“The rise of digital technology put marketers in a bind. No longer a captive audience, consumers were splitting their time across devices, social networks and websites.”

Shawn Amos, Musician

Pros and Cons of Working as a Digital Marketer

You think about becoming a digital marketer? Great!

However, before you really make any efforts in this direction, make sure to check out all the pros and cons of being a digital marketer in this article.

Maybe you’ll change your mind and look out for alternative career options instead.

Digital Marketer Job Profile

Advantages of Being a Digital Marketer

1. Digital marketers can make decent money
2. Being a digital marketer can be interesting
3. You can help companies scale their business and make them fit for the future
4. Digital marketers can connect to people from all over the world
5. You always have to adapt to new challenges
6. Career as digital marketer never gets boring
7. You can work with many interesting people
8. Digital marketing is a broad field
9. You can work for many different companies
10. Digital marketers can start their own business
11. You can learn many skills by yourself
12. Digital marketers can work indoors
13. Excellent future job prospects
14. Digital marketing is trendy right now
15. Teleworking is possible
16. Regular work schedule as digital marketer
17. You will have weekends and holidays off
18. Digital marketers have good work-life balance

Digital marketers can make decent money

One advantage of being a digital marketer is that you can just earn really good money.

While the average yearly salary in the US is around $75,000, you can earn much more than that if you are willing to work hard and also work for the right company.

Moreover, please note that this number only refers to jobs in the corporate world.

You can also start your own digital marketing agency and earn much more than that.

In fact, there are digital marketers out there who earn hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars each year since good digital marketing can really move businesses forward.

Hence, a career in digital marketing can be great for you if you have the ambition to earn decent amounts of money from your work while welders and many other people don’t have the luxury of making really good money from what they are doing.

However, being in the game just for the money is not a good idea since most people will fail sooner or later if they are just working for the money.

Yet, if you also have an interest in digital marketing, you will probably not have to worry about money that much in the future and you will be able to afford some nice things, at least if you are good at what you are doing and willing to work hard on your career.

Being a digital marketer can be interesting

Since digital marketing is always evolving, you will never know how exactly your work will look like just one year from now.

New devices and software are invented on a regular basis and some of those technical achievements really have the potential to change how internet marketing will be done in the future.

This also means that your job as online marketer will continue to change in the future and while this can be exhausting, it also makes your job interesting and exciting since you can never be sure that you have learned everything you need to compete with the best people in your industry.

You can help companies scale their business and make them fit for the future

As a digital marketer, your job will be to make business fit for the future regarding their marketing spending.

You will set up digital marketing campaigns and measure the progress of those campaigns using advanced statistical methods.

In fact, digital marketers have a pretty high standing inside companies right now since everyone knows how important adapting to the digital world really is and that only companies that do the work will be able to succeed in the future.

By working as a digital marketer, you can really make a difference for the companies you work for since only companies with profound digital marketing will survive in the long run.

Digital marketers can connect to people from all over the world

Another benefit of a digital marketing career is that you can connect to many experts from all over the world.

In fact, many digital marketing experts have their own social media channels and answer questions there.

Moreover, there are also virtual meetings in the digital marketing world and you can also become a member of the main marketing forums.

Opportunities to meet new people and to discuss new ideas are almost endless and it has never been easier to share your ideas with the best people in the world and to get their assessment of those ideas than it is today.

You always have to adapt to new challenges

The speed of our technological progress is enormous and our world is changing rapidly.

This also means that digital marketers always have to adapt to new challenges that come along with this development.

Digital marketing is all about providing users with the best experience and to offer them targeted products so that every penny of a company’s marketing budget can be spent in the best possible manner.

In reality, this is much harder than most people think since you can make so many mistakes and if you don’t keep up with all the changes that occur on a regular basis, you will not succeed as digital marketer in the long run.

However, if you are willing to take on these changes and to continuously learn, you can soon become a real pillar in the digital marketing world and you can really grow in character by overcoming all those problems and challenges.

Career as digital marketer never gets boring

Another upside of working as a digital marketer is that it simply never gets boring.

Due to all the technological changes that take place every day, also digital marketing changes.

What worked in the past may no longer work in the future and you will always be confronted with new issues which you have to solve somehow.

I admit, working as a digital marketer is not the easiest of all jobs.

However, it can be great since you will always see new things and you will also be pretty proud of yourself if you learn how to overcome problems and how to compete in this field.

You can work with many interesting people

The digital marketing world also attracts many interesting and exotic people.

In fact, many digital marketers are just not standard persons.

They usually have a pretty strong character and are often also quite confident since they often have to perform on stage and speak to a large audience.

By meeting those people and by exchanging ideas, you can really grow as a person as well as a digital marketer and you can become one of those characters yourself in the future if you are willing to work hard and smart.

Digital marketing is a broad field

As a digital marketer, you can also work on many different projects in several different disciplines.

