Advertising Education and Training

Earning an advertising degree involves completing a four-year course of study. In order to earn a bachelor’s level advertising degree, you will need to complete coursework in the areas of consumer behavior, marketing, sales, market research, communication, and visual arts. Areas of specialization within the visual arts are may include art history, photography, or other similar areas.

Advertising Employment Opportunities

Earning an advertising degree opens the door to a number of career opportunities. Some common careers that can be spurred by an advertising degree include:

• Research executive
• Market research analyst
• Media planner
• Media buyer
• Advertising sale agent

A research executive is responsible for compiling data and monitoring both internal and external research. With the knowledge gained while earning the advertising degree, the research executive also develops research tools and interprets the gathered data.

The market research analyst puts his or her advertising degree to work by taking a look at statistical data. They look at past sales and make predictions for future sales. In addition, they provide the management of the company with necessary information to help them make decisions about the design, distribution, and promotion of their products or services.

The media planner uses his or her advertising degree in a different way. He or she still gathers information, but this information is concerning what the public reads, watches, and listens to. Through this evaluation, he or she determines how to best use various forms of media for the most effective marketing.

The media buyer is also concerned with media, but is responsible for keeping track of the time and space used for ads. They also monitor the ads to make sure they appear as they are schedule. Advertising sales agents, on the other hand, sell the space to be used on these various forms of media.

Advertising Job Outlook and Salary

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the earnings for a person with an advertising degree can vary greatly according to the position he or she is in. In May of 2004, for example, advertising sales agents earned a median hourly wage of $21.59. During that same time period, operations managers earned $55.06 per hour.

The Bureau predicts that employment opportunities for those with an advertising degree will grow approximately 22% over the next several years, which is more than the average industry. At the same time, competition is fierce as many people pursue this career because of its perceived glamour. In addition, layoffs within the industry are fairly common when major accounts are lost.

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