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General Sales & Marketing

Types of Degrees General Sales & Marketing Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing General Sales & Marketing may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	188
Associate’s Degree	854
Bachelor’s Degree	2,408
Master’s Degree	2,628
Doctor’s Degree	2

What General Sales & Marketing Majors Need to Know

Programs in General Sales & Marketing develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that General Sales & Marketing graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in General Sales & Marketing emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Sales and Marketing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills developed in a General Sales & Marketing program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Persuasion — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Negotiation — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to General Sales & Marketing careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, General Sales & Marketing graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.0 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.0 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Working with Computers	3.9 / 7
Selling or Influencing Others	3.8 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.7 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.7 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by General Sales & Marketing professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Project	Project management software	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	✓
Salesforce software	Customer relationship management CRM software	✓
Oracle Database	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	✓
Adobe Acrobat	Document management software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Sales & Marketing graduates include:

• Sales Specialist
• Sales Coordinator
• Sales Consultant
• Outside Sales Representative
• Inside Sales Representative
• Field Service Representative
• Field Marketing Representative
• Exporter
• Account Specialist
• Sales Representative (Sales Rep)
• Salesman
• Salesperson
• Independent Sales Representative
• Sales Supervisor
• Shift Supervisor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to General Sales & Marketing graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	36.2%
Bachelor’s degree	26.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	12.8%
Some college courses	10.0%
Less than a high school diploma	6.1%
Postsecondary certificate	5.0%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.2%
Master’s degree	1.0%
Doctoral degree	1.0%
Post-master’s certificate	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Sales & Marketing?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 55% women and 45% men among General Sales & Marketing graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	3,391	55.0%
Men	2,780	45.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of General Sales & Marketing graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	3,297	53.4%
Asian	423	6.9%
Hispanic or Latino	936	15.2%
Black or African American	369	6.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native	31	0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	17	0.3%
Two or More Races	247	4.0%
Race Unknown	170	2.8%
International Students	681	11.0%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Sales & Marketing Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of General Sales & Marketing graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$52,294
4 years	$56,564
5 years	$66,475

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $66,475 — roughly 27% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online General Sales & Marketing Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for General Sales & Marketing. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	24	8
Bachelor’s	16	4
Master’s	3	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in General Sales & Marketing Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, General Sales & Marketing graduates earn a median of $56,564 four years after completion — roughly 49% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Business Management Marketing Sales	52
Accounting and Related Services	52.03
Business Administration, Management and Operations	52.02
Business Operations Support and Assistant Services	52.04
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other	52.99
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND RELATED SUPPORT SERVICES	52.00
Business/Commerce, General	52.01
Business/Corporate Communications	52.05
Business/Managerial Economics	52.06
Construction Management	52.20
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	52.07
Finance and Financial Management Services	52.08

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.