Content Marketing Manager

Rachel M. "A Content Marketing Manager is responsible for a company or product's content, from start to finish. This includes creating a content strategy, producing the content, marketing the content, and measuring the results."

Education

---

Required License(s) None

Required Degree(s) Typically a Bachelor's degree in a similar field is required

Importance of GPA not very important

Rachel's Highest Degree: Bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Arts)
Rachel's College Major: Communications, with a concentration in Public Relations

Salary

---

It varies greatly on the location of the company, as well as the numbers of years of experience the employee has. But for a ballpark, I'd say between $60,000 and $100,000.

Getting the Job

---

How did you get your job?

I found out about this job from a recruiter at the company. My now boss found me on LinkedIn, liked my credentials and writing, and the rest is history! I would say that it was likely my experience in SEO (search engine optimization), as well as my freelance writing projects and personal lifestyle blog, that really helped me get this specific position.

How important was networking to landing your position?

For this specific position, none. Which I'm proud of! It's great that people can network their way into jobs, but not everyone is lucky enough to have that opportunity. They say marketing is all about who you know (which is mostly true), but for me it's been more about working hard.

Life on the Job

---

What is a typical day (or week) for you like?

I start my week off on Monday with lots of meetings with my team members and coworkers. Throughout the week, I'll be writing content, promoting it, and tracking its results. There really is no typical week, but my mind is always revolving around content. "Oh, that would be a good blog post idea" is said aloud least twice a day.

How closely does your typical day (or week) match up to the general "job description" for your position?

A lot, for the most part. I rarely say "no" to opportunities though, so when someone asks for extra help on something that's NOT in my job description, I tend to help out. That keeps things interesting and exciting, though!

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

Sometimes, yes. Since I work in the technology industry as a non-technical employee, sometimes people think I'm "just a dumb marketing chick." I also look pretty young, so I get a lot of people who treat me like I'm fresh out of college and don't take me seriously in my role.

What is the best thing about your job?

I love the creativity to it. I'm passionate about writing, content, and marketing in general (which is why I am a freelance writer and blogger in my spare time), so the fact that I get paid for doing it is so awesome. I love being able to use my brain to come up with creative ways to present my thoughts and ideas, and ultimately help my company succeed.

What is the worst thing about your job?

Content is everywhere. Every business needs content to survive. So it can be tough to really do something "groundbreaking" that will "stand out from the crowd." Sometimes it can feel like everything has already been said or done.

How demanding is your job?

I'm very lucky that my company values work-life balance (specifically my manager and teammates). Yes, some days I'll stay a little late or answer emails on the weekend, but that's MY choice. I also have a fairly long commute, so I can't just leave the office and be home 10 minutes later. This helps motivate me to leave on time and get home early enough to make dinner and relax with my fiancé and cats.

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

Definitely. I was originally hired as a Content Marketing Writer and was then promoted to Content Marketing Manager after a year. So I think I just went through that advancement, actually.

Advice for You

---

What are the skills, characteristics, or talents that are most important to be effective in your position?

Creativity. Excellent organization skills. Passion. Being a good writer (obviously)!

What advice would you give to someone thinking about pursuing a career like yours?

I originally wanted to be a journalist, but was constantly told it wasn't a good idea since it was too cutthroat and that the industry was dying. So I switched to Public Relations, thinking I could use my writing skills there. Ultimately, I ended up in digital/online marketing, using a mixture of those skills from my college years to pave my own way into a "content marketing" career. My advice would be to trust your gut—don't switch your major because someone tells you to. Complete a few internships—they'll help you decide what you do and don't like. Lastly, don't be afraid to work for free! You are not entitled to a job at any time in your life. I started a blog in my spare time to improve my writing skills. I wrote for websites for free to build up my portfolio. Those free gigs have helped me get where I am today (and now I rarely need to do work for free)!

If you could do it over again, would you still pursue the same career?

Definitely. I wish colleges would revamp their communications programs to include newer areas like online marketing or content marketing. Those are the jobs that journalism/PR graduates are getting these days.

Follow Up

---

Want to learn more? Check out Rachel's site here and her portfolio here. Want to read later? Pin me -->

Will Making More Money Than Your Man Destroy Your Relationship?

You've got to give ladies credit: women are going at their careers hard, and it's paying off.

And I mean that literally.

According to an NPR interview with data expert Mona Chalabi, 29% of American wives earned more than their employed husbands in 2015. That's over 10% more than in 1987, when only 18% of women earned more than their husbands when both partners were working. 

(You can listen to the whole interview below.)

Unfortunately, you can't get out your #GirlBoss victory fan flags just yet though, because there's some bad news too.

In the same NPR interview, Chalabi told us about a 2013 study from the Washington University in St. Louis, which showed that women who earned more than their husbands were more likely to use anti-anxiety medications and also more likely to suffer from insomnia.

And according to a study conducted by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a wife earning more than her husband increases the couple's likelihood of divorce by 50%.

So while women's roles are changing, it's still not clear if we are actually eating the cake or if we just have it.

So does this mean your salary will doom your marriage?

At first, you may think the obvious answer is yes, probably (according to the numbers, anyway).

And you wouldn't be alone in thinking that.

Based on their study, the researchers from Chicago hypothesized that this shift in salaries often hurts a relationship. Why? According to the researchers, because it makes men feel emasculated. Basically, their theory is that a man's ego is bruised by the thought of a lady breadwinner, which leads to problems in their marriage.

And the researchers don't stop there. In their article, they suggest that this ego-bruising also affects women. Specifically, the researchers note their (somewhat surprising) finding that women who make more than their husbands actually do more work around the house, comparatively, than women whose husbands are the breadwinners.

