Marketing is identified as a glamorous job by many, with the general public seeing PR and communications jobs as being all about hobnobbing with celebrities, quaffing bubbly and enjoying corporate hospitality.

However, those of us who know the marketing sector are aware that the reality is very different. The findings of the most recent Career and Salary Survey for Marketing Week make for less than enchanting reading, with the key point of the report reading: ‘survey reveals marketers are overworked and undervalued’.

Over 8,500 people took part in the survey, and the results in question here are distilled down to the marketing and digital professionals, who totalled over 4,300.

Lack of adequate training seems to be a significant issue, although this is not necessarily limited to the creative industries. Many employees are frustrated by working more than their agreed hours (an extra two and a half hours per week on average) and find that their ambition is frustrated by employers failing to see the need for new challenges and greater financial reward, with salaries remaining flat.

Lack of career progression is also a problem, with 42% believing there is not enough opportunity to move forwards in their career. The good news is that, while companies in general are not performing well in these areas, the marketing sector does attract ambitious and proactive people, and 55% said they were happy in their current role. The areas where there is a better match-up of marketers’ expectations and reality were: good working environment, challenging work job security and autonomy.

There was good news for digital marketing jobs, as, while there was general lack of satisfaction with remuneration and the pay of a general marketing employee is down 11%, digital specialists’ pay was up by 15%. Over half of respondents said there had been a reorganisation in their department in the last year, and the rise in digital technology take-up has changed the way in which marketers work – with the added need for flexibility impacting on working hours.

Marketing is a sphere that has changed significantly in recent times, but there is still some job satisfaction to be had! Get in touch to have a chat about your marketing career, and taking it to the next level…