Marketing is a fundamental area of business administration that most often determines the success and failure of a business. As we begin this century, we find that Marketing has expanded its traditional business role of satisfying demand with material goods and services to become a critical discipline/profession in a large number of nontraditional roles. Areas of career interests include product and service development, research, planning, distribution channels, logistics and transportation, sales promotion, sales, pricing strategy, advertising, public relations and others.

If you are looking for a career in Marketing, Knowthis.com's Marketing Virtual Library is a good resource to find jobs in Marketing, Sales, Advertising, and Marketing Research. It also offers links to Job Listing Services for Marketing Professionals.

---

Q: What is Marketing and what does one do with a degree in Marketing?

Marketing activities involve many challenging and thought-provoking activities that focus on identifying customer needs and providing a product or service to meet those needs. It includes making decisions about products or services to offer, where to market products, how to price products, and how best to communicate information about the products to customers. Of course, this is a very basic explanation. Understanding how to do these things requires considerable knowledge and experience.

Most entry-level jobs pursued by Marketing majors are in the advertising, logistics & transportation, research, retailing, and sales professions. These entry-level jobs provide graduates with an excellent business foundation that can lead to managerial positions. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal pointed out that Marketing seems to be the fastest route to the top in the 1980s and the 1990s. Missouri State's Marketing curriculum provides a solid foundation for personal and professional growth and opens the door to exciting opportunities for students who choose to pursue a career in Marketing.

Q: How many people major in Marketing?

Marketing is a popular major among business students at Missouri State. The number of Marketing majors and minors has been growing steadily for several years. Currently, as of Spring 2005, Missouri State has about 730 students both majoring and minoring in Marketing.

Q: What firms hire Missouri State Marketing graduates?

Among the many firms that have hired Missouri State's Marketing graduates, a few include:

Abercrombie & Fitch	May Department Stores
AeroTek	MetLife
Allied Insurance	MTW Consulting
Automatic Data Processing (ADP)	Payless ShoeSource
Cintas	Sherwin-Williams
Eli Lilly & Co.	Sprint
Enterprise Rent-A-Car	Target
Federal Reserve Bank	Toys R Us
Federated Insurance	Walgreens
John Hancock	Wallace
Koch Industries	Wal-Mart

 

Q: What is the average starting salary of Missouri State Marketing graduates?

Marketing graduates have reported starting salaries between $30,000-$55,000 per year. Other salaries for Marketing jobs can be found at Salary.com.

Q: What does the University, College of Business Administration and the Marketing Department do to help students in their career?

Missouri State offers a number of services to its students. These services include:

• Career Services – help students determine their career choice and later help them to seek employment in their area of interest.

• Co-Operative Education – help students in their search for internship opportunities in their field of study.

• University Career Day – an event held in the Spring of each year.

• Business Advisement – a service provided specifically for Business students to guide them when deciding on the courses to be taken at Missouri State.

Apart from that, the Marketing Department provides a number of services to its students which include:

• Business Career Day – During the Fall semester, the department brings in, on average, 60-70 companies that provide students with an opportunity to interact with business professionals on career employment.

• Advertising Club – The Advertising Club's membership is composed of individuals interested in the field of Advertising. Each year the organization participates in business events, competitions, social activities, and community service. Anyone who is interested can contact Dr. Sarah Smith.

• DECA - The Missouri State chapter of Delta Epsilon Chi (DECA) was recently added as a student organization. To become part of a startup organization known nationwide contact Dr. Chuck Hermans, club advisor.

• Logitics & Supply Chain Management Association - The Logistics & Supply Chain Management Association is a professional organization for Logistics majors at Missouri State University. The goal is to help promote the Logistics program here at the University and help current Logistics majors with professional development. Please contact Dr. Carlo Smith for more information.
   

• Marketing Club – The club is designed to provide students with opportunities to meet with Marketing professionals, learn more about the field of Marketing through sponsoring events, such as the 5K run held in the Spring. The club also donates time to the Springfield community. If you are interested, please contact Dr. Christina Simmers.

Q: Does the Marketing Department have a qualified faculty?

Eighty-five percent of the Marketing Department's faculty has a doctorate degree and are very actively involved in their respective area of instruction.

Q: Does Missouri State offer graduate studies emphasizing Marketing?

The MBA program at Missouri State allows the students to specialize in six different areas, including Marketing. More information about our MBA program can be obtained by visiting the Missouri State MBA Home Page.

Q: Are there any opportunities for Marketing students to obtain financial funding at Missouri State?

In addition to student grants and loans, scholarships and awards are available from both the Marketing department and the College of Business. Details of these scholarships can be obtained from the following web site: http://www.coba.missouristate.edu/Scholarships.htm.