While some digital marketers focus on content marketing and produce blog posts or videos for marketing campaigns, others focus on search engine optimization and make sure that the company they work for is able to rank in organic search results to generate traffic.

These are just some examples of what topics you can work as a digital marketer.

Opportunities are almost endless and you will likely be able to find the perfect niche for your interest and talents in the digital marketing world.

You can work for many different companies

Digital marketers can not only work in various different disciplines, but they can also work for many different companies.

In fact, almost every company needs digital marketers to promote and sell their products and many companies still haven’t made the switch from old school marketing to the digital world.

This means that you will often have the choice what company you want to work for and you can just go for the best offer you get.

Digital marketers can start their own business

If you are the rather entrepreneurial type of person who doesn’t want to work for someone else but who wants to work on your own, you can also do this as a digital marketer.

Of course, it would be advisable to work as an employee in a good digital marketing agency for the first years of your career to gather some knowledge.

However, after acquiring all this knowledge, it will be pretty easy for you to start your own digital marketing agency.

In fact, many digital marketers go this career path and many of them make much more money with their own agency than they could ever have made as an employee.

Yet, keep in mind that starting your own business also implies plenty of paperwork and you also have to take care of the legal aspects of the game.

Thus, make sure that you are really the type of person who is persistent and is willing to put in the work since you will likely fail with your digital marketing business otherwise.

You can learn many skills by yourself

Another benefit of being a digital marketer is that you can learn many skills you need by yourself.

You don’t necessarily book fancy courses that cost thousands of dollars.

You can just follow the best people in your field on social media and watch YouTube videos that show you latest developments in digital marketing and how you can adapt to them.

In fact, I personally learned much more from those videos than any course out there could have taught me about digital marketing and success in this field definitely depends on your willingness to develop yourself further and not on the dollars you might put in your education.

Digital marketers can work indoors

As a digital marketer, you will also be able to work indoors.

While other people will have to work under extreme weather conditions like heavy rain, snow or heat, you can just work in an office in a rather cozy atmosphere.

Excellent future job prospects

Also the future for digital marketers will be bright.

There will be a huge demand for digital marketing services in a few years and this trend will continue for many decades.

In fact, digital marketing is just the future since older traditional marketing techniques no longer work.

The attention of customers just switches from newspapers and other traditional mediums to digital platforms and much more money will be spent on display ads and other digital ad services in the future.

Big companies just start to recognize how important this switch really is to stay competitive and successful and truckloads of money can be made in this field, at least if you are good enough and are willing to put in the work that is required to operate a successful digital marketing agency.

Digital marketing is trendy right now

Working in digital marketing is also trendy and cool right now.

In fact, many young people want to work in this field, yet only few of them really have what it takes to succeed in the long run.

This also means that there will be plenty of opportunity for you and that you will also enjoy a pretty high social status as a digital marketer since many people will consider you to be really important.

High social status can not only give you the feeling to be important, but it can also greatly help you in the dating market and it will be rather easy for you to find a partner as a digital marketer.

Teleworking is possible

Another upside to becoming a digital marketer is that you will not always have to go to work.

Of course, you will still have to work from home.

However, you can just save precious time for commuting and also don’t have to get stuck in traffic jams.

As a digital marketer, you can often work remotely since you just have everything you need as long as you have an internet condition and remote access to important files.

Hence, many digital marketers enjoy the benefits of teleworking instead of having to commute to their office every day.

This also gives you a great level of flexibility since you will be much better able to organize your family life.

Regular work schedule as digital marketer

Digital marketers also rarely work many additional hours and they also often have a fixed work schedule.

This means that you will start working between 8 and 9 a.m. and will finish your workday between 5 and 6 p.m.

This makes it pretty easy for you to meet up with people after work or to enjoy plenty of time with your family.

You will have weekends and holidays off

Digital marketers also usually don’t work on weekends.

In fact, as a marketer in the digital world, you will have the luxury to just work Monday to Friday.

Hence, while your friends in consulting or investment banking will often have to work Saturdays or even Sundays, you will be the lucky guy who can make weekend trips or just relax in your garden.

Digital marketers have good work-life balance

In general, digital marketers have a pretty good work-life balance.

Since you will not have to work many extra hours and also have free weekends, there will be more than enough time to follow your hobbies or to do nice things with your loved ones.

Always remember that time is a pretty precious resource which is finite and enough leisure is crucial for our level of happiness.

Disadvantages of Being a Digital Marketer

1. You have to sit in front of a computer all day long
2. You will often not see the end result of your efforts
3. Being a digital marketer can be stressful
4. Digital marketers usually need a college degree
5. Student loan debt is a problem
6. You always have to learn and educate yourself
7. Choosing the wrong niche can be problematic
8. Building a successful digital marketing business is much harder than you think
9. Digital marketing is a long game
10. Many black sheep in the digital marketing world

You have to sit in front of a computer all day long

While there are many advantages of a career in digital marketing, there are also some downsides related to it.

