It looks like having a degree, and in particular one that has a marketing component, is useful if you want a career in marketing and PR. Just over half of marketing professionals (58.8%) claim that they use their degree education in their current position, with 60% admitting that they use it often or very often. This is according to research from job-site CV-Library which asked workers how vital their degree is to their professional lives.

Other key findings from the research include:

-  Around two-thirds (64.7%) of marketing professionals say their current jobs are related to their degrees

-  88.2% of workers in the sector say that if they could go back they would still have gone to university

-  BUT 41.2% said that if they could, they would change their degree subject

It is not surprising that having a degree, any degree, is helpful in the marketing/PR sector, as marketing and PR agencies and departments often expect new entrants to be educated to degree level. Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, believes that although degrees are useful, having relevant experience is growing in importance: “Most employers want to recruit candidates who are educated to a degree-level and that have studied a relevant subject. However, whether this will stay the same going forward remains to be seen. After all, whilst a degree qualification has traditionally been a major deciding factor in who gets the job, it’s worth remembering that the number of people who have obtained degrees has increased drastically over the last 10 years, leading many employers across the PR and marketing industry to pay closer attention to experience, favouring particular skills and attributes over education.

“A candidate who has a good amount of work experience can demonstrate to a prospective employer that they have a basic understanding of how PR and marketing works, and those who can hit the ground running almost immediately are often most appealing in today’s working world. This means that, whilst many PR and marketing modules at university do teach a curriculum that can be applied the workplace, offering practical education around business and essential workplace skills could help to bridge the gap between education and the business world. Further education is a huge investment these days and it’s vital that we get the right balance in order to help new starters in the industry embark on a happy and prosperous career.”

If you are determined to get a degree before you embark on a marketing/PR career it makes sense to study one that covers marketing topics and, even better, allows you the chance to gain relevant work experience.

Background

The findings come from a new survey of over 1,300 UK workers. For more information go to CV-Library