Here's why digital marketing is as lucrative a career as data science and machine learning

• Indian marketing professionals are getting more tech savvy with the evolution of digital technologies.
  
• In an interview with Business Insider, Mayank Kumar, Founder & MD of upGrad said that the requirement for 'experienced marketers' is getting replaced by the demand for 'data-driven marketers’ now.
  
• According to LinkedIn, digital marketing specialist is one of the top 15 emerging job roles in India — with Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi attracting most talent.
  
• As per the data shared by upGrad, average salary hike for a digital marketing stood at 42% while the highest package was recorded as ₹68 lakhs.

Indian marketing professionals are getting tech savvy in order to tailor-make ads and campaigns. And, this has given rise to the demand for digital marketers across verticals.

In an interview with Business Insider, Mayank Kumar, Founder & MD of upGrad told how digital literacy is becoming a buzzword in the ecosystem. “The requirement for experienced marketers is getting replaced by the demand for data-driven marketers.”

In fact, Kumar says that professionals with 10+ years of experience in traditional marketing or sales are feeling “the palpable need to upskill and do so, really fast.”

Those who are seeking to enhance their digital skills are enrolling in digital courses like data science and digital marketing. According to Kumar, data science, blockchain, full stack development, digital marketing and machine learning are the most sought after courses among professionals. And the completion rate for such courses is as high as 85%.

As per LinkedIn, digital marketing specialist is one of the top 15 emerging job roles in India — with Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi attracting the most talent. However, it is no longer confined to traditional aspects of social media or content marketing. They would have to acquire skills with regards to Google Ads, Social Media Optimization, Google Analytics and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Nearly doubled salaries

As per upGrad, learners with nearly eight years of experience, who took online courses on digital technologies saw a windfall. Their salaries nearly doubled after acquiring the skills. The average salary hike for a digital marketer stood at 42% while the highest package recorded was ₹68 lakhs.

They earn as much as data scientists and other techies who work for full stack development — which is one the best paying software roles.

“The top 20% of the transitioned learners graduated with an average hike of 177%, which is way above any industry benchmark. Those who were previously in profiles like software testing, software development, traditional marketing, sales and operations are now working with leading companies like HDFC Life, Facebook, IBM, Uber, Zomato, and Microsoft,” upGrad said in a statement.

“Two learners from digital marketing and data science programs have bagged ₹68 lakhs and a ₹72 lakhs job packages, respectively. The former transitioned from a renowned consumer-goods sector to now into one of the largest multinational footwear manufacturers whereas, the latter is now a part of a global finance leader after serving fruitful years in a top financial-software company,” Kumar told.

upGrad provides an industry connect for professionals who want to transition from their existing job roles.

“We started our in-house placement support team which provides holistic placement services like resume building, interview preparation support and salary negotiation tips. As of today, we have over 300 corporates hiring from upGrad’s talent pool and we plan to add 50 new companies every quarter.”

The online tutoring platform was also featured in LinkedIn’s list of top 25 startups in India.

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