For instance, one problem with being a digital marketer is that you will have to sit in front of a computer screen all day long while foresters and many other people are able to enjoy fresh air outdoors.

This can not only be regarded as rather unnatural from an evolutionary perspective, but it can also lead to problems with your vision and to back pain and other physical health issues in the long run.

Many people who work in these sorts of jobs also suffer from overweight or obesity since they simply don’t exercise in a sufficient manner.

You will often not see the end result of your efforts

As a digital marketer, you will often set up big campaigns for your clients.

However, many times, you will no longer be in charge in a few years and you will therefore often not see the true effects of your efforts.

This can be pretty frustrating, especially if you work really hard for your clients and yet don’t see the end result of your labor.

Compared to other jobs like construction where you really see success pretty soon, you will often not have those moments as a digital marketer and this can be pretty frustrating.

Being a digital marketer can be stressful

Another disadvantage of being a digital marketer is that it can just be stressful.

Especially if you have your own digital marketing agency, you will have many different problems to solve at the same time and some clients can also be really difficult.

If you have your own digital marketing company, you will often also work much more than an employee and stress levels are usually much higher.

However, even if you work as an employee, there will be times where your job as digital marketer can be stressful.

Hence, be prepared that it is just not all sunshine in the digital marketing world and that some days will just not be pleasant at all.

Digital marketers usually need a college degree

If you want to work in a renowned digital marketing agency, you also need a college degree most often.

Sure, there are exceptions where people had been lucky and got good digital marketing jobs through connections.

However, most of the time, you will at least need to get a Bachelor’s degree and some digital marketing companies even require a Master’s degree.

This not only implies that you will need to spend many years on your education, but it also implies serious financial commitments since going to college can be pretty expensive.

Student loan debt is a problem

To become a digital marketer, many college students also have to take on huge sums of student loan debt to finance their degree.

Sure, student loans make your life in college easier since you do no longer have to worry about money during your studies that much.

However, you still have to pay back those student loans sooner or later and college students often need many years to do so.

Consequently, make sure that you are willing to make this financial commitment for your digital marketing career.

You always have to learn and educate yourself

Another downside of becoming a digital marketer is that the digital world is changing rapidly.

While this can be quite interesting since you will always see new things and experience new challenges, it can also be really annoying for people who just love the status quo and who are not willing to educate themselves in the future.

In fact, everyone in the digital marketing world who is not willing to keep up with latest inventions will become obsolete sooner or later and if you are not the type of person who really likes change, you should rather go for an alternative career path instead.

Choosing the wrong niche can be problematic

There are also many different disciplines in digital marketing from which you can choose from.

While this gives you a great level of freedom, it can also be problematic in case you choose the wrong digital marketing branch.

In fact, there are niches like SEO where many shady techniques are just no longer working and you should never go for those branches if you want to stay successful with digital marketing in the future since you can just ruin your reputation pretty soon.

Hence, if you want to become a digital marketer, make sure that you take your time to educate yourself about the different niches so that you don’t get stuck in niches that are not promising in the long run at all.

Building a successful digital marketing business is much harder than you think

Many people also dream about having their own digital marketing agency.

However, only very few of them will actually have what it really takes for it.

In fact, it is much harder to operate a digital marketing business since competition is fierce and you always have to stay ahead of your competitors.

Hence, if you are not really passionate about what you are doing, you will likely fail with your digital marketing company sooner or later.

Digital marketing is a long game

Also your efforts as a digital marketer will often not lead to success in the short run.

Digital marketing is a long game and you will have to put in plenty of effort and money before you see the true fruits of your labor.

Since many companies are pretty impatient and want to see results quickly, this can lead to serious trouble since you may just get fired or lose your clients if you are not able to deliver the required results.

Many black sheep in the digital marketing world

Since digital marketing has become quite popular in the recent past, many people just want to get their piece of the cake without having proper knowledge in this field.

They just want to make quick bucks and the digital marketing space becomes increasingly crowded with so-called experts who actually have no clue of what they are doing.

This can greatly negatively affect the overall reputation of this industry and even if you do great work, you will often be considered as rather dodgy due to the many black sheep in this field.

Top 10 Being a Digital Marketer Pros & Cons – Summary List

Should You Become A Digital Marketer?

Now that I provided you with all the advantages and disadvantages of being a digital marketer, it is on you to decide whether you still want to become a digital marketer or if you want to go for an alternative career path instead.

Make sure to take your time and to evaluate all the arguments carefully so that you can make a profound decision regarding your future career choice.

If you are still interested in a digital marketing career, you may also want to get more detailed information on the salary, career prospects, future outlook, educational requirements, working hours and job satisfaction of digital marketers.

Also make sure to check out the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a financial controller

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a psychologist

Sources

https://www.digitalmarketer.com/digital-marketing/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_marketing

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world. In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics. However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

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