Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	193
Basic Certificate	51
Graduate Certificate	50
Bachelor’s Degree	16
Associate Degree	2
Undergraduate Certificate	1

What Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to marketing research were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Marketing Research Majors

Marketing Research majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.
• 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.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Marketing Research Majors

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

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• 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.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Marketing Research Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a marketing research student include the following:

• 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.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with marketing research:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists	23.2%	$63,120
Marketing Managers	10.1%	$134,290

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 75% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1
Black or African American	1
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	12
International Students	1
Other Races/Ethnicities	1

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Marketing Research, too. About 6.3% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Marketing Research majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $63,240 to $103,330 (25th to 75th percentile). 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 careers associated with marketing research require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

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

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.1%
Some College Courses	0.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	28.4%
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.	1.0%
Master’s Degree	21.4%
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.	0.9%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	3.4%
Doctoral Degree	23.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.8%

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)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	10	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	15	2
Post-Master’s	2	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 marketing research grad is $70,960 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 78% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $621,200 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

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

Major	Number of Grads
Marketing/Marketing Management, General	49,275
Other Marketing	1,331
Digital Marketing	677
International Marketing	482

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 Youngson under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.