What are the credentials or degrees needed in order to become a marketing representative ?

Hi Markese - to become successful in marketing, your experiences might be as important as your educational credentials. In terms of education, you can get a job in marketing with a bachelor's degree in business with a focus on marketing. Marketing involves analyzing and understand your customers' needs and positioning your company or client to fulfill those needs. It requires that you can problem solve and think strategically, and you have be good at communications (both speaking and writing). Start practicing those skills today and start trying to get working experience in marketing - contact companies that you like and would be interested in working for to see if they have any internship positions, or if you could shadow people in their marketing departments. At the beginning, internships may be unpaid, but getting experience will be very valuable as you start applying for paying positions.

Markese,

I've hired young PR and marketing professionals with all sorts of degrees. I can honestly say the paper doesn't matter. The school matters a little, and your ability to network definitely matters a lot. But ultimately, your communication skills are paramount -- your ability to write, the manner in which you present yourself, your persuasive abilities, your technical shops are all more important than the degree you get, at least here where I sit in tech PR.

Some of this will depend on what types of positions you're interested in (internships will help you figure this out), as well as what types of companies you think you'd like to work for. A marketing degree from a good school typically opens up more opportunities, but great experience can go a long way too. Marketing degrees are typically in Business, with a focus on marketing. Example: Bachelors of Business Administration with focus in Marketing. If you like more of the communications and PR side, there often are degrees in Communications. And there's the creative side, which can run the gamut from degrees in Advertising to degrees in design and web development.

A bachelors degree from college is a great starting place. You would not need to major in business or have an emphasis in marketing, although I am sure those help open the door for entry-level positions. I majored in political economy, but ended up going into marketing. My first jobs had some marketing incorporated with other responsibilities. My first full-time marketing position was actually my fourth job. Early on, I took an U.C. extension program to earn a certificate in marketing in the evenings. If you want to advance, and move into higher ranks, folks will look for an MBA. (If you work at a university - and some companies - will reimburse for continuing education - something to look at when deciding where to apply for your first job.) There are a lot of evening or executive MBA programs which you can do while working, although I'm sure it would be exhausting. But even now, with 25+ yrs experience, there are some positions that I would not be considered for because I don't have an MBA so if you can do it, I'm sure it would open even more doors.

Hi Markese-
Great question! You can get a marketing job more easily with a Bachelor's Degree in Business with a concentration in Marketing. Experience is also very important so I would also suggest a marketing internship as another great way to learn and get your foot in the door with companies.
Hope you find this useful and good luck in your future!

We hire based on three base criteria for each candidate - must be smart, insanely curious and be a unique personality (not blend in). Aside from these three base characteristics, we then look at how prepared for the role the candidate is based on their background - and equally, how much preparation they put in prior to our meeting.

Candidates that quickly peek at our website and social feeds are quickly sent away - it's the people who put in the work to know about our culture, our people, our accounts, our history, how we're viewed in the industry, etc. that we hire!

And we hire a wide range of folks with all sorts of college degrees - history, psychology, theology, sociology, political science, engineering, and of course the more directly associated degrees of marketing, communications, journalism, design, etc.

Now, we're an advertising agency, but in my experience many companies hire in a similar way for marketing roles.

Marketing is a great industry - hope you join!

Hi Markese, I agree with your previous responders. A degree in Business with a specialisation in Marketing is a great start. A new and exciting area you might want to explore is digital marketing. There are many great opportunities in this space. Good luck!