulting firm and start out making 60k plus and get a wide range of experience. You can migrate up to a consultant and then branch out to a more concentrated field that interests you. With consulting firms you get to work on numerous projects so that you can figure out what suits you.

While you're working always stay up to date with new technologies and market yourself with your skill set. Companies want to be a step ahead of the competition so if you're in the know you can be seen as an asset and get the pay you deserve.
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Stacey’s Answer

The best advice I can offer is to follow your passion and pursue what you truly love. What excites you the most? Is it sales, social media, or event coordination? I have a degree in Marketing, and though I wasn't sure where it would lead me, I found my path in Market Research with a tech company. My starting salary was modest, but over the past 23 years, I've grown, switched companies, and increased both my experience and earnings.

While remote work is more common now, I recommend not focusing solely on finding a remote job right after college. Working in an office and building relationships with colleagues was essential for my career growth. With many companies returning to the office, a hybrid role might give you the best of both worlds.

Consider finding a co-op or internship to gain experience and start building your portfolio. Although it can be tough to admit, switching companies every few years can help boost your salary if it's not meeting your expectations.

Good luck!
Thank you comment icon Thank you! Katelyn
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Helen’s Answer

Starting your career in an office setting right after school can be a great choice. Being around your manager and colleagues provides valuable guidance and advice. While remote work offers flexibility, it can sometimes feel lonely if you're not careful. Staying focused and dedicated is key, even when working from home. Remember, the work hours and commitment should remain the same. Also, many companies are shifting back to office or hybrid models, so keeping your options open can lead to more job opportunities.

Marketing is an exciting field with lots of variety. You have the chance to explore different areas, like PR, communications, advertising, or channel marketing. You can start as a generalist and later dive deeper into a specialty, expanding your skills and knowledge as you go.

Most careers begin at entry-level positions, where you can learn and gain experience. But don't worry—there are plenty of opportunities to grow and increase your salary over time. While fields like law or medicine might offer higher pay, they also require significant investment in education and ongoing learning.

Wishing you the best of luck on your journey!
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Vladimir’s Answer

Marketing can feel unstable at the entry level because pay often starts modest, but it scales fast once you specialize and build a track record. The real value is in picking an in-demand niche (SEO, paid ads, analytics, or UX/content strategy). Those roles pay more and are highly remote-friendly. If you enjoy creativity, problem-solving, and adapting to trends, marketing can be both fun and lucrative long-term, especially if you prove results. If you’re drawn to marketing, stick with your degree, but make sure you’re gaining practical skills + portfolio work alongside it so you stand out when applying. This shortens the “low pay” phase significantly.
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Charlotte’s Answer

Hi Katelyn! First, thank you for sharing your thoughts so openly — it’s completely normal to feel uncertain when you're making big decisions about your future. You're not alone in this, and the fact that you're reflecting deeply shows how thoughtful and intentional you are. That’s a strength in any career.
Let’s break this down and give you some clarity:

Why Marketing Can Be a Great Career Choice
Marketing is a broad and evolving field, and yes — it can absolutely lead to remote work, creative freedom, and strong earning potential over time. Here’s why:

Creativity + Strategy: You get to blend storytelling, design, psychology, and data.
Remote-Friendly Roles: Digital marketing, content creation, SEO, and social media roles are often remote.
Growth Opportunities: With experience, marketers can move into high-paying roles like brand strategist, marketing manager, or even CMO.
Entrepreneurial Potential: Marketing skills are valuable if you ever want to freelance, consult, or start your own business.


About the Starting Salary Concern
You're right — entry-level marketing roles can start lower than some technical or healthcare jobs. But here’s the nuance:

Marketing salaries vary widely depending on the industry, location, and your specialization.
Digital marketing, especially in areas like SEO, paid ads, and analytics, tends to pay better and grow faster.
Experience compounds: Once you build a portfolio, gain certifications, and prove results, your value increases quickly.

If salary is a top priority, you can focus on data-driven marketing roles (like performance marketing or growth marketing), which tend to pay more and are in high demand.

