Advertising and Promotions Managers vs Sales Managers: $134K vs $148K Median Pay

Advertising and Promotions Managers vs Sales 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 Sales Managers if you would rather plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer. 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 Sales Managers (less than 5 years).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Advertising and Promotions Managers and Sales 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

Sales Managers

National median pay (2025): $148,270
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: Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 47,300

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 Sales Managers brief

How the national numbers differ

Sales Managers has the edge on annual openings

Sales Managers is at 47,300 annual openings, compared with 2,300 annual openings for Advertising and Promotions Managers.

Sales Managers has the edge on projected growth

Sales Managers is at 4.5% projected growth, compared with -3.7% projected growth for Advertising and Promotions Managers.

Sales Managers has the edge on median pay

Sales Managers is at $148,270, compared with $133,660 for Advertising and Promotions Managers.

46.2/ 100

Advertising and Promotions Managers

75.6/ 100

Sales 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 Sales Managers

Dimension	Advertising and Promotions Managers	Sales Managers
Median pay (2025)	$133,660	$148,270
Pay percentile	92.6 percentile	95 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-3.7%	4.5%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	2,300	47,300
2025 employment	33,200	650,100
How you qualify	Bachelor's degree; Prior related experience: less than 5 years	Bachelor's degree; Prior related experience: less than 5 years
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 4	Job Zone 4
Related work experience	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
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 Sales Managers brief

Advertising and Promotions Managers vs Sales Managers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Advertising and Promotions Managers

Sales Managers

How the national numbers differ

Sales Managers has the edge on annual openings

Sales Managers has the edge on projected growth

Sales Managers has the edge on median pay

Advertising and Promotions Managers vs Sales Managers

Try another comparison

Advertising and Promotions Managers vs Medical and Health Services Managers

Sales Managers vs Administrative Services Managers