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Sales & marketing

Marketing executive

Marketing executives promote a company's products, services or brand.

Annual Salary

£20,000 to £50,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

37 to 39 a week

You could work: evenings / weekends; occasionally

2.9%
Future employment

There will be 2.9% more Marketing executive jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

In your day-to-day tasks you may:

  • research customers and market trends to inform campaigns
  • develop working relationships with clients
  • write and edit content for print and online campaigns
  • understand brand guidelines and check they are followed
  • organise and promote events
  • manage marketing budgets
  • keep up to date with marketing trends and competitor activity
  • analyse data to plan and evaluate marketing campaigns

Working environment

You could work in an office, at a client's business or remotely.

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • applying directly
  • specialist courses run by private training organisations
University

Marketing and digital marketing roles are open to graduates of all subjects. You could choose a specialist foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in subjects like:

  • marketing communications
  • digital marketing
  • advertising
  • business and management

Some degree courses are accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

Other particularly relevant courses that will give you some of the skills that are important for a career in marketing include:

  • psychology
  • humanities
  • media, art and design
  • English language or literature
  • languages
  • computer studies or IT

With a degree you could join a company marketing graduate scheme.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • student finance for fees and living costs|https://www.gov.uk/student-finance
  • university courses and entry requirements|https://www.ucas.com/
College

You could take a course to help you get into trainee marketing executive roles. These include:

  • Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Marketing
  • Level 3 Certificate in Digital Marketing and Analytics
  • T Level in Digital Production, Design and Development

Entry requirements

You may need:

  • 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • funding advice|https://www.gov.uk/further-education-courses/financial-help
  • guide to T Levels|https://www.tlevels.gov.uk/
  • search for courses|/find-a-course
Apprenticeship

You may be able to get into this role through the following apprenticeships:

  • Multi-channel Marketer Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
  • Marketing Executive Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
  • Digital Marketer Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
Work

You could join a company's marketing department as an administrator or assistant. This could give you enough experience to work your way up to become a marketing executive or digital marketer.

Volunteering and work experience

You could get work experience and marketing skills by volunteering for a charity and helping with their social media and events communications.

Look for opportunities on sites like:

Direct application

You can apply directly to employers if you've got business and marketing skills. You may get these through jobs like sales, customer service or public relations work. Some employers may ask for a degree qualification though it's not always essential.

Other routes

You can do professional marketing, digital marketing and communications qualifications that may help your job prospects, through:

More information

Career tips

Developing your own online presence or 'brand' can be useful to raise your profile with potential employers. You could:create a blog; set up your own website; network with marketing influencers or high profile companies through social media channels

Professional and industry bodies

You can join The Chartered Institute of Marketing and the The Institute of Data and Marketing to do professional qualifications and to make industry contacts.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming a marketing executive from The Chartered Institute of Marketing.

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You could specialise in digital marketing.

With experience, you could become a marketing manager, online marketing manager or director of marketing.

You could also become a freelance marketing consultant, work in advertising, sales or public relations and communications.

You can find out more about becoming a marketing executive from The Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • the ability to sell products and services
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • knowledge of media production and communication
  • business management skills
  • persuading skills
  • customer service skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
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