Marketing professors on why ‘employability is top of the agenda’
In the latest instalment of our State of Academia series, academics discuss the discrepancy between what universities teach and entry-level job descriptions demand.
For a discipline built on understanding people, marketing has yet to agree on how best to educate them.
For some, a formal qualification – undergraduate or postgraduate – is a must, especially for those looking to climb the corporate ladder. But there are plenty of others who will argue marketing degrees are a waste of time next to good old fashioned on-the-job experience.
According to Marketing Week’s 2025 Career & Salary Survey, less than half of marketers today hold a formal marketing degree or diploma. That percentage drops to just 22.3% for those with a postgraduate diploma, master’s degree, or doctorate.
Unsurprisingly, this is a point of concern for some marketing academics. Marketing Week columnist and adjunct associate professor of marketing at London Business School, Helen Edwards, is among those who advocate for formal education.
