A fellow student asked me the following question:
“Currently I am a senior in college with a major in communication studies, emphasis in public relations, and I have a minor in international business. I’ve also taken 3 semesters of statistics courses and studied abroad in France. Is this a strong college background to start to work in market research? What are some entry-level jobs that I should look for in market research/marketing? Would a marketing internship help prepare me for a career in market research?”
For most market research jobs there is no specific qualification you need. For market research you often need at least some feeling for marketing, economics or statistics.
As you have a broad background, with additional knowledge of statistics and foreign language, you can start a career in market research. Most likely you will start as a market research analyst or executive although the names often differ per company. You will start as a support for a Research manager or director, but can follow in their footsteps when you career progresses.
If you want to go for a career in marketing, I would suggest you take up an internship. Although this is not needed for a market research job, marketing jobs are different and hands on experience is a definite advantage in that field. Again after an internship you will most likely start as a marketing assistent and progress from there.
