What’s the outlook (and present actuality) for advertising and marketing jobs involving content material as of late?
Our 2025 Profession Outlook for Content material and Advertising analysis discovered a mixture of good and less-than-great indicators. On one hand, most entrepreneurs are kind of glad with their jobs. And the generative AI boogeyman? Not stealing jobs but.
Then again, entrepreneurs report feeling considerably down about their job prospects and the problem of job searches. And return-to-office mandates? They’re a no-go for many.
The 700 entrepreneurs who participated within the examine shared every kind of attention-grabbing details about profession targets, hiring developments, and reskilling plans. (Do you know that 22% of full-time entrepreneurs freelance on the facet?)
In addition they shared particulars about their salaries and what components could affect compensation.
I’m sharing six key findings right here that can assist you advance your profession (and never get too slowed down with AI anxiousness).
Obtain the 2025 report (registration required) to evaluate the figures, nuanced wage particulars (years of expertise, place, gender, location, and many others.), and different findings.
1. Outlook for advertising and marketing jobs
One in three entrepreneurs tells us their firm laid off advertising and marketing workers within the final 12 months — a better determine than we anticipated.
And plenty of really feel considerably pessimistic concerning the job market: 68% consider discovering a job in advertising and marketing in the present day is more difficult than 5 years in the past. 1 / 4 say it’s about the identical, and solely 7% say job looking is more easy.
Most (75%) consider the challenges are associated to macroeconomic components like monetary pressures. And 69% cite heightened competitors for advertising and marketing jobs as a problem. Far fewer (33%) consider AI is an element.
In the meantime, an undercurrent of frustration exists amongst entrepreneurs about “phantom job” postings. Quite a lot of shared suspicions and anecdotes:
- “Many job listings aren’t really actual or open. Many I encounter are scams.”
- “Some corporations aren’t actually hiring. They’re posting jobs to see what’s on the market after which ghosting folks.”
- “I ponder whether some job listings I see are only a method to seize followers on social media, and even worse, acquire information about job seekers.”
On the brighter facet, entrepreneurs who had been laid off within the final two years report it took simply three months on common to discover a new position. That’s undoubtedly slower than throughout the sizzling expertise market a couple of years in the past however not as discouraging as casual chatter may lead you to consider.
2. AI isn’t taking advertising and marketing jobs … but
Right here’s extra excellent news. The declare that AI can exchange advertising and marketing departments? Yeah, that’s not taking place but. Solely 3% of entrepreneurs report that their groups have changed workers with AI instruments.
However that’s solely a part of the story.
In open-ended responses about how AI impacts advertising and marketing careers, many inform us their employers received’t rent to backfill positions anytime quickly. Which will imply the promise of AI-driven efficiencies is quietly shrinking groups in spite of everything.
Even so, many entrepreneurs (51%) view generative AI instruments as a internet constructive for his or her advertising and marketing careers — that’s 4 instances greater than those that name them a internet unfavorable. This bodes nicely for the revolutionary AI-based advertising and marketing instruments hitting the market.
3. Most entrepreneurs do use generative AI (if considerably unenthusiastically)
Don’t be fooled by that “internet constructive” quantity. Many who responded appear conflicted about generative AI’s skills.
The examine reveals that entrepreneurs have a tendency to make use of generative AI primarily as a “co-pilot” — a software to make them extra environment friendly and inventive. And 68% say these instruments save them time.
The bulk say they use generative AI to brainstorm matters (62%) and summarize content material (53%). Fewer are utilizing generative AI to create content material: Lower than half (44%) say they use AI to “write drafts.”
That’s probably as a result of most (69%) consider that the writing output from AI instruments is mediocre — “soulless,” as one marketer tells us. One other says, “My direct report makes use of AI for outlining and brainstorming at instances, however I often discover AI-generated content material to be unsophisticated.”
However after we checked out which AI makes use of entrepreneurs think about “excessive worth,” the record turned out just a little completely different. The highest 10 makes use of entrepreneurs rated “excessive worth” are:
- Proofread (50%)
- Summarize content material (48%)
- Define assignments (42%)
- Brainstorm new matters (40%)
- Write article drafts (38%)
- Analyze information efficiency (38%)
- Write e-mail copy (34%)
- Repurpose content material (32%)
- Create purchaser personas (31%)
- Optimize content material (31%)
4. Most entrepreneurs report job satisfaction — however nonetheless may transfer on
Satisfaction ranges for entrepreneurs are remarkably excessive. Most entrepreneurs (76%) report being considerably or very glad of their roles.
That share varies barely by place (percentages don’t complete 100 resulting from rounding):
- On the director and above degree, 79% say they’re considerably or very glad, 10% are impartial, and 12% are considerably or very dissatisfied.
- Amongst managers, 79% are considerably or very glad, solely 7% really feel impartial, and 15% are considerably or very dissatisfied.
- Amongst particular person contributors, 73% are considerably or very glad, 11% are impartial, and 16% are considerably or very dissatisfied.
However don’t mistake satisfaction for complacency. Even glad advertising and marketing professionals eye the way to develop and advance of their careers. A couple of-third of entrepreneurs (35%) inform us they’re pursuing or extremely occupied with discovering one other job. That’s up 4 factors from final 12 months and seven factors from two years in the past.
5. Distant work is just not negotiable
Entrepreneurs as a gaggle recognize distant work. And most inform us they don’t need to return to the workplace full time.
A sizeable chunk (84%) of entrepreneurs say they work remotely or in a hybrid setup (a mixture of distant and in-office). Of that group, 68% say they would go away their job if their employer required them to work within the workplace full time.
Employers could also be getting the message. Lower than 1 / 4 (24%) of entrepreneurs say their employers are much less keen to permit distant work than they had been a 12 months in the past. Greater than half (58%) say their willingness remained the identical, and 18% report their employers are extra keen to permit it.
6. On the subject of wage, location issues
So many components go into how a lot entrepreneurs earn {that a} single common quantity obscures greater than it reveals.
For instance, entrepreneurs who work in giant city facilities (e.g., New York Metropolis, Boston, and San Francisco) make fairly a bit extra money than their friends in smaller markets.
Individuals who work in main metro areas earn about 30% greater than those that don’t. And that bump is even increased for director-level-or-above workers in main markets: They make 43% greater than their friends in smaller areas.
The report goes into a lot extra details about:
- Salaries (by seniority, gender, and technology)
- Advancing your profession
- Upskilling and coaching (desired and supplied)
- Retaining prime expertise
I hope you’ll obtain the analysis after which be a part of the LinkedIn dialog. Search for my publish or watch the Stay With CMI episode concerning the findings and remark there.
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Cowl picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content material Advertising Institute
