Is It Still Worth Getting A Digital Marketing Degree?

by Administrator 43 replies
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A new article on Search Engine Journal asks if it is worth it to earn a digital marketing degree or better to get hands-on experience. Check out the pros and cons of each career path.



A bachelor's degree holder earns a median income of $2.8 million - 75% more than if they had only a high school diploma. A master's degree gives you even more of a competitive edge, earning a median of $3.2 million over their lifetimes, while those with doctoral degrees earn $4 million and professional degree holders earn $4.7 million.

Additionally, according to Bureau for Labor Statistics, the average expected weekly earnings for an employee with a bachelor's degree on their resume are $1,173, significantly improving the average earnings of associate degree holders. Their unemployment rate is also significantly lower, at 2.5%.

Based on these findings, the correlation between education and average salary earning potential is evident.

However, The pandemic shifted many economic and operational factors for many business verticals, including education.

Accelerated digital adoption and required virtual learning taught students that they could and would have to learn online. A recent survey of high school students found that the likelihood of attending a four-year college dropped nearly 20% in less than a year - down to 53%, from 71%. One-third of the same survey's respondents said the pandemic's financial impact made them less likely to attend a four-year college, and they are focusing more on career training and post-college employment.

Hence, while degrees were once a requirement for aspiring digital marketers, the pandemic derailed this way of thinking.

Digital marketing courses and receiving a digital marketing certification are quite literally within our fingertips. Additionally, certificate courses offer a convenient learning program option for students who don't have the time to attend in-person classes. Digital marketing professionals in the making are now seeking out online options to reduce costs and save time while still receiving an education.
#main internet marketing discussion forum #degree #digital #marketing #worth
  • It can only help. You can get a degree that starts you off at an entry-level digital marketing job, and you learn the ropes of online marketing. You can start a side business after work and apply what you've learned.

    Beats working at Walmart and trying to do the same thing. Plus you'd have more money to run tests and implement advertising campaigns.
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  • Hands on and real experience beats learning online marketing.

    That way you know what works and what doesn't. This is the best lesson and the best way to learn in my view.
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    • As much as I agree with this... and trust me I agree Applied learning far exceeds traditional learning practices all day long.

      Combining the 2, and getting a "Job" after you graduate will GREATLY increase your overall earning potential. You go from being a worker bee to a project manager or Dept head instantly.
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  • Administrator
    A degree will immensely increase your chances of getting hired. Full stop.
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  • Hey Google offers a digital marketing course (It's on grow.google) you can get in about 6-8 months. It's a certificate and the course is like forty bucks a month so I don't know, I just thought I'd mention that first as a resource.

    I personally don't have a digital marketing degree but worked for various SEO companies for over 10 years, mainly in sales in the beginning. I left SEO for a few years (with a somewhat bad taste in my mouth after the last company I worked for) but got back into recently and am growing my business I just started. I would say at this point if I was you I would check out the certificate path. Many people get s job starting at around $50-$60k a year with just a coding boot camp or certificate. It also helps to be involved online in said communities.

    Well I hope this helped. I can't say I would know as I don't have a degree but my brother does for example, and he works as a senior dev at Amazon makes like $220k a year. Degrees are the tried and true path for most. But the newer alternatives are very attractive. I've done several months in some cheap code camps and FreeCodeCamp to touch up my few developer skills, so yeah. That's my two cents.
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    • This sums it up degrees are tried and tested path and also if one isn't happy with the digital marketing job they can always change rather than complaining about it.
  • Well in a company you have some benefits ,firstly you are more productive as you have a schedule ,compared to work from home as you fail many times to follow your schedule as too many distractions etc ,plus you work with a team ,learn some things etc .And a digital marketing degree helps you to get a job in a company
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      But Rich Dad Poor Dad never gets old.

      The first time you spend $2000 on a Marketing product and it does not deliver You are a Graduate!

      Seriously though, we want the most up to date information and strategies at all times.

      You will get that in groups, forums, even videos on YouTube with proven results.

      If you were to curate and organize the latest powerful techniques and proven strategies you could potentially even have your own new product in your hands.
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  • I was looking at the google courses yesterday - there is a variety - you earn a google certificate and there seem to companies helping those people search for or get related jobs.


    $39/month - about 10 hrs per week of time involved. I've read some good reviews about it.


    Might learn something - and wouldn't end up with loans to pay for years...


    https://grow.google/certificates/#?modal_active=none
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    • The one offered by Google must be surely good
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  • The best online experience anyone can get is to do it themselves. I mean you can spend time getting a degree, but when you're done you're still going to need to do things in the real world.

    It's nice to have a degree to say that you have a degree, but real hands on action is the best way to learn digital marketing.

