Career
Advertising sales agents
Sell the ad space that funds media.
$64,820
Median pay
-7.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
7,800
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Explain to customers how specific types of advertising will help promote their products or services in the most effective way possible.
- Prepare and deliver sales presentations to new and existing customers to sell new advertising programs and to protect and increase existing advertising.
- Obtain and study information about clients' products, needs, problems, advertising history, and business practices to offer effective sales presentations and appropriate product assistance.
- Provide clients with estimates of the costs of advertising products or services.
- Maintain assigned account bases while developing new accounts.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on persuasion & leadership, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Explain to customers how specific types of advertising will help promote their products or services in the most effective way possible.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Speaking, Persuasion, Active Listening, Negotiation.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $64,820 a year and 7,800 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Selling Skills and Sales OperationsCIP 52.1804
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Advertising and Promotions Managers$133,660 · -3.7%
- Marketing Managers$166,790 · +6.9%
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists$78,760 · +7.0%
- Search Marketing Strategists
- Telemarketers$35,450 · -21.4%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →
Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.