Marketing is a broad field with the 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.
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
Major Sustainability: majorsustainability.smeal.psu.edu/
To learn more about student organizations related to your major and/or interests, visit ugstudents.smeal.psu.edu/student-organizations.
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.
