Advertising and Promotions Managers vs Marketing Managers: $134K vs $167K Median Pay

Advertising and Promotions Managers vs Marketing Managers: what changes?

Consider Advertising and Promotions Managers if you want to plan, direct, or coordinate advertising policies and programs or produce collateral materials, such as posters, contests, coupons, or giveaways, to create extra interest in the purchase of a product or service…. Consider Marketing Managers if you would rather plan, direct, or coordinate marketing policies and programs, such as determining the demand for products and services offered by a firm and its competitors, and identify potential customers. Both list bachelor's degree; compare training and prior experience separately. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for Advertising and Promotions Managers (less than 5 years) and Marketing Managers (5 years or more).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Advertising and Promotions Managers and Marketing Managers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Advertising and Promotions Managers

National median pay (2025): $133,660
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree; Prior related experience: less than 5 years
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Plan and prepare advertising and promotional material to increase sales of products or services, working with customers, company officials, sales departments, and advertising agencies.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 2,300

Know before you choose

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full Advertising and Promotions Managers brief

Marketing Managers

National median pay (2025): $166,790
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree; Prior related experience: 5 years or more
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: 5 years or more.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Identify, develop, or evaluate marketing strategy, based on knowledge of establishment objectives, market characteristics, and cost and markup factors.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 34,000

Know before you choose

BLS lists 5 years or more of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full Marketing Managers brief

How the national numbers differ

Marketing Managers has the edge on projected growth

Marketing Managers is at 6.9% projected growth, compared with -3.7% projected growth for Advertising and Promotions Managers.

Marketing Managers has the edge on annual openings

Marketing Managers is at 34,000 annual openings, compared with 2,300 annual openings for Advertising and Promotions Managers.

Marketing Managers has the edge on median pay

Marketing Managers is at $166,790, compared with $133,660 for Advertising and Promotions Managers.

46.2/ 100

Advertising and Promotions Managers

79.1/ 100

Marketing Managers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Advertising and Promotions Managers vs Marketing Managers

Dimension	Advertising and Promotions Managers	Marketing Managers
Median pay (2025)	$133,660	$166,790
Pay percentile	92.6 percentile	96.3 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-3.7%	6.9%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	2,300	34,000
2025 employment	33,200	421,600
How you qualify	Bachelor's degree; Prior related experience: less than 5 years	Bachelor's degree; Prior related experience: 5 years or more
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 4	Job Zone 4
Related work experience	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.	Prior related experience: 5 years or more.
On-the-job training	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Advertising and Promotions Managers brief Read Marketing Managers brief

Advertising and Promotions Managers vs Marketing Managers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Advertising and Promotions Managers

Marketing Managers

How the national numbers differ

Marketing Managers has the edge on projected growth

Marketing Managers has the edge on annual openings

Marketing Managers has the edge on median pay

Advertising and Promotions Managers vs Marketing Managers

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