    This is just my opinion though, as another person might feel differently.
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  • Compared to other degrees, it's easier to practice what you've learned on your own when you have a digital marketing degree. You don't have to wait for someone to hire you. You can start marketing yourself. Or do pro-bono work for friends. You can have a portfolio (or even your own agency) by the time you graduate.
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  • Administrator
    Or I'll just fake my degree until I get hired, no?
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    • I think thats a bit exaggerated no? I think what most are saying here that "Practicing" or in other words real world experience being applied to what you are learning on your own would could and should be enough to land a job. It becomes a matter of having the ability to communicate that experience on say a resume.

      Think for a moment you are hiring someone to for your web building dept. do you hire someone with experience and self educated or a person that may have a degree, and may not have experience building a live site? ( and yes I have seen people with degrees in such that have never really built a site in the real world that functions - to its desired ends. )

      Like I said before, the ah ha moment is when you have someone educated in something that has real world experience - proof if you will that they can apply what it is they have learned. For ME this is where "worth" is measured.

      I just saw this the other day... Im hiring a local social media person, and we had some interviews and 8 out of 10 that applied had personal social media profiles with little to no followers - and then I have just out of high school kids with Instagram and TicTok followers in the 1000's. And in those 8 that had little to no followers 5 of them had a college background. And again who do you hire? and again I say practical application trumps practical education every time.
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  • I don't see anything wrong with having a Degree necessarily ... (I suppose it depends on what a Person wants to accomplish ...)

    You don't have to have a Degree (etc.) to be a Millionaire (and beyond) ... In fact what I love about being an Entrepreneur -- and having the Internet where you can learn anything on any subject -- is that you can be successful without any formal "education"/"qualifications". Many Entrepreneurs (etc.) -- including Eben Pagan -- were actually high-school dropouts.

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    The reason why I said I don't see anything wrong ... Is because I've read (could be wrong) that many People don't actually end up doing something in harmony with their Education.
  • All this assumes that those charged with the hiring are actually fit for purpose.

    Business owners select candidates based on the needs of their business. Someone in the HR dept of a major corp is more focused on not screwing up. In those cases, an industry accepted qualification serves to vindicate any recruitment errors.

    So, yes, if your aim is a career climbing the corporate ladder, a degree will at least get your resume looked at.
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    • Just something to add =

      I'm sure that every Parent would love to see their Child be successful ... However that doesn't always mean being "successful " by the "World's standards" ... They may not be "successful" academically (etc) .― However when they're doing something that really means a lot to them, that they really care about ― then that's "Success." (IMO)

      2C
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  • with my personal experience, I don't have a digital marketing degree, I just have experience in my resume. Also in my opinion any degree should be done to understand it not just to get a degree because this won't help in long turn.
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    • Administrator
      Yeah, well, there sure are degree-holders who later changed careers right?

  • I believe it only provides more skills for future career and always useful afterall. Well, it takes some time, but it's worthy to spend it
  • I think yes, only if it coincides with the related trends prevailing in the industry.
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  • It's worth a lot...for the people selling the degrees.

    For the students, results will be the only credentials that matter.

    99% of them will come charging out of these degree programs with a false sense of confidence...and be torn to pieces by the woodchipper of the online marketplace.
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  • One of the most important benefits of getting a digital marketing degree is giving you a strong foundation in the field. A digital marketing degree will teach you how to identify and analyze consumer trends, create effective online campaigns, and measure the success of your efforts. This knowledge will make you a powerful force in digital marketing, and it will help you create successful business ventures.
  • If you can do the studies than go for it . We never stop learning , no matter how experienced we think we are. Always remain open to learning . Having a certificate is great for your CV . It gives you options . Whether you want to work for yourself or for an institution , having a certification makes you more flexible , more employable .

    Keep your options open . Study and learn whenever the opportunity presents itself
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  • It all depends on what niche and field you are going into and if you are looking to be an employee or n entrepreneur.

    It has to be said, many employers aren't as bothered about candidates with degrees as the higher education market is saturated with grads who have qualifications from the back end of beyond schools and universities with little aptitude and practically no hands on experience.

    Bear in mind also, if you're earning a degree in digital marketing, it's likely the curriculum and teachers will be massively out-of-date as they don't have to compete in the free market.

    There are plenty of opportunities to learn as you earn with digital marketing.

    Why not consider starting your own business rather than getting into debt for a useless degree that your competition will already have?
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    • I'd struggle to disagree.

