High-paying salaries in some industries — like tech, for example — usually come as no surprise, with software engineers, IT managers, and data scientists all taking home salaries well into six figures. But there’s one career that quietly sits among the six-figure ranks: marketing manager.
According to U.S. News, marketing manager is the 15th best-paying job in 2023, with a median salary of $135,030 and the top 25% of earners making $192,520 annually.
Marketing managers oversee and execute a company’s marketing strategies, including research, campaigning, and budgeting to promote business goals. In a report earlier this year, job networking platform LinkedIn ranked “growth marketing manager” and “customer marketing manager” among its list of the Top 25 growing industries in the U.S. for 2023, both of which have salary ranges over $100,000.
Related: These Are the 25 Highest-Paying Jobs in the U.S. Right Now, Including Pilots and IT Managers, Who Average More Than $130K a Year
However, what sets this role apart is that marketing doesn’t require a full-time job to rake in the big bucks. Freelance marketplace Fiverr found that, between April and September of this year, searches for “digital marketing manager” rose by 640%, per CNBC.
Users that offer verified “pro services” — a Fiverr badge that indicates one has been vetted for their skills and quality of service — charge anywhere from $100 to over $3,000 (monthly, hourly, or project-based) for their digital marketing manager expertise.
CNBC also reported that some marketing managers on Freelancer.com charge as much as $250 per hour.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for marketing managers are projected to grow by 6.6% in the next 10 years.
Related: Here Are the Best High-Paying and Fast-Growing Jobs for the Next Decade