Marketing is one of the most popular career paths for an MBA—2.9 times as popular as other careers according to PayScale—and with good reason: about 69 percent of marketing MBAs report a high level of job satisfaction. Besides, marketing MBAs are paid well. While the starting median pay (with a max of five years of experience) is only $55,700, after ten years, pay jumps to $116,000—a 108 percent growth between starting and mid-career salary.
The question then is, “What are the highest paying marketing jobs for MBAs?” The answer isn’t as cut and dry as you would think. It varies significantly between companies, level of experience, location, and job type.
Companies Recruiting Marketing MBAs
Where you work can have as a profound of an impact on your pay as your actual job function. That’s because larger companies tend to pay higher salaries, and how a particular company views the marketing department can also influence how much they are willing to pay. Below are five of the highest paying marketing jobs, according to PayScale.
- Microsoft Corp: $95,146 – $152,605
- IBM Corp: $91,158 – $132,500
- Dell, Inc: $77,511 – $130,000
- Starbucks Corp: $115,436 – $121,097
- Amazon: $90,000 – $122,500
Experience
According to PayScale, experience plays a big role in how much you earn as a marketing professional. After graduating with an MBA in business and marketing, the average salary you can expect based on your years worked is:
- Less than one year: $54,721
- One to four years: $59,343
- Five to nine years: $81,097
- Ten to 19 years: $104,070
- Over 20 years: $124,631
Location
Where you work, can have a significant impact on what you’re worth. As always, large cities tend to pay more, but that’s still not always a guarantee. So, where are the most popular cities for marketing professionals and how much do they pay (average salary)?
- Seattle, WA: $119,266
- San Francisco, CA: $118,330
- Boston, MA: $104,217
- Dallas, TX: $100,237
- NYC, NY: $96,387
The Top MBA Marketing Jobs
There are dozens of different marketing positions that an MBA graduate can choose. If you’re looking to choose the highest paying marketing job, then you’ll want to choose one of the following five jobs. These are the top salaried positions for marketing MBAs (just be sure to keep in mind the company, location, and your experience if you want to earn the most money).
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Vice President Marketing ($100,000 – $186,000)
As a Vice President of Marketing, you will offten be responsible for reporting your company’s marketing efforts to the board of directors or other highly-placed executives. Your main responsibility will be to determine the best strategies to improve your market-shares for goods and services sold. You’ll also be responsible for your company’s brand, including presenting the company’s assets and products. Common tasks include:
- Forecasting and strategic planning.
- Directing and setting the strategic direction of the marketing program.
- Overseeing all marketing staff operations, policies, and plans.
For MBA graduates, becoming a VP of Marketing is the highest paying position you can attain. On average, you’ll earn $143,571 plus a bonus between $4,939 and $49,935. As for where you’ll get paid the most, look for jobs in:
- San Francisco: 21 percent more
- Charlotte: 11 percent more
- Boston: 10 percent more
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Marketing Director ($66,000 – $158,000)
Marketing Directors are responsible for managing and directing all marketing tasks. You’ll oversee the many marketing professionals under your purview and ensure that they meet company goals, requirements, and needs. In addition, you’ll be responsible for developing marketing projects, running successful marketing campaigns, monitoring budgets, resolving team issues, and communicating with clients, vendors, and other team managers within your company. Common tasks include:
- Overseeing marketing staff, advertising budget, and business planning.
- Directing and planning marketing strategies.
- Acting as the marketing subject matter expert.
On average, a Marketing Director with an MBA can expect to earn $106,684. However, that salary can greatly increase depending on the company you work for. The top companies are:
- Medtronic, Inc: $175,000
- Microsoft: $164,848
- IBM: $147,215
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Senior Marketing Manager ($73,000 – $147,000)
As a Senior Marketing Manager, you’re in a middle-management position. Typically, you report to the Marketing Director and are responsible for researching target markets, providing feedback on product development, running product teams, planning display marketing, and working with various other teams to develop marketing objectives and goals. Common tasks include:
- Managing training and development of marketing staff.
- Managing and analyzing marketing programs for optimized results.
- Developing, recommending, and implementing marketing programs and campaigns.
On average, you can expect to earn $111,476. To earn the most, you’ll want to look at jobs at:
- Microsoft: $138,598
- Medtronic, Inc: $128,104
- Amazon.com: $126,774
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Brand Manager ($68,000 – $132,000)
As a Brand Manager, you’ll be responsible for many of the customer-facing operations in the marketing department. Your job will be to control and manage all the ways that the company is exposed to the public including consumer attitudes, staff communication, and more. Common tasks include:
- Leading the brand strategy.
- Researching customer attitudes and developing plans and projects to support positive experiences.
- Leading consumer communication in each marketplace.
On average, a Brand Manager earns $102,309 as an MBA graduate with a yearly bonus between $795 and $19,644. To earn the most money, you’ll want to work in:
- San Francisco: 41 percent more
- Seattle: 36 percent more
- Chicago: 16 percent more
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Product Marketing Manager ($60,000 – $130,000)
A Product Marketing Manager knows the company’s products inside and out. They are responsible for conducting research and determining a strategy for selling each product to generate the highest revenues. You’ll also be responsible for overseeing how each product is seen by the public from advertising to press releases and more. Common tasks include:
- Developing product marketing strategies to maximize revenue.
- Researching consumer opinions on products to aid performance.
- Collaborating with design to meet consumer expectations.
On average, a Product Marketing Manager will earn $105,942, which is pretty consistent between companies. The best paying companies are:
- Google: $115,723
- Microsoft: $115,481
- AT&T: $112,020