Marketing is a broad field with a primary purpose of generating demand for an enterprise’s products or services. It involves an understanding of consumer behavior and research to determine consumer preferences and to guide firms in dealing with those preferences.

As a Penn State student, you have access to Vault, an online career database of information on a variety of business majors. This site offers industry career guides, cover letter and resume resources, information videos, and much more. Check out the Advertising and Marketing Career Guides here! Interested in Consulting? View the Consulting Guides here.

 

For more information about the Marketing major, visit:

Smeal Majors: undergrad.smeal.psu.edu/majors/marketing

Academics & Advising: ugstudents.smeal.psu.edu/academics-advising/information-on-smeal-majors/marketing

Smeal Undergraduate Majors: Marketing from Smeal College of Business on Vimeo.

Marketing Career Paths

Because customer insights are at the center of the marketing process, all Smeal marketing majors take courses in consumer behavior, marketing research, and marketing strategy. Majors then have the option to pick their own diverse combination of courses or select a focus area of prescribed and recommended courses.

 Careers in marketing include positions in:

  • Brand management
  • Product line management
  • Digital marketing
  • Marketing analytics
  • Retail planning and allocation
  • Retail buying
  • Sales management
  • Consulting
  • Field sales
  • Consultative selling
  • Sports sponsorships
  • Sports analytics

Consulting

consultants focus on the performance of the company by solving problems and finding better processes. They help companies save costs without compromising the quality of service or processes by providing guidance to management. Some of the important skills they have are critical thinking to find solutions that will benefit the company, problem-solving skills to come up with recommendations, and communication to relay these effectively. Find your future in consulting! Check out this consulting industry snapshot created by the Forté Foundation. This is a great resource to explore industries that interest you the most.

Marketing Manager

Marketing managers plan campaigns to create interest in their product or service always keeping the end goal or big picture in mind. They create and evaluate marketing strategies and are in charge of managing a team of marketing professionals. Skills include excellent communication, organization, planning and a positive attitude towards their work.

Sales Manager

Sales Managers direct the company’s sales teams by setting goals, analyzing data, and developing training programs for representatives. They need to have great communication, critical thinking, and organization skills.

Retail Manager

Retail Managers maintain the day to day operations of the business, manage employees, create financial budgets, and plan annual objectives and goals. Some important skills for retail managers to have are strong relationship building and organization skills.

Account Manager

Account managers play the role of liaison between the company and the clients and are responsible for nurturing long-term relationships with clients. They are the face of the company so they need excellent communication skills and the ability to network.