|
|
 |
|
A marketing degree - it's only the
beginning
|
If you're studying marketing at a degree level or considering it with view to
working primarily in the online world; I have some important advice I'd like to share.
In a nutshell - your marketing degree on its own will mean nothing to many people
in the industry you're attempting to impress. I'm one of them.
A recent exchange with a soon-to-graduate marketing student regarding another project
of mine has been the spur for this article. It's a blunt piece and it's meant to
be.
There's been a few times over the years that university students well into their degree or just about to graduate have written to me pointing to what they
perceived to be problems on my projects. They'll often back these views by boasting about their studies, their grades,
quoting academic texts and waffling on about how prestigious their college is; sometimes in quite a demeaning manner.
They mistakenly believe that they are dazzling me with their self perceived
brilliance.
I don't mind anyone pointing out faults, it's the position a person is coming from, what they are hoping to achieve through it and how they are going about it that makes a huge difference. Not many people appreciate a textbook cowboy. I certainly don't.
A university qualification means nothing in real terms. It's only when you've racked up points on the board either prior to or after gaining your degree that it will actually mean something. I spent a couple of years training unemployed IT/web folks with degrees who were brilliant, but lacked the other important skills in order to make that brilliance work in the real world in a commercial environment.
While some of those guys were wailing and gnashing their teeth and debating over technical standards and "best practices" devised by academics; I was out here generating cash in what was a fluid and rapidly evolving online business environment.
Your degree may be a ticket to getting into a big company perhaps as it can be a required qualification in those instances, but be prepared to start well down the ladder there too. Your 4 years or whatever in university is merely the start of a
journey of learning, not the end of it. As for small business, employers generally do not care about pieces of paper, but what you can do.
There's a huge gap between the sheltered, hallowed halls of a university and working in the real world of online business with real challenges. An internship during your studies will not prepare you for all of it. Some of that experience can only be gained with time and the acceptance that your studies likely missed out on a lot of important
information - and aspects of what you studied have already become outdated. This is particularly applicable to the world of online marketing as it's evolving so quickly.
I've always found it quite amusing (and at the same time, incredibly irritating) that some people look at some of my projects and think they don't make cash.
I'm not one to boast about earnings and I'm not about to start or even hint to what I make through my own projects and those external projects I'm involved with; but
I've been doing this a long time and outlived many others who have tried their luck making a living online - including those with far more backing than I have and those with a fistful degrees in relevant areas.
I've achieved this without a degree. Heck, I didn't even finish high school. You do not need
formal qualifications if you have the right mindset and the motivation.
A degree doesn't make you special or give you entitlement; you are one of
many holding such a piece of paper and one of many competing for a job.
Those of you contemplating or studying degrees need to understand that university is not the only place to get an education, nor is it the only pathway to online success. For example, you can take shorter courses offering "lesser" qualifications and then spend the equivalent remaining years in the trenches getting your hands dirty in the real online world; or just simply immerse yourself in online business and self educate. The latter is even easier these days given the amount of information available online.
After graduating, if you don't have the ability or inclination to go it alone
and are looking for a salaried job in marketing, be careful how you approach a potential employer or client because even though you have a freshly minted degree, you may still be very much a student with a lot to learn - and that will become abundantly apparent in your approach.
Understand and accept also there is likely much you will need to unlearn to suit a company you wind up in and that you don't know it all. None of us do.
If you're considering undertaking a marketing degree, and this is very much a personal opinion, consider instead a degree in psychology - as they are so closely related and the latter will provide you with a wider range of options. The world of marketing is not pretty - it chews people up and spits them out; particularly those with a strong set of ethics. As Seth Godin says: "all marketers are liars" -
and he wasn't kidding.
Also chewed up and spat out are those people whose self estimation is far above their ability.
You can cast your net wide with a psychology degree, then perhaps a brief course in online marketing of some type to help
target if you really feel you need a piece of paper.
Remember, watch how you approach companies when peddling your skills. Be confident, but respectful - there might be someone like me on the other side of the desk who you'll be facing; someone who may see your degree more as a potential problem than a selling point.
Related:
Finding web development work
Michael Bloch
Taming the Beast
http://www.tamingthebeast.net
Tutorials, web content, tools and software.
Web Marketing, Internet Development & Ecommerce Resources
____________________________
Copyright information.... This article is free for reproduction but must be
reproduced in its entirety, including live links & this copyright statement must be included.
Visit http://www.tamingthebeast.net
for free Internet marketing and web development articles, tutorials and
tools! Subscribe to our popular ecommerce/web design ezine!
Click here to view article index
|
|
|