Comparing to Ultrasound Tech
Ultrasound tech is a great career — stable, well-paying, and meaningful. But it’s also:

Less flexible in terms of remote work
More routine and clinical
Requires certification and hands-on training

If you’re drawn to creativity, storytelling, and digital tools, marketing may feel more aligned with your personality and passions.
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Charlotte’s Answer

Hi Katelyn,
Choosing a career can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re passionate about marketing but also worried about the starting salary and job stability. It’s totally normal to have second thoughts, but here’s the good news: marketing can be a fantastic career choice if you approach it strategically. Yes, entry-level marketing roles, like social media coordinators or digital marketers, can start with salaries around $40k to $55k, but the field has a lot of growth potential. As you gain experience and specialize—whether in digital marketing, brand management, or SEO—your salary can increase significantly. Mid-level marketing managers often make $70k to $100k, and senior roles like marketing directors can earn six figures.

One of the biggest advantages of marketing is its flexibility. It’s one of the most remote-friendly careers, allowing you to work from anywhere, which is a huge plus if you value location independence. Marketing also gives you the chance to be creative, build campaigns, and use storytelling to engage audiences, which can make the work genuinely enjoyable. Plus, marketing skills are highly transferable, so even if one role isn’t perfect, you can pivot to other areas like content strategy or digital analytics.

If stability and a higher starting salary are your top priorities, ultrasound tech could be a great alternative. It offers reliable pay and a structured work environment, but it’s also less flexible and creative compared to marketing. Ultimately, if you feel called to marketing and can see yourself enjoying the work long-term, don’t let the starting salary scare you off. Investing in your passion now can lead to a fulfilling and financially rewarding career later. Let me know if you want more advice on building your marketing skills! 💪
Thank you comment icon Yeah… having location freedom would be super nice Katelyn
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Bárbara’s Answer

First of all, it’s totally normal to feel uncertain when you're making big life and career decisions. I’ve been working in marketing for over 10 years now, and I can tell you it’s been quite a ride! I’ve done everything from old-school billboard and in-store design to digital marketing, web content, video production, and even running my own social media marketing business.

Marketing is a field that constantly evolves, and that can feel both exciting and overwhelming at times. But that’s also what makes it so fun.. you’re always learning, always adapting, and there’s a lot of room to make it your own. Yes, early-career salaries can start lower in some areas, but that changes as you build experience, niche down, and prove your value. I've seen the growth that comes with time and consistency.

Regarding remote work: yes, there are lots of opportunities to work from home, especially in digital marketing, content strategy, SEO, and social media. But depending on the area you focus on, you might also find yourself moving around, networking, meeting clients, or attending events. It can be a great mix of flexibility and stimulation if that’s your style.

At the end of the day, I truly believe you should do what makes you feel like you're not working. If marketing excites you and feels aligned with who you are, that’s worth listening to. There will always be more stable or higher-paying alternatives out there, but fulfillment and passion go a long way, especially in a creative, dynamic field like marketing.

Wishing you the best of luck!
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Laura’s Answer

Hello, my first recommendation is to choose something you love. There's nothing worse than working without passion, because that will prevent you from working with the best enthusiasm, and therefore, your work won't have the expected results.
It's not easy to get a good job in marketing, and you have to know that you won't be earning a lot of money from the start. But a lot depends on you. If you work hard and perform well, you'll gain experience and move up the ranks.
It is also important to focus on the field you want to work in. If you work for marketing or advertising agencies, they regularly pay less than if you join a company to work in the marketing area. Look for large, multinational companies and growth areas such as technology or mass consumption, as you will have the opportunity to earn more than if you go to smaller companies.
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Sabrina’s Answer

Hi Katelyn,

Marketing professional here with 17 years experience working in a wide variety of related roles across finance, retail/apparel, and technology. I say that to highlight the range of industries a marketing degree allows you to work in. There are also sub-specialties to marketing that aren't always apparent like database marketing, choosing digital/retail/social media/CRM marketing paths, and so on. The point I'm trying to make is marketing allows for a lot of flexibility and many different career paths. It is a very practical, agile degree in my experience. Every company needs a marketer.

As for the pay, that all depends - where are you willing to relocate to for a higher paying salary, are you willing to start on the agency side, big company or small/start up, how open are you to up-skilling within the role you land, allowing you to fill gaps and move up faster (in my experience this is what allowed me to make more money faster - the up-skilling piece).

Also, if you feel called to this, DO IT. Being happy in your job and in your career is not always a given. If you think this career path would be fulfilling, dive in and don't look back.

Best wishes!

Sabrina
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Elena’s Answer

Hi! If you feel called to marketing as a profession and a field of study for your bachelors degree, I definitely think you should pursue it and take the risk! A marketing degree is a great degree regardless of if you actually get a job in that field, and will help open up more conversations in alternate fields of work if you end up going in a different direction down the road.

