Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general sales & marketing graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	2,535
Basic Certificate	1,346
Associate Degree	848
Master’s Degree	489
Undergraduate Certificate	176
Graduate Certificate	52
Doctor’s Degree	4

What Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, sales & marketing majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Sales & Marketing Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in sales & marketing should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Sales & Marketing Majors

sales & marketing majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Sales & Marketing Majors

A major in sales & marketing will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with sales & marketing:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Demonstrators and Product Promoters	6.5%	$28,960
Energy Brokers	9.7%	$54,550
First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	4.9%	$73,390
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	3.8%	$39,630
Parts Salespersons	5.0%	$30,430
Sales and Related Workers	10.6%	$33,220
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products	5.2%	$58,510
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products	5.2%	$79,680
Solar Sales Representatives and Assessors	5.2%	$79,680

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

This is one of the most frequently chosen business majors. It is the 17th most popular in the country with 2,815 students graduating with a bachelor’s in sales & marketing in 2021. According to recent stats this major attracts about equal numbers of men and women. Roughly 47% of the graduates are women, and 53% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of sales & marketing majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	309
Black or African American	169
Hispanic or Latino	370
White	1,475
International Students	94
Other Races/Ethnicities	118

Geographic Diversity

Sales & Marketing appeals to people across the globe. About 3.7% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Taiwan
• India
• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea

How Much Do Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $40,480 to $69,480 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to sales & marketing. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to

Some degrees associated with sales & marketing may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for sales & marketing careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	5.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	28.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	5.8%
Some College Courses	11.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	10.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	38.0%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.3%
Master’s Degree	0.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	0.0%

Online Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	99	14
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	167	22
Bachelor’s Degree	12	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	15	3
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a sales & marketing grad is $45,080 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 13% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $103,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to sales & marketing.

Major	Number of Grads
Business Administration & Management	403,753
Accounting	93,982
General Business/Commerce	56,779
Finance & Financial Management	54,690
Marketing	52,078
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	48,037
Human Resource Management	27,074
Business Support & Assistant Services	19,686
Hospitality Management	16,015
Management Information Systems	12,429
Entrepreneurial Studies	12,241
International Business	8,014
Real Estate	7,448
Business/Managerial Economics	5,151
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing	4,668
Other Business, Management & Marketing	4,606
Construction Management	4,158
Insurance	1,737
Taxation	1,447
Business/Corporate Communications	897
Telecommunications Management	68

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Nick Nijhuis under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.