What Degree Do You Need to Become a Digital Marketer?

Most people who plan to get jobs as Digital Marketers after college earn degrees in business, marketing, or advertising, but degrees in psychology, English, communications, and IT are useful, too. In many cases, nearly any degree can help your start your career as a Digital Marketer. Plus, many employers are more interested in your marketing abilities than a degree, and if you have put together a portfolio that shows what you can do, it is definitely possible to become a Digital Marketer without a college degree.

What is a Digital Marketer?

Over half the world’s population uses the internet, and businesses have noticed. Most companies and organizations have a website and use digital marketing to reach potential customers or clients. Digital Marketers use social media platforms, website content, email campaigns, paid and unpaid advertising, and video marketing to promote goods and services to a target audience.

Digital Marketers use data analytics to identify an audience likely to be interested in the products or services they sell. Next, they create a detailed description of that audience, focusing on the pain points and problems the product will solve. Then, Digital Marketers set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the marketing campaign's performance. Common KPIs are sales goals or increasing traffic to a website.

After setting goals and determining strategy, Digital Marketers create high-quality content to engage the audience and place it near the top of search engine pages. After posting the content on social media, Digital Marketers use tools like Google Analytics, SEMRush, or Moz to analyze its performance. Digital Marketers also interact with followers on social media in the company’s brand voice. 

Some Digital Marketers work for agencies and take care of many accounts, while others work for one company. Some are employed in-house, while others work remotely. Digital Marketers in agencies and larger companies often work as part of a team. They may only be responsible for one part of the workload, such as content marketing, SEO, or data analytics. Many people start their careers as freelance Digital Marketers working at home by themselves or in small startups.

Read more about what a Digital Marketer does.

Do I Need a Degree to Become a Digital Marketer?

Some companies list a college degree as a requirement when advertising digital marketing jobs, but many do not. When it comes to degrees for a career in digital marketing, your chosen major will depend on what you want to do with it.

Many people interested in working as Digital Marketers choose to study advertising or business in college, but there are other ways to go, too. English and psychology are popular majors for people interested in content marketing and social media marketing. Computer science and information technology are also common majors for people who want to focus on the data aspects of digital marketing. If you are interested in eventually working as a Digital Marketing Manager, consider an MBA after your bachelor’s degree.

While some ads specifically state a degree requirement, others don’t mention it at all. These employers are more interested in what tools applicants can use and what experience they have. You can get a job as a Digital Marketer with a certificate from a training program. Digital marketing bootcamps and certification programs take two to six months to complete, which is much less than four years for a bachelor’s degree. These classes cover SEO and web optimization, data analytics, paid and unpaid advertising, social media marketing, as well as content and email marketing. You can choose to attend college to begin a career in digital marketing, but it is possible to get hired without one.

Read more about if you need a degree to become a Digital Marketer.

Common Degrees for Digital Marketers

If you want to start a career as a Digital Marketer after college, you will need to choose the right degree. Majors like marketing, advertising, or business are common for people who want to become Digital Marketers, while others choose fields like psychology, communications, English, or Information Technology (IT). But if you have already finished college and have an unrelated degree, it is still possible to build a career as a Digital Marketer.

Business

Many future Digital Marketers choose a business degree because it prepares them for many types of careers in different industries, from computing to healthcare to finance. Business majors develop a broad understanding of the subject. Some people choose to specialize in subjects like business administration, entrepreneurship, accounting, healthcare management, or hospitality management. You can earn two-year associate degrees, four-year bachelor’s degrees, or a master's of business administration. A small number earn PhDs.

Marketing

A marketing degree prepares you to work in areas like retail management, advertising, or public relations. Marketing skills are useful in many industries like sports, healthcare, education, and entertainment. Four-year degrees in digital marketing are becoming more popular and people with marketing degrees can find jobs as Digital Marketers, Social Media Marketers, or Digital Strategists.