In terms of your concern for a lower salary out of college, a huge benefit of a remote marketing job (if you are able to get one) is that you will have more time available (that won't be spent commuting to and from an office) to pick up a side job for some additional income if needed (serving at a restaurant or bartending in the evenings, fitness instructor in the mornings, etc.)

I personally work in Tech Marketing, which I felt gave me a good enough salary right out of college to be able to pay my rent, buy groceries, have a gym membership, etc. and still be able spend my money on fun things during the weekends (concerts, sporting events, etc.) There are a ton of different marketing roles at tech companies that you could explore depending on what you feel your strengths and passions are. If you are interested in digital marketing/social media, you could look into a "growth marketing" or "campaign marketing" position. If you like writing and and have more of a creative side, you could explore "product marketing" or "content marketing" roles. If you like event planning and creating tangible experiences, you could explore "event marketing" or "field marketing" roles (which is what I have been doing for the last 7 years and I love it). There are a TON of tech companies out there that you could look into, each of them with a marketing team that they may be looking to grow or expand.

Hopefully this eases your mind a bit and maybe gives you some insight and ideas into new areas of marketing you could look into!
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Jared’s Answer

To be a Marketer and/or Sonographer or not to be? If only we could marry the two! Hard skills like sonographer would seem more stable than a career in Marketing. I want to throw this out there to chew on. Sometimes having a background in an industry while pursuing marketing jobs is helpful. So consider this - get your sonographer path going. Google says this takes about 2-years with an associates degree. Get some experience under your belt while earning/saving $ and gives you time to know whether you enjoy it or not. Then pursue finishing your bachelors and masters in Marketing.

This can help in two ways. First, healthcare firms in need of marketing talent would see your healthcare experience as a positive. Second, you can build relationships and networking in the medical industry to help get your foot in the door. If you wind up working for a larger healthcare org as a sonographer, you can use your current employment as a major perk to transition into marketing there.

The last thing I'll say is at 45-years old I have found that a majority of people do not wind up working in the major they went to school for. The exceptions are for hard skills that require a degree (ie: nursing, doctor, lawyer, etc) For instance, I graduated with Graphic Design, but am now a Product Manager leading technical engineering teams.

It's just my 2 cents to think about as an option, but I would really plan it out on paper so you can see the whole picture before making a decision.

Good luck on your journey
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Barry’s Answer

Katelyn,

A marketing career can be great, please be aware that most roles have the fun parts where you are truly marketing to drive a business result and the supporting detailed content creation work. Focus on those roles that most appeal to the passion that drives true creative marketing, good luck,

Barry

Barry recommends the following next steps:

Have informational interviews with different marketing professionals to help you understand what is needed by role
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Darren’s Answer

You're correct that marketing can be an exciting and fulfilling field. Great experiences, varying work from day to day, lots of creative outlets. It also provides great transferability... taking skills learned at one organization and applying them to another company/industry. Very versatile... Choosing a profession all comes down to where your interests truly lie. There are certain areas within marketing that can provide higher salaries. If you are considering something in healthcare as an ultrasound tech, perhaps consider something in marketing that calls upon your tech side (AI, analytics, graphic design, etc.) Good luck!
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Hayden’s Answer

Hi Katelyn! I would share that a bachelors in business marketing, regardless if you end up staying in marketing your entire career - is a great degree! I would focus on getting a degree in an area that has the ability to teach competencies around various business functions. I have a marketing degree, but currently work in HR/Talent Acquisition!

Best of luck!
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David’s Answer

It really depends on what you love to do. Some people make a lot of money in marketing, while others leave jobs like being a doctor to become comedians. Marketing can open doors to many different areas, and you aren't tied to just one industry.
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sherin’s Answer

Consider boosting your marketing skills by adding data analytics and marketing intelligence. This will help you show your findings in real-time, making your work more practical and impressive.
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Laura’s Answer

Marketing is an amazing major! There's a world of possibilities to explore and so many exciting paths to take. I’ve had the chance to work in different roles like strategy, creative, and operations across various marketing channels. I’ve managed both Direct Mail and Digital marketing campaigns for different products and projects at my company. The best part? I never get bored! There are countless opportunities and career paths in marketing. While you might need to work your way up in terms of salary, this is common in many careers, so don’t let it get you down. If you’re passionate about what you do, you’ll succeed and climb the ladder quickly!
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