Marketing professionals are facing a tumultuous and changing job market. Most marketers, 68%, feel that it is more challenging to get a job in the field now compared to five years ago, while only 7% think it's less challenging, according to recent research from the Content Marketing Institute (CMI).

A key takeaway from the research is that investments in recruitment, training and development are vital if companies want to recruit the top talent needed to keep up with a changing industry.

“Three in four marketers say they need to master specialized niche skills to remain relevant in the face of AI. Organizations have the opportunity to support this desire to learn, either by growing internal training opportunities or offering third-party development opportunities,” said Stephanie Stahl, managing director of the martech group at CMI parent Informa Connect in an email. 

The report, “2025 Career Outlook: Content and Marketing Professionals,” is based on a survey of 704 marketers conducted in May of this year. The majority, 78%, of those surveyed were women while 22% identified as men. Millennials were the most represented generation surveyed at a rate of 55%, followed by Gen X (31%), Gen Z (10%) and baby boomers (5%). Rates of seniority were relatively spread out, with 27% of respondents having 21 years of experience while 13% had zero to five. 

The rise of the robots

The mounting interest and pressure associated with AI adoption and development has led to heightened anxiety about job security. Thirty-three percent of respondents believe AI is contributing to the problems in the job market for marketers. However, only 3% of respondents said that AI had replaced employees. 

“That doesn’t mean AI isn’t having an impact on the profession. In the open-ended responses, many marketers told us their employers won’t hire to backfill positions anytime soon. That could indicate that the promise of AI-driven efficiencies is shrinking teams in a less obvious way,” said Stahl. 

Economic challenges are a key driver of changes in the job marketplace, according to the report. Seventy-five percent of survey respondents said the financial pressure placed on companies is the main reason landing a job has become more difficult. Additionally, 69% cited increased competition for open spots as a top hurdle.

Inside of organizations, 55% of respondents believe marketers are undervalued while 34% believe their career path is poorly defined. The same number indicated their responsibilities were poorly defined, pointing to company-level concerns. 

While most marketers, 76%, are happy in their roles, the number of people looking for a new role is climbing. Thirty-five percent of respondents indicate they are looking for or planning to look for new employment, up four points from last year and seven points from two years ago.  

Leveling up

Employers themselves have an important role to play when it comes to employee satisfaction and recruitment. While economics are certainly at play, most of the reasons for a poor job market fall on the employer, not external factors. 

Salary may be one reason for employee dissatisfaction. The average salary for someone in marketing dropped 3% from last year to $108,380 this year. The survey found that marketers believe they should be earning approximately 20% more than they currently do. 

“If you find you’re undervalued, develop a plan to close the gap. You may need to make a case to your current employer or put in the work to find another role. Sometimes, changing jobs is the fastest way to grow your income,” said Stahl. 

Another area of potential improvement for employers is providing appropriate training. Only 35% of survey respondents said their training meets their career needs. However, training needs vary based on generation. For example, 60% of Gen X and 59% of baby boomers in the industry indicate they would like more training on working with new technologies, compared to 45% of Gen Z and 43% of millennials. However, 40% of Gen Z and 48% of millennials indicated they wanted to improve their leadership skills, compared to just 28% of Gen X and 16% of baby boomers. 

“Marketers we surveyed want to learn new tech platforms, leadership skills, and data/analytic skills. The challenge can be figuring out where to go to learn these skills. Nearly half of marketers say they’re using third-party companies to develop their skills,” said Stahl. “The advantage is that external companies have up-to-the-minute training on fast-changing digital marketing technologies and tactics.”