If it recently occurred to you that you might like to pursue a marketing career, perhaps you’re wondering what types of jobs are available with an MBA in Marketing. You might also be wondering about related questions such as how much the jobs pay and if an MBA is really necessary.

According to Jen Hubley Luckwaldt at PayScale, an MBA in Marketing is one of the top seven best-paying MBA specialties; the median pay for marketers holding MBAs is $113,000 at about the mid-career level. While she notes that an MBA is not essential for landing an entry-level marketing job, she mentions that the current competitive environment has motivated more marketers to pursue graduate degrees to distinguish themselves. She mentions several lucrative job titles that an MBA in Marketing would be likely to qualify you for:

Marketing Manager

Marketing managers must be able to accurately estimate whether or not there is adequate demand to justify developing the products and / or services a company might consider offering. They’re also tasked with figuring out where all the best markets for a company’s goods and services might be, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A marketing manager position is typically a supervisory position that requires leadership ability and communication skills plus the ability to work with colleagues in multiple departments. Marketing managers might collaborate with sales and finance staff to arrive at a viable product pricing strategy for the company’s goods or services. In sizable companies, they may also supervise a large staff of marketers. There may be several marketing managers who each work with a different brand or type of product line within the company.

Trend spotting is an important part of the job for many marketing managers. Since the buying public dictates the need for new goods and services, marketing managers must stay alert for product development opportunities that result from new consumer lifestyle trends. When these opportunities arise, a marketing manager can guide the team that develops the new product and makes it available for sale.

Director of Marketing

In some companies, a director of marketing does much the same job that a marketing manager does. In other companies, a director of marketing might supervise a group of marketing managers who are all working on different brands, different product lines or different projects.

Business Development Manager

Business development managers are the marketing geniuses who guide their companies’ branding strategies and business plans, according to PayScale. They must possess leadership and motivational abilities enabling them to keep their subordinates on track for meeting deadlines and reaching objectives. Sometimes they’re also responsible for meeting sales goals or overseeing customer accounts.

It’s helpful for an aspiring business development manager to gain experience working with statistics and spreadsheets; if you decide that becoming a business development manager is your career goal, be sure to take some introductory computing classes and statistics classes if you do not already have these skills. If you’re convinced you have the interpersonal skills necessary to succeed in one of the roles described above, it could be lucrative to pursue a marketing career. As of 2015, high-level marketing executives were earning median annual salaries of about $124,850.

Related Resource: How Do You Become a Chief Executive Officer?

While it is possible to earn a respectable paycheck if you’ve earned your bachelor’s degree in marketing, the best marketing career opportunities are typically available to candidates who hold MBAs and also have previous supervisory experience. We hope this information is helpful to you in understanding your options for the types of jobs available with an MBA in Marketing.