Employers

There are approximately 27,600 advertising and promotions managers and 259,200 marketing managers employed in the United States. About 40 percent of advertising and promotions managers work for advertising, public relations, and related services, and 23 percent of marketing managers work for professional, scientific, and technical services firms. Green marketers may work for advertising and marketing agencies with clients who have green products and services. They may be employed directly by the companies, working in-house on marketing and advertising campaigns for the companies green products or services. 

Starting Out

Green marketers gain valuable experience through internships in marketing and advertising companies while they are in college. Some receive job offers upon graduation. They also get their start through entry-level positions. Ask your schools career services office for help with the job search. Also search the career sections of companies Web sites to find job and internship listings that may interest you. Professional associations also offer career-support resources and job referrals. For example, visit the American Marketing Associations Job Board (https://jobs.ama.org) to search for jobs by title and state.

Green marketers with experience in successfully managing marketing campaigns advance to management and senior-level management roles. They may become department heads, overseeing the work of larger groups of people. They may advance faster in larger firms than in small agencies. Green marketers also advance by getting certification and participating in advanced training programs sponsored by industry and trade associations or by enrolling in continuing education programs at local universities. These programs are sometimes paid for by green marketing agencies. Green marketers with many years of experience may leave their jobs to start their own marketing firms. Others may become college professors. 

An internship or part-time job at a marketing firm that works on green products campaigns is a great way to learn more about the field. Ask your schools career services office for help finding opportunities.

Find job listings and other resources through professional associations. For example, search the American Advertising Federations career center on its Web site for jobs and career coaching, http://jobs.aaf.org.

Keep up with news and development in the marketing industry by reading publications such as the American Marketing Associations Marketing News (https://www.ama.org/marketing-news-home) and Journal of Marketing (https://www.ama.org/ama-academic-journals).

Conduct information interviews with professionals who work in green marketing to find out how they got started in their career and what they enjoy most and least about their job.