Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	1,568
Associate Degree	626
Basic Certificate	496
Master’s Degree	473
Undergraduate Certificate	59
Graduate Certificate	26
Doctor’s Degree	4

What Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, general sales, distribution, and marketing operations 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 General Sales, Distribution, and Marketing Operations Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• 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 General Sales, Distribution, and Marketing Operations Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to general sales, distribution, and marketing operations:

• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for General Sales, Distribution, and Marketing Operations Majors

As a general sales, distribution, and marketing operations major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• 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.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 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.

What Can You Do With a Major?

People with a general sales, distribution, and marketing operations degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products	5.2%	$58,510

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

This major attracts more men than women. About 57% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	279
Black or African American	103
Hispanic or Latino	289
White	787
International Students	55
Other Races/Ethnicities	55

Geographic Diversity

General Sales, Distribution, and Marketing Operations appeals to people across the globe. About 3.5% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to general sales, distribution, and marketing operations is $69,480. This median refers to 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 careers associated with general sales, distribution, and marketing operations require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. 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.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to general sales, distribution, and marketing operations have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	4.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	19.0%
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)	3.6%
Some College Courses	2.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	66.2%
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.	2.3%
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.	0.4%

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)	47	8
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	111	15
Bachelor’s Degree	4	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	9	2
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 general sales, distribution, and marketing operations grad is $69,480 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 74% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $591,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to general sales, distribution, and marketing operations.

Major	Number of Grads
Professional Sales	1,039
Retailing and Retail Operations	930
Other General Merchandising, Sales, and Related Marketing Operations	187
Merchandising and Buying Operations	42

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.