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General Sales & Marketing Operations

Types of Degrees General Sales & Marketing Operations Majors Are Earning

People majoring in General Sales & Marketing Operations can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	54
Associate’s Degree	663
Bachelor’s Degree	1,357
Master’s Degree	1,249
Doctor’s Degree	2

What General Sales & Marketing Operations Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

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

• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Sales and Marketing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills built by a General Sales & Marketing Operations program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Negotiation — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Persuasion — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to General Sales & Marketing Operations 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 4.1 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Common Job Activities

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

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.0 / 7
Processing Information	3.8 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

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

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

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Sales & Marketing Operations graduates include:

• Exporter
• Recreation Sales Representative
• Office Materials Sales Representative
• Marking Pens Sales Representative
• Field Marketing Representative
• Consignee
• Textile Designs Sales Representative
• Bottle Sales Representative
• Safety Equipment Sales Representative
• Men’s Apparel Sales Representative
• Livestock Commission Agent
• Office Machines Sales Representative
• Household Appliances Sales Representative
• Field Service Representative
• Safety Apparel Sales Representative

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	39.1%
High school diploma or equivalent	32.1%
Some college courses	8.9%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	6.4%
Doctoral degree	4.9%
Less than a high school diploma	2.6%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.3%
Postsecondary certificate	1.9%
Master’s degree	1.4%
Post-master’s certificate	0.2%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Sales & Marketing Operations?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 57.1% women and 42.9% men among General Sales & Marketing Operations graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,897	57.1%
Men	1,428	42.9%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,330	40.0%
Asian	358	10.8%
Hispanic or Latino	667	20.1%
Black or African American	189	5.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native	16	0.5%
Two or More Races	115	3.5%
Race Unknown	59	1.8%
International Students	591	17.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Sales & Marketing Operations Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of General Sales & Marketing Operations 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 Operations Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for General Sales & Marketing Operations. 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	17	6
Bachelor’s	7	2
Master’s	2	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 Operations Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, General Sales & Marketing Operations 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
General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations	52.18
General Merchandising, Sales, and Related Marketing Operations, Other	52.1899
Merchandising and Buying Operations	52.1802
Reserved	52.1880
Retailing and Retail Operations	52.1803
Selling Skills and Sales Operations	52.1804
Apparel and Accessories Marketing Operations	52.1904
Fashion Merchandising	52.1902
Purchasing, Procurement/Acquisitions and Contracts Management	52.0202
Accounting and Business/Management	52.0305
Accounting and Finance	52.0304
Accounting	52.0301

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.