How Do I Become a Marketing Associate?

You can become a marketing associate by obtaining a business degree in marketing and adding to your credentials with activities and experience in the marketing industry. The marketing associate position can be either an entry or mid-level position, depending upon the type of company doing the hiring. In either case, your background should demonstrate that you have a talent for marketing, as much of the work is creative in nature.

Marketing is a discipline taught in business schools at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. To become a marketing associate, you will typically need formal education to ground you in basic concepts. Most marketing associate positions require at least a bachelor's degree in business with a major in marketing. Jobs at high end marketing firms or large corporations typically require an advanced degree, such as a master's of business administration (MBA).

Assistant and associate positions are the two types of marketing jobs that are most frequently advertised on job boards. Some companies hire marketing assistants as an entry level position and advance them to marketing associates after three to five years. Other firms place marketing associates on a separate track from assistants, so that they are both entry level positions, but an assistant is unable to jump track into an associate position. This type of setup mirrors the way law firms treat their ownership-track associates as compared to legal assistants.

To become a marketing associate, you must first determine how the marketing department in a target company is structured. In companies where the associate position is considered mid-level, you will need some relevant experience to add to your educational credentials. Marketing firms that place the associate position on an ownership track or large corporations with extensive marketing departments will hire marketing associates directly out of school. In this case, your summer internships while in school are an important indicator of your aptitude for the work and should focus on quality marketing experiences.

Another common scenario with smaller companies is to hire a marketing associate to act as a marketing jack-of-all-trades. In this instance, the associate title is used to indicate the expanded nature of the duties, rather than expertise level. The position is treated as entry-level and the credentials required are more in line with the typical marketing assistant job description. This type of company will likely focus on the ability to do the job, and not require a specific degree or specific prior experience.

Marketing is the type of business specialty that has been formalized but retains much of its creative base. Unless you are looking for a job in an elite marketing environment, you can often become a marketing associate by demonstrating desirable skills, such as creativity, the ability to conceptualize ideas that will attract consumers, trend recognition and promotional acumen. In marketing, the bottom line is often whether you demonstrate a talent for the job.