What Can You Do With a Degree in Marketing and Communication?

If you've considered a career in marketing and communications, it's important to pursue a degree in the field. Given the popularity of the field, today's employers are seeking professionals with a solid foundation in general business skills, soft skills, and key strategic marketing communication skills, and often require applicants to hold a minimum of a bachelor's degree in a related field.

However, before making the decision to enroll in a program, it's important to have a clear sense of what you'd like to do with your degree, so you can make the right choice of school and find opportunities to customize your degree with a specialization in the field (for example, marketing analytics, public relations, or content strategy, to name a few). If you're wondering "what can I do with a degree in marketing communication?" read on to explore some of the options available to you.

Careers You Can Pursue With a Marketing Degree

Digital Marketing Careers

Digital marketing plays a central role in modern marketing strategies, with businesses investing heavily in online marketing efforts across websites, social media platforms, and email channels. If you’re drawn to fast-paced environments and love staying ahead of digital trends, these roles might be for you:

• Digital Marketing Specialist
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Analyst
• Social Media Manager
• Content Marketing Manager
• Email Marketing Specialist
• Paid Media Specialist

Professionals in these roles use tools like Google Analytics, email automation platforms, and social media insights to plan, test, and optimize marketing campaigns. This space requires both creative storytelling and analytical skills, making it ideal for multi-talented marketers.

Brand Management and Advertising Careers

Brand managers and advertising professionals focus on big-picture marketing strategies and building long-term brand awareness. They often work closely with creative teams to launch integrated marketing campaigns across channels.

• Brand Manager
• Advertising Manager
• Marketing Coordinator
• Creative Director
• Media Planner
• Marketing Strategist

These positions require strong project management skills, strategic planning, and an understanding of consumer behavior. If you enjoy bringing ideas to life and managing multi-channel campaigns, this might be your calling.

Market Research and Data Analytics Careers

Data-driven decision-making is at the heart of successful marketing. In a world overflowing with information, the ability to gather, analyze, and act on data is what sets high-performing marketing professionals apart. Market research and analytics roles allow you to dive deep into customer behavior, purchasing patterns, and overall market trends to understand what people want, when they want it, and how best to deliver it. These insights directly inform marketing strategies, campaign development, and product positioning, making sure that every marketing effort is rooted in real-world evidence, not guesswork.

• Market Research Analyst
• Marketing Data Analyst
• Consumer Insights Specialist
• Business Intelligence Analyst
• Product Marketing Analyst
• Research Consultant

These professionals help shape product development and campaign performance using tools like Tableau, Excel, and predictive modeling software. A strong background in statistics and analytical thinking is a big plus in this area.

Public Relations and Corporate Communications Careers

If you’re a natural communicator and love building relationships, public relations and communications may be a great fit. These roles are responsible for managing how a company or brand presents itself to the public, the media, and internal stakeholders. From writing press releases and coordinating interviews to handling crisis communication and managing brand reputation, professionals in this space play a key role in shaping public perception. Now, as we live in a fast-paced digital realm, this often includes managing social media platforms, responding to public inquiries, and ensuring consistent messaging across all communication channels.

• Public Relations Specialist
• Communications Manager
• Media Relations Coordinator
• Corporate Communications Specialist
• Event Marketing Manager
• Press Secretary

These professionals craft press releases, pitch stories to journalists, plan events, and help shape a company’s reputation. With social media and online platforms now central to PR efforts, digital fluency is a must.

Sales and Business Development Careers

Marketing and sales go hand-in-hand. Sales professionals use marketing insights to identify leads, understand client needs, and close deals. These roles often require great interpersonal and negotiation skills, along with a firm grasp of product marketing and value positioning.

• Sales Representative
• Business Development Manager
• Account Executive
• Customer Success Manager
• Retail Marketing Coordinator
• Sales Manager

Sales-focused careers are great for those who are results-oriented and driven by performance metrics. They also offer room for advancement and high earning potential.

