In business schools, being a marketing major is always interesting. Most of the other majors involve mathematical and quantifiable skills, but marketing relies on an individual's creativity and ability to solve problems and ultimately create profit. Marketing is the "easy major" to everyone that isn't a marketing major, and marketing graduates usually have a lower starting salary than every other business major. But marketing is one of the most valuable aspects of a business.
The marketing department is who creates a company's brand! Think about companies like Coca-Cola, Apple, and Target. Yes, they offer great products and experiences, but you know them because of their branding. You'd recognize that Coca-Cola font or the sleek, clean presentation of an Apple product anywhere! And that, my friends, is all thanks to the marketing department.
My love for marketing started when I was 15 years old. I was in a marketing club called DECA (shoutout to all of my DECA diamonds out there). We competed at the district, state, and if we were lucky enough, international levels. In my first year, I qualified for the International Career Development Conference. I traveled to Salt Lake City alone and competed for the first time against participants from all around the world. I didn't do great my first year, but I knew that if I worked hard enough, I would win soon enough.
Fast forward to 2013. I, along with about 15 of my classmates, qualified for ICDC and traveled to Anaheim, California. I made it to the finals. I was in the top 20 of all of the competitors in my category. But again, did not make it on that top 10 list.
It's 2014, my senior year. Again, I and about 20 classmates traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to compete at ICDC. I made it to finals, I was in the top 20 again, but this time, I had to do more. In my senior year, I received an award for Top 10 role play and Top 10 overall competitor. I also got to watch classmates succeed in such a fun competition. After three years of competing in marketing competitions, I knew that marketing had to be for me.
Ever since 2012, I have studied marketing theories and consumer behavior theories, met many professionals in the industry, and now I have the goal to own my own marketing consulting firm. Marketing isn't the "easy major" and it is definitely very important!
I'm not knocking any other field of study, I actually love finance and am thinking about getting my Master's with a focus on finance! But I do know that over the past seven years, it has been made very clear to me that I was made to be a marketing professional, and let's be honest, without marketing professionals, companies wouldn't even have a clear brand. You wouldn't know Coca-Cola, Apple, and Target the way that you do. Marketing is the face of every company and absolutely vital to the success of these companies.
