by Patricia Gilliam

Created on: June 21, 2008

As with any college path, with working toward a career in marketing or advertising you want to focus on what skills you need to gain. Even if you're in high school or a freshman, take some time to contact a few marketing and ad agencies or at least surf their job boards. This will give you a better idea of what they're looking for in terms of experience and educational requirements.

In addition to your course load in a marketing or advertising major, there are other areas where you can minor or take introductory classes that will give you knowledge of basic industry terms and techniques:

1) Psychology

Since your whole career may be based around getting people's attention, it's important to know how they think. Having a basic understanding of human thought process and patterns will help you be more effective communicator as well. Many introduction classes even discuss advertising and marketing as they relate to psychology.

2) Broadcasting

Learning how to structure a television or radio commercial and the behind-the-scenes process of how an ad goes from storyboard to final production is an interesting and fun set of classes to take. There are also classes that focus entirely on writing copy for these forms of media.

3) Web Design and "New Media" Courses

Obviously the Internet is still growing in leaps and bounds, and people entering college right now are going to be left behind if they don't keep up with it to a certain extent. There are aspects to advertising and marketing on the web that are very different from traditional media.

4) Communications and Public Speaking

You're going to likely at some point have to "pitch" your ideas to potential clients. Even if you have great ideas, the other half of the job is communicating them effectively to other people. If you can do this with your clients, they know you can do this for their target audience.

5) Art

Some people would be surprised how even a simple thing as a certain color can produce an emotional response in people. This is another fun secondary field that can help you.

It's also important to remember that formal education is not your only option out there. Take the time to keep up with news in the industry, and try to stay on the leading edge of things even your classmates may not even know about. This gives you an advantage over other people because you're making extra effort that will pay off long term. Good luck and best wishes to you!

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