      Generally speaking:

      Degree =
      employee, on a fixed remuneration/income, get paid by the hour or salary - your EMPLOYER sets your limits

      No degree =
      entrepreneur, unlimited remuneration/income, get paid for your knowledge - You set the limit
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  • Why not? Digital Marketing has already taken over the conventional marketing by leaps and bounds. This is something that is something that continue to grow in the future as well. I myself already have an MBA, and I am thinking to get something in Digital Marketing as well.
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    • Cool. : ) Good for you.

      P.S.
      I didn't read the OP correctly ... As far as a Marketing Degree goes, I think for the most part it would be helpful. Ultimately though, there's still a lot more to learn ― and implement ― in becoming a successful Entrepreneur/Marketer.

      As I mentioned before ... What I love about this day and age ― is that almost anyone can become a successful Entrepreneur (etc.) without any "formal" qualifications. As they say:

      "The playing field has been levelled".
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  • It wont hurt, but definitely wont help much. It is hands on experience and being all rounder. I can't imagine a successful internet marketer without web development and design skills.
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    • There is no rule that says a person getting a marketing degree must only study theory and get no hands-on experience.

      Also, you can hire designers and developers.

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  • Degree is Ok, But hand on Work Experience is very important. Digital marketing is a Skill, Anyone can do it. So I would like to say, Along with degree, better to learn Digital marketing and start earning.
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    • Digital marketing is a set of skills that not everybody can learn enough to produce results.


      The warriorforum is full of people who tried and failed at learning the set of skills required to actually make money.


      There've been people around here who have the degree and still can't make tons of money, or even get hired in marketing.


      And that's in all professions.


      People tend to judge based on their experience and the experiences of those they know. The world is bigger than one person and their friends and acquaintances.


      Degrees serve a purpose for a particular type of person in search of a particular type of life. If you're not that type of person or looking for that type of life, it does you no good... though the courses taught in degree programs might.



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  • Prior to the advent of the modern digital era, marketing degrees were a prerequisite for any aspirant marketer, but now anyone with access to the internet may enter the field of digital marketing. Both marketing professionals with degrees and those without degrees who work as professionals are quite successful in their fields.
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    • Administrator
      Disagree. I've personally known pre-digital marketers who don't have a marketing degree.

  • I am personally convinced that getting a digital marketing degree is quite a necessary thing, but remember that not all the professional marketers have it. So, it means that you can succeed at digital marketing even without specific education, but if you wnat to develop your skills in this direction, then such a degree won't prevent.
    I always stand for real professionals in all the spheres, and if you understand that your abilities far from impeccability, then receive a special degree in the related field and that's it.
  • Depends who you are and how you work - I couldn't stand university and prefer to work and learn it out on my own. So, I'm self taught and probably a bit anti-education in the common format. Someone else may be the complete opposite and prefer taking a set course to earn a degree and start work that way. One thing is for sure, the last few years have spun things up a bit and more and more people are thinking outside of the square in terms of where and how they get educated.
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  • Really interesting debate and as with most things, no absolute truth and the arch-famous and over-used "depends"

    Depends on your circumstances and your goals. I'm a college drop-out, I was getting pure A's in chemistry in my first year lol! But I wasn't feeling like that was the right path for me, so I started learning investing, online marketing and other disciplines by my own...5-6 years into my journey I have known 100's of people working in IM, by themselves or hired and I have not been able to see the difference in terms of results between those who had a degree and those who don't.

    IM requires a really agile approach, I don't know if 4-year degrees provides that, I can only tell about my experience. Regarding getting a job in marketing, I have been offered several high-paying jobs in companies like Deloitte, Grant Thornton and some crypto companies, they never asked for my titles, just my experience...BUT I don't think I would have get those offers at the beginning of my career!
  • There's no downside to getting more education if you have the time and money to do so. The marketing landscape is changing, particularly during the pandemic. It's always good to stay in the know and will only benefit you in the long run. I also use marketing apps for my business which teaches me a ton about how to market effectively.
  • It really depends if you want to work for another persons business or corporate company in the future.

    From my personal experience it's very difficult to get a job if you've always been an entrepreneur successful or not. Many people want to degree otherwise they expect you to come and figure out what they're doing and leave and do it better because you've been supporting yourself all those years of not having a job.
  • It`s a tricky question. If you are a self-learner and you are good at it, you can make it out there. At the same time, as someone said above, there`s no downside to getting more education if you have the means and the desire to do it.
  • Am I correct in assuming you wrote that a professor can make $4.7 million in a lifetime?
    How does that count? In 45 working years? Or less?...? Okay... let's talk specifically about your question.
    I think you can make a few million a year without a bachelor's or doctorate degree.
    Of course you need experience and a team.
    One more important thing. You really have to enjoy it and you have to do marketing as if it is your life.
    I think that practice and self-study of the subject can make a person a good specialist.
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