Product Marketing and Management Careers

Product marketing bridges the gap between product development and the customer experience. These professionals focus on go-to-market strategies, product positioning, and ensuring a product’s success from initial launch through long-term adoption. They work closely with cross-functional teams — including product managers, sales, and content creators — to craft messaging that resonates with target audiences and clearly communicates the value of a product. Their efforts drive customer engagement, improve product-market fit, and support sales enablement by creating resources like product sheets, competitor analyses, and launch plans. If you enjoy strategy, storytelling, and translating complex features into customer-friendly benefits, product marketing could be an ideal path.

• Product Marketing Manager
• Brand Strategist
• Product Manager
• E-commerce Marketing Manager
• Go-To-Market Strategist
• Merchandising Manager

This space combines marketing skills with business acumen and requires a deep understanding of customer needs, market trends, and competitive analysis.

Key Skills for a Successful Marketing Career

While the roles vary widely, most successful marketing professionals share a core set of competencies. Reagrdless if you’re managing digital campaigns, analyzing consumer data, or crafting brand messaging, certain foundational marketing skills show up time and again across the industry. These include both technical proficiencies, like understanding analytics tools and digital platforms, and soft skills, such as creativity, adaptability, and collaboration. Developing these key abilities will not only help you stand out to potential employers but also position you for long-term growth, no matter which marketing career path you choose.

Creativity and Storytelling

From content marketing to social media campaigns, creativity plays a key role in crafting messages that resonate with your target audience. Marketers must be able to think outside the box, adapt messaging for different platforms, and capture attention in increasingly crowded digital spaces. Strong storytelling helps turn abstract ideas into engaging, relatable content that drives brand awareness, builds trust, and cultivates long-term consumer loyalty. It’s not just about writing well, but rather, it’s about connecting emotionally and delivering a compelling narrative that aligns with your brand’s voice and goals.

Data Analysis and Decision-Making

Behind every successful marketing campaign is a stack of data, and someone who knows how to interpret it. Marketing professionals must be able to collect, analyze, and extract meaningful insights from data to identify trends, track ROI, and guide strategic decisions. Analytical skills are essential, especially in areas like SEO (search engine optimization), paid media, market research, and performance reporting. With data informing everything from audience segmentation to ad spend, being data-savvy is a must for any marketer looking to make a measurable impact.

Communication and Persuasion

Whether you’re writing a press release, pitching a new product idea, building out a marketing strategy, or presenting campaign results to stakeholders, clear and compelling communication is essential. Marketers must also master the art of persuasion — understanding what motivates different audiences, how to speak to their pain points, and how to guide them toward action. These communication skills extend across written, verbal, and visual mediums, and are critical in public relations, social media marketing, advertising, and more.

Digital Marketing and Technology Proficiency

Today’s marketing efforts rely on a wide range of digital tools and platforms, from email marketing software and CRM systems to social media schedulers, SEO optimization tools, and analytics dashboards. Being comfortable with technology is critical to staying competitive, efficient, and agile in your role. Digital proficiency allows marketers to automate tasks, personalize content at scale, track performance in real time, and continuously optimize campaigns for better results. Understanding how to leverage these tools effectively is key to executing modern marketing strategies and delivering strong ROI.

Get Started Toward a Career in Marketing

So, what can you do with a marketing degree? The answer depends on your interests, strengths, and career goals, but the opportunities are expansive and exciting.

Whether you want to become a digital strategist, manage a brand, analyze market data, or lead communications for a major company, a bachelor’s degree in marketing can help you get there. The key is finding a program that helps you build real-world skills in areas like social media marketing, public relations, marketing campaigns, and consumer research.

At Champlain College Online, our online bachelor’s degree in marketing and communication is designed for career-focused learners ready to make an impact. You’ll gain a solid foundation in business and marketing strategy, along with the digital tools needed to thrive in today’s workforce.

Have questions? Contact our admissions team to learn more about your next steps.