My friend is interested in marketing. what courses would be best for him to pursue his career.

I suppose it depends at what level the course is. Marketing has a huge remit from marketing operations to marketing communication etc. I choose a Business Studies Degree and specialised on various marketing modules e.g. buyer behaviour, retail marketing, international marketing etc. That was back in 1992 so I expect the landscape has changed dramatically with many specialised avenues will now be available e.g. digital marketing, PR/communications etc. My feeling is if you don't exactly know what area you want to focus on then following a generic business course that enables you to focus on the marketing fundamentals will be a great foundation to build on.

Depending on the university you attend there are several different paths/courses that come with a marketing degree. What is most prevalent now a days is receiving a business administration degree with a focus in marketing or a marketing degree through the business school. On that note, both types of programs will offer an array of courses that you can take since marketing is a major that touches many aspects of business. As such, it is difficult to recommend certain courses. Your friend needs to start his career path by asking self-discovery questions: "what type of career do I want to pursue?" "what industry do I want to work for?" "what skills do I need for this industry?" and finally, "what brings me joy?" Once you answer these questions you can determine if you want to follow a marketing research path, creative marketing, etc. After these questions are answered it will become apparent which courses are the ones you need to take.

Considering the recent evolvement of marketing, I definitely recommend you take at least one digital marketing course and a marketing strategy course. These two courses will set a nice foundation for any marketing career you choose to go into.

Best of luck!

I was a marketing major, with a minor in comp in computer science and business. I didn't know what I wanted to do with the degree i was aiming to get. I thought I would be working in the advertising business but that didn't pan out. So my suggestion is, try to narrow down what field you thing you may be interested in, and take business courses to round it out. Along the way, you will see what you are leaning towards. I would say get part time jobs in various companies that you You may be surprised that you end up somewhere else doing what you never imagined, but at least along the way you may have had opportunties to try out marketing in various companies. Phone sales, support sales, tech sales...

I didn't major in marketing (journalism and communications here with a minor in public relations), but that's where I ended fairly quickly in my career.

In addition to a creative mind and thinking like a problem solver, you need exposure to business process. You must know how business works so you can help it work better, especially in the area of sales. This varies from business to business but you need to understand how people come in the door and leave as customers, B2C, B2B, B2B2B...all the same.

Then, as a new marketer, I would say you will be most successful if you have some mix of tech in your background. Digital marketing is really the way of the world and if you can get your hands a bit mixed in the world of coding or light development you'll be even more valuable. There is a lot of info on digital marketing software and principles...you don't have to know it all, but a general comfort level would go a long way!