Should i choose Marketing or Advertising?

My current major is Advertising with a minor in Public Relations. I am very creative. I love to design!. Weather it's computers aided design, interior design, logos/signs. I love love love it. I'm not really into numbers so I don't think I would really want to go in to Marketing. Over all which one would provide the most fufilling career? Marketing or Advertising, and why?

Should i choose Marketing or Advertising?
Marketing is Advertising is Marketing...I am getting my degree in Visual Communications / Graphic Design and Web Development. I just got a list of 206 jobs that are available in the field of Arts which include anything from Fine Arts to Web Design. I spent 20 years as a Marketing Manager and loved it. I was able to design products for the screen printing industry...inks and color mixing systems that brought awards to me and millions of dollars to the company (I would have preferred the million dollars : ), but I was paid well, company car and traveled all over the world. That might not always be the case in marketing positions but it sounds like you do need to be in graphic design and/or product design. You might give CAD a try if you like 3D drawing, i.e. furniture design which is another area outside of Visual Communications. Go to http://www.humanmetrics.com/ and take the Myers Briggs test to see what your personality type is. Then you can match it up to careers. I think everyone should do this even if they have been in the working field for years....and don't necessarily like what they are doing. It is very important to determine your passion and try to fill that need with a PAYING job and that way if feels like you are getting paid for a hobby. I know because I had that luxury but it was not so fun at times because I WAS so passionate about what I did and the products that I created. I got to come up with the product (formulate it), name it, market it, rep it and sit back to watch the $$$ roll in and I got it up to $6.5 million a year. It is very satisfying to see that an industry does indeed need the product that YOU predicted it needed. To get a % of that would have been the smartest way for me to handle it but I was too young and had already been working at the company for 5 years and couldn't change that. Unfortunately the chemist was getting that %.....of the products that I was creating. Just because he owned the title of chemist. So think or get advice before you get into an position of DESIGN. The company will own everything you design so try to come up with a creative solution by asking that you get a certain % or royalty, if it suits and you think this might be "industry standard practice"....to get the % or royalty of products you create. Some do, some don't and you don't want to ask for it and have someone think you are NUTS. Bottom line, I think you will find that you will be most satisfied with Graphic Arts. Now, go find out what Graphic Artist make which I have been told is around $35,000/year to start, if you are a student and that might be high. If you get into something that is more specific you might make more but the job opportunities might make it difficult for you to move from job to job, which, by the way, is the fastest way to give yourself a RAISE. Also visit Monster and type in different search words to see what kind of jobs are out there that you like. Monster will also give you the salary ranges of jobs. You might need to set up an account but you should have your resume on Monster as soon as possible anyway. Remember to work smarter not harder and ask yourself if you want to be in business for yourself some day. If so, persue this also while you look. If you are the type of person who wants the security of working for a company find a postion in design that will offer you the highest pay for your skills. Get some experience and jump to another company to increase your salary if you aren't getting the raises you want. It is not only about doing what you like but getting paid the highest amount of money. Do not tell yourself that "it's not about money" because IT IS. You can have both but you have to be willing to go after it. I can say for certain, I would not stay with a company for 20 years like I did. The industry fell off and most screen printing is in China now so my comfort zone got smashed when the company started suffering. I was out there with very specific experience as a formulator with a degree in Biology, not Chemistry and a Marketing Manger without a degree in Marketing....bumber! So I went back to school and hoped into the Pharmaceutical Industry where I could work part time and make plenty of money while getting my degree to back up my 20 years of experience....Don't do things backwards like I did.
Reply:As a similar "outside-the-box-thinker", I recommend ADVERTISING for a satisfying career. Advertising is actually an IMPRECISE "pole" with which to measure.


%The MARKETING profession is keyed on working with numbers and requires precision and accuracy.


"Yea........ what do I do NOW?" I bet you are asking. As I advise many of my own colleagues, pursue your own niche and develop your identity.


You might decide to resort back to the opposite pole of employment after you experience all the "in's and out's" of the Advertising jonre for a while.


*BEST OF LUCK!*
Reply:Sounds like you should be a graphic designer or web designer!





If you are creative, your talents would be better serverd creating cool graphics logos...ect...
Reply:??? Marketing or advertising?....can you even tell me the difference?





(I know the difference and it has no bearing on your question. Why is your major in advertising if you love to design. Get the design degree and become an art director.)
Reply:advertising, graphic design, and PR are part of marketing. they fall under marketing communications. A marketing department has product marketing which crunches the numbers and identifies the product and market segment and MARCOm which does the things you liek to do.
Reply:I would say that Advertising would be more for you, especially considering that you are a creative person. Marketing would hold you down. With advertising you would be able to expand your horizons and go into design and you would be able to advertise your OWN company. No paying a middle man to advertise anything for you.


As you said, you don't really like dealing with numbers, so I would think that marketing isn't the right field for you.


I say go with Advertising and pick up some design classes. I think the public relations would help you also because you would learn how to better deal with handling customers etc...


Which ever path you chose, I hope that it is as rewarding as you imagine it to be :)
Reply:Im not sure,but id go with advertizing its eazier to me
Reply:You're already very juiced up about advertising. Creativity can aid in either mark. or advert. However since advertising is your forte...stick with it and learn all you can about advertising from advertising pros.
Reply:Advertising is a subsegment of marketing. It is one of the ways one markets.





If you lean towards design, take graphic arts courses, marketing strategy courses, advertising and consider an ART DIIRECTOR career. You start as a graphic artist and when you start managing the team and working with the marketing group on strategy, you then "direct the graphic artists". It is a fun position.





When you are a fabulous art director- and assuming political savvy and a team player....you move up to CREATIVE DIRECTOR.
Reply:Advertising. you sound like you enjoy designing stuff, but its hard field because its soo competitive. But, i'm sure you'll make it.