Colleges and universities that offer degrees in marketing prepare students to manage the relationship between businesses and their customers. Specifically, degree recipients are trained to develop ways that businesses promote their products and services to targeted populations. Students are also trained to help businesses figure out the optimal price to sell their products and services for.
Students who earn degrees in communications are trained to understand how people use messages to develop meaning across media platforms, such as social networking sites; media channels, such as television broadcasts; and cultures. For example, elected officials look to those with degrees in communications to work in their offices as speechwriters. Politicians often require staff to help them promote their messages across different media platforms and channels.
According to Yahoo Education, marketing degree holders earn an average starting salary of $38,000 per year, as of 2010. By midcareer, degree holders earn an average of $77,300 per year, as of 2010. Marketing degree recipients can go on to become marketing specialists, market and survey researchers and marketing managers. Communications degree holders have an average starting salary of $30,921, as of 2010. Midcareer salaries average $72,200 per year, as of 2010.
Undergraduate degrees provide a foundational understanding in either field. For example, a undergraduate communications student may take communications law. The course teaches the student about the importance of the First Amendment with respect to media communications. An undergraduate marketing student may take consumer behavior to learn about consumer buying decisions. Either degree prepares students for employment or for graduate-level work.
Graduate-level degrees in communications train students to work in either a professional or academic track, namely teaching. Depending on the program, the degree may prepare students for both tracks simultaneously. Students often specialize in a particular communications topic, such as reporting or production.
Those wishing to earn a graduate degree in marketing will earn the master of business administration, or MBA. The MBA, with a marketing specialty, is designed to expose students to consumer behavior, product management, multinational business policy and legal responsibilities. The degree increases a student's earning potential and opens the door for more-senior positions.