This isn’t the easiest of tasks. With creative people, you’ll find yourself treading carefully over delicate egos. There will be plenty of people who take pride in their work, and in order for you to bring out the best ideas from them, you’ll need to deal with them a little differently. This requires great people skills and a sense of humility. If you know how to feed someone else’s ego, that skill will come in handy here. You’ll also need to know who to delegate what to and how to follow up. If you know all about advertising, you’ll be better equipped to give them feedback or help them overcome certain obstacles.
Requirements for this field include a bachelor’s degree and most likely a Masters in business. You should have either a major or minor in advertising so you’re very familiar with the field, but you’ll also need to have all those business classes that teach you how to collaborate, organize and delegate. Most companies won’t hire you straight out of college, so it’s best if you take on an internship and a lower level position at another advertising firm. This will help you gain the experience you need to approach and apply for the manager position.
Salaries for advertising manager jobs range from $60K-$85K. They have a pretty broad range to begin with and most of it will depend on how much experience you have in the field. If you have a great track record with certain clients and products, you might have more sway over your boss’s decision when he hires you. You might be able to prove how valuable you already are to the company and could start a management position with over $100K in yearly salary. It all depends on how good you really are and if you can prove that with a successful track record.
Managing an advertising team is very different, but if you’re creative or like working around creative people, this can be a great career. It has a high stress level due to the kinds of projects you’ll be working on, but there’s a great reward when you and your team do a great job with the pitch. If you’re expecting a typical management position, you’re in the wrong field. Advertising is right there with the entertainment industry—it’s all about innovation and creativity.