5 Marketing Jobs That May Surprise You.

The popular perception of marketers is that they belong to an industry unto themselves, that they're relegated to their own departments where they devise the catchy jingles and slogans that increase sales and come up with cool product launch party themes. But marketing jobs exist in just about every industry, and marketing drives nearly every area of business. After all, every industry needs experts to persuade customers to patronize their services.

If you're considering a career in marketing, you have a broad range of job opportunities to explore, including some you might not immediately associate with the field—and some you might have never heard of.

Data Analyst

If you enjoy research and using statistics to drive compelling stories, then marketing data analyst might be the ideal job for you. The creative side of marketing gets all the attention, but data analysts dig into the numbers to ensure those marketing campaigns convert to sales.

A data analyst gleans insight from market trends, consumer behavior, and demographics, then leverages that acumen to help organizations develop and evaluate marketing strategies. The American Marketing Association notes that data scientists are in high demand in marketing largely because of the digitization of most industries and consumer products.

Brand Journalist

Journalists research topics and interview subjects and sources to write compelling, sometimes emotionally moving stories. Brand journalists and content marketers do this, too—just on the behalf of a particular company.

When companies and other organizations deploy brand journalism, they are focused less on selling a product to their audience than they are on making sure that their audience feels a positive connection to the brand. They do this by publishing stories in branded magazines, newsletters, blogs, or other outlets; publishing video series; or by crafting thought-leadership articles pertaining to the field.

Graphic Designer

Perhaps you're pursuing your business degree but art is your true passion. Maybe you enjoy painting or drawing, or maybe you're a digital design expert. Your art can be more than a hobby; it could be the building blocks of a successful marketing career.

Marketing departments need graphic designers to put their brand-building ideas into captivating visual form. There is especially strong demand for artists who are skilled in designing for web and mobile platforms and who are proficient in software collections such as the Adobe Creative Suite, according to the human resources consulting firm Robert Half International. The job market for graphic designers is growing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but slightly slower than average; it's projected to grow only 4 percent by 2026.

As most organizations are gaining traffic and generating sales through online and mobile platforms, designers with a creative eye and an acumen for digital design will continue to be in high demand.

Growth Hacker

Were you that kid with the summer lemonade stand or lawn-mowing business who tried different ideas every year to get more customers? Did you track the results of each experiment—whether you tried mixing fresh fruit in your beverage or offered to pull weeds for your lawn care customers—and used the information to grow your business?

If that sounds like you, you might be a good candidate for a marketing career as a growth marketer—also called a growth hacker. Growth hacking is critical to startup companies, as it involves ideating innovative and economical ways to build and maintain a customer base.

Mobile App Developer

There's an app for everything, it seems, which bodes well if you're interested in a career as a marketing mobile app developer. Software developers are in high demand, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says, largely because of the public's insatiable appetite for smartphone and tablet apps.

According to The Manifest, 68 percent of companies that have built a mobile app have an extant long-term marketing app strategy, and 30 percent have at least a short-term strategy. If you know how to code, have strong analytical skills, and are business-savvy, you could help these companies develop and improve apps that manage customer data more efficiently.

Marketing app design is increasingly employing artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality, so there will be lots of opportunities for tech enthusiasts to make their mark in mobile marketing.

The Wide World of Marketing

These five jobs are just a small sampling of the marketing jobs that let you blend your technical, analytical, or artistic savvy with marketing know-how. In this multifaceted field, there's no telling where your expertise, creativity, and passion will take you. And with the right business degree, (or in some cases, IT degree) you set yourself up for a long and prosperous career.