Advertising

Advertising is another popular degree for people who plan to become Digital Marketers. Advertising focuses primarily on promoting products, while marketing also involves marketing research, brand alignment, and product development. People with advertising degrees often find jobs like SEO/Web Optimization Specialist or Paid Search Specialist.

Psychology

Business, marketing, and advertising are popular degrees for Digital Marketers, but it is possible to get a job with other degrees, too. Psychology is also a good major for people who want to work in digital marketing. Psychology is the study of human behavior, which is a helpful perspective for Digital Marketers. Because psychology majors also study research methods, statistics, writing, and problem-solving, some people go to work as Digital Marketing Researchers.

English

Content Marketers often have degrees in English. They need excellent communication skills to create blog posts, product descriptions, website copy, scripts, emails, reports, and eBooks. Content Marketers use tools to set up publishing schedules and gather data on the content’s performance, so some software training is a good idea.

Communications

Communications and journalism are two other fields of study for people who want to work as Digital Marketers. They have training in collecting and interpreting data, conducting research, and writing, plus, they tend to be creative thinkers with good people skills. These are all important skills for Digital Marketers, especially for Brand Strategists. 

Information Technology (IT)

An IT degree is a great way to train to become a Digital Marketing Data Analyst. Data is the foundation of digital marketing, and Data Analysts use various tools like Google Analytics, Google Ads, Tableau, and Microsoft Power BI to gather, analyze, and visualize data so it can be useful for decision-making.

Tips for Starting a Digital Marketer Career Without a Degree

Despite job advertisements requiring a bachelor’s degree, it is possible to become a Digital Marketer without going to college. If you have an unrelated degree or no degree at all, some companies will hire you if you can demonstrate your digital marketing skills. The way to get a digital marketing job without a college degree is to gain digital marketing skills. 

You can sign up for training courses to learn the skills you need to get hired as a Digital Marketer. Choose from free tutorials or asynchronous courses online that you can watch when you have time, or bootcamps and certificate programs that require more of a commitment in time and money. Many certificate programs can be completed in only two to four months, which is less time than it takes to earn a college degree. These are intensive courses focusing exclusively on digital marketing subjects. Certificate programs also cost a lot less than four years of college. The most important part of a career in digital marketing is what you can do on the job because employers are increasingly more interested in your abilities than in a degree.

When you are looking for a job as a Digital Marketer, particularly if you don’t have a college degree, be sure to create a portfolio website with examples of your work to show prospective employers. You can use material from freelance jobs, volunteer work, or passion projects to demonstrate your skills. Be sure to use the highest quality images and screenshots you can and choose three to five examples of your best work. Include a page with your resume and contact information. Create a LinkedIn account and add your portfolio and resume to your profile.

Learn the Skills to Become a Digital Marketer at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers many digital marketing courses that teach skills to help you switch to a career in digital marketing. Small class sizes and expert instructors help you learn digital marketing in in-person or live online classes. Plus, you can take a course over again for free at any time during the following year. 

Noble Desktop offers many bootcamps in digital marketing like Facebook Marketing, email marketing, Social Media Content Marketing: Blogs & Twitter, and Video Marketing: TikTok & YouTube. You can also choose the Digital Marketing Certificate or a Social Media Marketing Certificate course. Other Noble Desktop resources that can help prepare for a career in digital marketing include the digital marketing blog with valuable articles about social media marketing, SEO, and other essential tools for digital marketers.

Key Takeaways

• Digital Marketers use the internet to promote goods and services.
• Some companies prefer to hire Digital Marketers with college degrees, while others are more interested in performance.
• Most people who plan to get jobs as Digital Marketers after college earn degrees in business, marketing, or advertising, but degrees in psychology, English, communications, and IT are useful, too.
• When you are looking for a job as a Digital Marketer, you need to create a portfolio website with examples of your work, plus a resume with experience and references.
• Create a LinkedIn profile to make connections with people who are looking for Digital Marketers.
• You can receive comprehensive training to become a Digital Marketer through an in-person or live online course with Noble Desktop.