Career profile · SOC 13-1161

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

Research conditions in local, regional, national, or online markets. Gather information to determine potential sales of a product or service, or plan a marketing or advertising campaign.

Median salary
$76,950
per year
Growth outlook
Average
BLS 10-yr
Education
Bachelor's degree
AI exposure
7.6/10
automation risk

Salary distribution (US)

Real salary data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The p10–p90 spread tells you more than the median alone.

Bottom 10%
$40,020
25th %ile
$53,290
Median
$76,950
75th %ile
$103,080
Top 10%
$137,550

Top skills

Active Listening Critical Thinking Reading Comprehension Speaking Writing Complex Problem Solving Judgment and Decision Making Active Learning Social Perceptiveness Mathematics

Knowledge you'll build

  • English Language
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Administration and Management
  • Communications and Media
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Economics and Accounting

A day in the life

You start your morning reviewing overnight campaign metrics, social-media analytics, and survey responses that rolled in from a consumer panel, looking for trends that could shape the next product launch or ad strategy. Your day involves designing questionnaires, running focus groups or A/B tests, pulling data from tools like Google Analytics or Tableau, and synthesizing findings into presentations for brand managers and C-suite executives. You collaborate with creative teams, sales reps, and external research vendors, often debating whether the data supports a bold new positioning or a safe incremental move. The work is energizing when your insight drives a campaign that resonates with customers, but frustrating when budgets get cut or decision-makers ignore the data in favor of gut instinct.

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