Minor In Marketing: A Business School Degree

Choosing your major when starting your undergrad is hard enough. There’s a lot of thought and consideration that goes into such an important decision. When it comes to choosing a minor, many students shrug it off or treat it as something optional. However, your minor is also important to your overall college education.

A minor in marketing may not be everyone’s first choice, but it can help open a lot of doors after graduation. Even if you’re not business-savvy, a minor in marketing will teach you basic skills that can complement your main area of study.

Before you declare a minor in a field that won’t help you grow or land a decent job, keep reading to see why a minor in marketing can be a strategic move to help you expand your skills and secure employment.

Source: Unsplash Alt text: Minor in marketing strategy

Why Does a Minor Matter?

Before we get into more details about the advantages of a minor in marketing, you may be wondering if your minor even matters, and if so, in what way.

You’re best off assessing your interests and career goals and then selecting a minor that aligns with those two factors.

Of course, your major is your main focus and area of concentration, and likely matches up with the field you’d like to work in after your studies. Still, the right minor can make you a more attractive candidate for a future employer.

By minoring in other areas of study, such as languages, business, computer sciences, or management, you’re showing future employers that you have more than one layer of expertise. Furthermore, you’ll have more to offer their company beyond the skills you acquired from your major.

If you’re studying in a creative field, such as visual arts, music, or even history, then taking a minor in a much different subject can give you the boost you need to excel in your field. When companies are looking to hire, they want to select the person who has the most well-rounded portfolio. If you can show that not only are you an excellent designer, but you know how to market your designs to the right clients as well, you’ll have a leg-up over your competition.

When choosing a minor, it’s important to consider three things: your interests, your career goals, your ideal future company. You want to choose a field you’re curious about; maybe a program that was your second choice after your major. You also want your minor to help you perform at your future job. You want to be the best candidate for your ideal future company.

Though you’re not yet looking for jobs, it’s a good idea to look up some postings for your ideal position after graduation. From the job descriptions, you can guess what skills companies are looking for, and from there, you can gain a better understanding of what minor would help you land your dream job.

Advantages of Minoring in Marketing

Marketing is one of those skills that can be useful in almost any field. Anyone stands to gain by learning how to market themselves, a company, a product, or services.

A minor isn’t meant to provide you with all the skills in a specific field. It should be looked at as a sort of “taster.” You’ll learn basic concepts and jargon and get introduced to topics that you can further explore as you see fit. That’s why a minor in marketing can help you fit into any role.

All businesses rely on marketing to grow their brand and increase their bottom line. Even if you’re not hired to work on the marketing team, you’ll come to the job equipped with the knowledge of how you can go about assisting your company’s overall marketing goals.

Ideally, you’re starting a role at a company after college in order to both learn new skills and rise through the ranks. If you want a better position at the company, you’ll have to know something about running a business, and a minor in marketing can help you with that. Aside from helping you stand out to recruiters, the skills you learned during your marketing minor will go a long way in impressing your managers and growing in your company.

Adding a minor in marketing can also increase your starting salary. A minor in marketing can have a very worthwhile payoff. When employers are vetting hundreds of candidates, they’re going to keep an eye open for those who stand out. Even if you and everyone else who applied has studied in the field, that minor can really set you apart and make companies want to hire you even more.

What Jobs Can You Get With a Minor in Marketing?

Source: Unsplash Alt text: pointing at computer looking for minor in marketing jobs

Now that you see why a minor in marketing is worth every credit, let’s take a look at a few of the jobs you can get with a minor in marketing. You don’t need a major or a degree in marketing to highlight your experience in the field. As mentioned earlier, a minor can complement your major in ways that pave the way for better job prospects, but, it can also open doors on its own.

Here are a few of the jobs you can apply to with a minor in marketing:

Writing Jobs

Many companies are looking for content writers or copywriters to join their teams. These writing roles usually support the marketing department since they’re looking for people who have both a knack for creativity and can also grasp marketing concepts.

If you studied in a highly specified field, you can also search for a role that couples both your major and minor. For example, let’s say you had a major in nutrition and a minor in marketing. You’ll be better suited to craft informative and authoritative articles and marketing copy on the subject of nutrition and dietetics than someone with only a writing or marketing background.

Communication Jobs

Marketing is more than just learning how to advertise or promote a business. You’ll also learn other skills, such as how to be more compelling when communicating or public speaking. This can translate into a job in the field of communications.

For example, public relations might be a great path to explore for someone with a minor in marketing. As a public relations specialist, you’ll be responsible for maintaining a good image for your company and brand in the media. While working in public relations isn’t the same as working in marketing, a lot of the skills are similar enough to help you land this type of job.

Graphic Design

Whether you studied digital or visual arts, or you simply have the talent to create eye-catching designs, a graphic design job can be an interesting profession for someone with a minor in marketing. Since graphic design work is often more commercial than artistic, companies are looking for people who understand how to market to their client base using engaging imagery.

Social Science Jobs

You will need a relevant major to apply to a job that deals with the social sciences or behavioral sciences. However, a background in marketing can prove to be an interesting addition to jobs in this field. As someone who studied marketing, you’ll have a better insight into the minds of other people. You’ll be able to get more insight into what grabs people’s attention and how they think. These skills can help you in positions such as a foster care worker or guidance counselor.

To Wrap Up

Doing a minor in marketing is more than just a way to fill up your required credits in order to graduate. You can pick up some important skills that improve your employability and round out your education.

If you’re at a crossroads of what major or minor to study, or you’re still in the stage of deciding which college is right for you, consider moving your education online. University of the People has an accredited bachelor’s degree in business administration where you can take classes to learn more about marketing. Alternately, a highly specialized certificate in marketing offered by the university can prove helpful in boosting one’s career in the field. All classes are online and are tuition-free, so you have the freedom to study when you want.