Basics

• Marketing managers work with other departments, such as advertising and graphics, to help build and maintain their company's image and products. They interact with clients, reporters and upper management on a regular basis, focusing on the positive aspects of their company. They are aware of the company's history and play a large role in its future, keeping an eye on the competition and analyzing trends within their industry. While marketing managers aren't salesmen, they do often come up with innovative ways to make sales.
  
  

Skills

• Marketing managers must be highly creative and clever when it comes to developing strategies aimed at improving the company's brand. They need to be organized, analytical, energetic, persuasive and resilient. Also, if they are in charge of a staff, they need to be comfortable giving instructions and getting their employees to perform at high levels. Besides that, marketing managers must have a working knowledge of computers, since much of their promotional efforts are done via their own company's website, as well as email.
  
  

Background

• The majority of marketing managers have obtained a bachelor's or master's degree. That's especially true of those who work for larger businesses. Besides marketing, most marketing managers focus on courses in advertising, sales and communications. Experienced marketing managers often spend time in the lower levels of the field before being put in charge of an entire department. Others have spent time working in some form of sales, advertising or public relations.
  
  

Prospects

• Jobs for marketing managers are expected to be plentiful at least through 2018. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), marketing managers are expected to see a 14 percent increase in employment during the next decade. That said, becoming a marketing manager isn't easy, as these position are highly coveted and often fairly well paying.
  
  

Earnings

• Marketing managers earned anywhere from nearly $50,000 to more than $124,000 per year in 2010, according to PayScale.com. Experienced managers were likely at the higher end of that scale, especially ones who worked for solid or flourishing industries. The BLS estimated that marketing managers had a median salary of more than $108,000 in May 2008.