When studying for an online MBA, a student learns a broad range of subjects for applicability to business.
They are mostly oriented around business administration, management, finance and to some degree, marketing too.
With a master’s in marketing, the focus is squarely on being a professional marketer, usually in the corporate realm. Marketing departments are likely to look for marketers with a degree in marketing first and other degrees, second. Because of this, when dead set on a marketing career, then a degree in this discipline makes more sense than an MBA.
In this article, we run through the major differences to make it easier to decide between an MBA and a Master’s in Marketing degree course.
What is a Master’s Degree in Marketing?
A Master’s in Marketing degree course is usually studied over either one or two years. Some courses are now able to be studied online whereas others are strictly taken on-campus. The flexibility with online courses makes it possible to advance your marketing knowledge on a part-time basis.
A marketing degree covers advanced topics including the theory behind marketing and how it is practiced in the wild. The subject of marketing has changed significantly over the past decade and a half, so anyone who holds a marketing degree from an earlier time will not have learned about online marketing on their course. This is one of the advantages of a modern marketing degree holder over someone who graduated 15+ years ago.
Marketing includes an advanced focus on brand management. For instance, when working for a major ad agency, they deal with Fortune 500 companies with significant ad budgets that seek the right ad agency to handle it. Often, all forms of advertising from media to billboard (poster and electronic) to online platforms are all handled from the same agency.
What Jobs are Possible with a Marketing Degree?
Given the wide range of roles open to a holder of a master’s in marketing, a person can pick and choose between the type of job that suits them best.
Certainly, a digital brand manager will appeal to people who are comfortable talking with major clients and negotiating deals on behalf of an agency. A content marketing manager, on the other hand, may work for a corporation and be in charge of their print and graphical content strategy or for a large agency.
At a higher level, an Advertising Director position is possible with a few years post-graduate leading a large team of marketers with a strong focus on advertising to drive client acquisition or B2C/B2B sales.
What is an MBA?
A Master’s in Business Administration is an advanced business degree with a focus on operations. This type of degree covers many different areas necessary to competently lead a team or run a business. The degree, which can be studied online, is intended for people in lower-level or mid-level management who wish to move up in the world.
An MBA graduate has a major grounding in advanced topics such as corporate finance and lending, marketing, managing and leading people, ethical responsibilities and more. With an MBA under their belt, they have the knowledge to run a business, or a significant part of it.
Many MBA graduates go on to become the founder of their own company because they feel they have sufficient knowledge to do so confidently. The same goes for employers who see an MBA holder as a hot property with many companies trying to recruit them.
What Jobs are Possible with an MBA?
When holding an MBA, there are many different roles that make sense. Usually, someone who graduates with this master’s sees promotional opportunities within a few months or seeks to find them elsewhere if they’re not forthcoming.
Being a department manager is certainly possible, but this usually is only a steppingstone to greater things. Operations Manager is a popular role for an MBA holder because they have a deep understanding of the inner workings of a business. The role of Finance Director is also a common one because of a solid grounding in corporate finance and how all the different parts of a business fit neatly together.
Taking a Master’s in Marketing or an MBA is a key decision for anyone who feels either would suit their purposes well.
However, they offer very different career paths. Someone studying marketing really has to know that it’s the right choice for their sensibilities.
Similarly, holders of an MBA aren’t going to be working in marketing most likely, and need to bear that in mind too.
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