What are the best paying marketing jobs?

 

The biggest fear of marketing professionals today is becoming obsolete. With the evolving advent of technology, tools, and media, working in marketing demands constant self-education to remain at the forefront of strategy and business practices. We are keeping an eye on demand across marketing specialisms so you don't have to! Fluctuations in demand are affecting pay in each of the main marketing specialisms including banking, media, travel, energy, insurance and sports. Our salary guide gives you a break down of the best paying marketing jobs out there.

 

What pay for which job

Manager_experience_marketing_development_salaries
Title Brand Marketing Digital Marketing Direct Marketing Product Development
Junior Manager £27,500 £25,000 £26,000 £26,816
Manager £48,688 £37,400 £42,450 £46,575
Senior Manager £68,000 £58,000 £67,500 £98,000

Median annual pay (salary + bonus) based on 2,503 marketing professionals working in the UK 2015/2016

While all marketing jobs seem to start on similar pay scales (between £25,000 and £27,500), the importance of choosing the right specialism dramatically increases with experience : product specialists can earn almost £40,000 more than digital marketers as senior professionals. The dearth of experienced product developers has driven pay packages up substantially (+27%) over the last 4 years.

Surprisingly, digital marketing salaries are not the highest in the field. Considering how digital marketing is on everyone's lips with demand having sharply increased in the last few years, it is surprising to see that digital marketing professionals are offered similar or lower salaries than their colleagues in other marketing specialisms (£10,000 less than brand marketing professionals). Perhaps digital marketing is becoming a commoditised function?

Highest payers for junior marketing professionals

Sector Salary Bonus
Banking & Financial Services £37,000 £2,000
Energy, Chemicals, Environmental £31,500 £0
Insurance £30,000 £1,800

Lowest payers for junior marketing professionals

Sector Salary 
Media, Communication, Music, Gaming £23,500
Services, Tourism, Restaurants £22,000
Sports, Culture, Recreation £22,000
 

Finance of course tops the table as best paying sector in which to start off in (13% above average for banks). With higher salaries across front office and support functions than other sectors, marketing departments also benefit from increased pay packages.

Feel free to follow your dream... to begin with at least! Junior marketing professionals earn similar amounts across most industries, including charity, sports or media, with salaries ranging between £22,000 and £26,000. At this stage it is advisable to follow your interests and get a feel for the industry - since your choice wont make a discernible impact on your income.
 

Highest payers for senior marketing professionals

Sector Salary Bonus
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech £91,000 £20,000
Consumer Goods & FMCG £81,000 £22,500
Technology & Telecoms £86,000 £3,000
Banking & Financial Services £85,000 £8,000


Lowest payers for senior marketing professionals

Sector Salary Bonus
Media, Communication, Music, Gaming £53,000 £0
Consulting & Outsourcing £49,000 £2,000
Charity & Not For Profit £38,525 £0

But be aware of the consequence further on down the line; Marketing professionals working in the pharmaceutical industry earn almost three times as much as the ones working in Not for Profit (NFP) organisations - we expected a gap, but even so... Senior managers in a NFP earn lower salaries than junior marketers working for investment banks!

With the digitalisation of businesses across the board, marketing has shifted from an anecdotal support function (for many) to being the centre of attention and core to growth strategies and brand management, even in industries which had never considered it as such prior to the digital age, such as Biotech or Restauration.

Not only has the expansion of marketing changed company's structures but it is putting marketing professionals under constant pressure to stay at the forefront of technological improvements, product development (I am thinking about Facebook's ever-changing advertising platform), adding constant self-improvement to the job description.

With new functions emerging all the time, we expect the landscape to keep shifting substantially in the coming years when it comes to best paying jobs in marketing, as departments become obsolete and new ones step into the spotlight.

 

Emolument provides bonus and salary statistics based on data submitted directly by professionals like you. It is free, anonymous, and already a trusted tool for thousands of professionals worldwide. Are you paid enough? Click here to find out now.


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