Quick Highlights
Career outcomes for students in Arkansas State University’s online MBA in Marketing program include marketing manager, product manager, market research director, advertising manager and e-commerce director. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the national median salary for marketing managers is $166,790 as of May 2025, with the top 10% earning well above that figure.
You already run the campaigns, read the dashboards and know your audience. If you’re considering a marketing MBA, you probably want to know which roles the degree is designed for and what those roles pay. The online Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a Concentration in Marketing program at Arkansas State University (A-State) pairs a full business core with marketing coursework, and this guide connects that combination to the roles A-State lists on the program page and to published pay data.
Roles an MBA in Marketing Opens Up
A-State’s online MBA in Marketing program page lists five careers: marketing manager, product manager, market research director, advertising manager and e-commerce director. Titles such as brand manager and product marketing manager are not on that list, but O*NET reports them as job titles within the marketing manager occupation, so they draw on much of the same work.
- Marketing manager: Plans marketing programs, develops pricing and marketing strategy, and directs marketing staff
- Product manager: Weighs the financial aspects of product development alongside marketing strategy
- Market research director: Leads the market research that informs marketing and product decisions
- Advertising manager: Plans and coordinates advertising policies and programs
- E-commerce director: Leads growth, budget and cross-functional coordination for a company’s online store
Titles overlap more than the labels suggest: brand manager, product manager and marketing director are all reported titles within the marketing manager occupation, and O*NET lists directing marketing staff and evaluating the financial side of product development among that occupation’s tasks. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that advertising, promotions and marketing managers typically need a bachelor’s degree plus work experience in a related occupation; please note that the MBA adds graduate coursework to that foundation and does not replace the experience.
What Marketing and Advertising Managers Earn
BLS reports a May 2025 national median annual wage of $166,790 for marketing managers and $133,660 for advertising and promotions managers. The O*NET wage data for marketing managers, drawn from BLS 2025 wage data, puts the 10th percentile at $90,260 and the 90th percentile at $293,610. Product manager is a reported title within the marketing manager occupation, so the marketing manager figures are the closest published reference for it. Neither BLS nor O*NET publishes a separate wage figure for market research director or e-commerce director, so this guide gives none for those two titles.
These figures cover all marketing managers in the country, not only MBA graduates or Arkansas employers. BLS lists a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education and reports that these managers typically need related work experience, so the median reflects people at many career stages.
Important Note
None of the figures above are a promise. Role titles and pay ranges vary widely by employer, industry and region, and an MBA does not guarantee any specific job, promotion or salary outcome.
What the MBA Core Adds to Marketing Experience
A-State’s AACSB-accredited Neil Griffin College of Business offers the online MBA in Marketing program as 33 credits for $17,292, with all fees included, and students can complete the program in as few as 12 months. Note that tuition and program timeline information is current as of 2026. Courses run seven weeks in fall and spring and five weeks in summer, and eight of the courses form the MBA core, covering subjects such as accounting, managerial economics, corporate finance, business analytics, project management and strategic management. The marketing concentration adds Seminar in Contemporary Marketing Issues and Digital Marketing, plus one elective.
Christopher King, an MBA in Marketing student when A-State profiled him in November 2025, pointed to the business analytics course in the core: “My business analytics course gave me data skills through hands-on projects. This experience was something I was able to utilize directly in my job.”
O*NET lists evaluating the financial aspects of product development and developing pricing strategies as marketing manager tasks, which is work the accounting, corporate finance and managerial economics courses support. The two concentration courses then apply that financial grounding to marketing decisions.
The roles in this guide combine campaign planning with decisions about pricing, budgets and staff, and the degree does not promise a role, title or pay level. If you want deeper expertise in social media channels, A-State’s online Master of Science in Strategic Communications with an emphasis in Social Media Management is a different degree from the MBA and worth comparing. If the online MBA in Marketing program fits the work you want to lead, admission requires a bachelor’s degree and a 2.5 GPA (2.75 over your last 60 hours), with no GMAT or GRE.
Take the next step in your career by exploring A-State’s online MBA with a Concentration in Marketing program.
Frequently Asked Questions
What jobs can you get with an MBA in marketing?
A-State’s online MBA in Marketing program page lists marketing manager, product manager, market research director, advertising manager and e-commerce director as potential career outcomes. Titles such as brand manager appear under O*NET’s marketing manager occupation but aren’t reported on the program page.
What do marketing managers with an MBA earn?
BLS reported a May 2025 national median of $166,790 for marketing managers, a figure that covers all marketing managers, rather than only those with an MBA.
Does an MBA guarantee a marketing director role?
No. An MBA does not guarantee any job, title or salary. BLS lists a bachelor’s degree and related work experience as the typical requirements for these managers, and the MBA adds graduate finance and strategy coursework to that foundation.
What is the difference between a marketing manager and a brand manager role after an MBA?
Brand manager is a reported job title within the marketing manager occupation, so the two overlap and the difference depends on the employer. Compare the job description instead of the title when deciding which role fits.
Can product management be a target role for an MBA in marketing?
Yes. A-State’s program page lists product manager among the careers for the MBA in Marketing, and O*NET reports it as a title within the marketing manager occupation.
Is the MBA in Marketing required for these roles, or just one path to them?
It is one path, not a requirement. Employers hire into these roles from multiple backgrounds, and BLS lists a bachelor’s degree and related work experience as the typical requirements.