Based on this, the researchers concluded that:

"This suggests that a 'threatening' wife takes on a greater share of housework so as to assuage the husband’s unease with the situation. The wife, of course, may ultimately get tired of working this ‘‘second shift’’ (Hochschild and Machung 1989), which might be one of the mechanisms behind our results on divorce."

Talk about a buzzkill.

And this theory is legit?

Well, that's not exactly clear.

Your see, the problem with this theory is that, as we all know, correlation does not equal causation. In other words, while a marriage with a woman breadwinner may be statistically more likely to fail, this doesn't mean that the couple's salaries—or men's egos, for that matter—are necessary the cause of divorce.

For example, Chalabi noted in the interview that the Chicago researchers "didn't actually ask the men whether or not they feel threatened."

And according to a study by the Pew Research Center, the majority of men actually don't think a high-earning woman is a problem. Specifically, when asked asked whether they think it’s generally better for a marriage if the husband earns more money than his wife, only 28% of respondents agreed with this statement, while 63% (distributed about equally between men and women) said they disagree. This is compared to the 40% of people who agreed and 58% who disagreed in 1997.

In other words, the growing majority of people might actually feel that there's no reason a woman should earn less than her husband.

But if our salaries aren't actually the problem, what is?

Why I think your higher paycheck might not be the (whole) problem.

Thanks to an impulse purchase during my last airport layover, I've been reading the book Think Like a Freak. Recently, I finished a chapter that taught me that, sometimes, the key to solving a problem isn't finding the right answers, but is instead asking the right questions.

So that got me (freakishly) thinking: what if the researchers weren't asking all the right questions? Instead of simply asking, "Why does a woman's higher salary hurt her marriage?", maybe they should have also been asking, "In what situations would salary differences affect a marriage?" 

For example, according to this article on the gender pay gap from PayScale, a huge factor in gender pay differences is the divide in which jobs we choose—some industries are male-dominated while others are most popular with the ladies.

Specifically, jobs more popular among women (like nurses and elementary school teachers) pay less than jobs more popular among men (like software developers and project managers). So, if a woman is making more than her husband, it's not improbable that she has a job that is generally male-dominated.

---

According to a study conducted by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a wife earning more than her husband increases the couple's likelihood of divorce by 50%.

---

So imagine this situation: a woman working in a male-dominated field begins developing an emotionally steeled, ultra competitive attitude (which she learns is necessary to be taken seriously by her male coworkers). This may be awesome for her career, but what about the rest of her life? For example, if she lets that attitude follow her home from the office, her relationship could definitely suffer.

Or, imagine another scenario: a husband is making less than his wife because his wife is the CEO of Exchange-O-Gram, one of the most popular smartphone apps in the world. Because Exchange-O-Gram is growing so quickly, its CEO is putting in a lot more time than 9-5. Maybe the husband misses his wife, but since he's not great at communicating, he lets his frustration fester. Eventually, this frustration turns into unrelated arguments and eventually, a one-way ticket to divorce.

Or what about this one: a woman is making more than her husband, and his ego takes a hit. Only instead of having the maturity to either discuss his feelings with his wife or change his thinking, he lets the resentment build until eventually, the relationship crumbles.

While all of these situations involve a highly paid woman, the reason the marriages fail isn't actually the money; it's because the couple has another issue—a lack of teamwork, horrible communication, or immaturity—which eventually leads to the relationship's breakdown.

But the thing is, these fundamental problems would probably cause the relationship to fail regardless of the couple's salaries.

Ok, so what's your point?

My point is not that the experts are wrong. I mean, I wouldn't walk into an operating room and tell the doctor to step aside, and I won't tell the experts how to do their job either.

No, my point is that even if their theories are right, I don't think your kick ass career needs to be a kiss of death for your relationship. I think (and hope) that if you and your partner are able to communicate and work together as a team—general good relationship practices—you can stop gender roles from destroying your marriage, even if you're the one bringing home the bacon.

Basically, what I'm saying is this: ladies, don't be afraid of the bacon. We've worked hard, so let's have this bacon and eat it too.

What do you think? Can women make more than men without it causing a problem? Or is our society still stuck in the Dark Ages?

Freelance Graphic Designer

Alexandra S. "As a freelance graphic designer I feel like I wear many hats on top of just designing things such as websites, print material, ads, etcs. Because I work for myself, I also spend my days interacting with clients (sales and project management) as well as invoicing (the financial side). But the most fun is when I have that all out of the way and I can put on some good music, open a design program like Photoshop, and start moving images, text and color blocks around to start building out a design."

Education

---

Required License(s) None are needed, but anything extra you can show clients or a potential boss is always helpful. There are endless awards and certificates you can get to help boost your credibility.

Required Degree(s) None for freelance, but a BA or BFA for an entry-level position is required.

Importance of GPA not very important

Alexandra's Highest Degree: Bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Science)
Alexandra's College Major: BFA in Graphic Design/Photography and a BS in Communications
Alexandra's College GPA Range: 3.6-3.9

Salary

---

For freelancing, the sky is the limit (and same goes for the low end). It really varies.

A word of advice for freelancers though: don't sell yourself short. If you have the talent, take what you want to make per hour and multiply that by at least 1.5—then charge that.

For a company, an entry level designer should be making around $35,000 - $40,000.

Getting the Job

---

How did you get your job?

I worked for two different agencies for a total of four years while freelancing on the side. One day, I decided enough was enough with the desk job and rigid hours, and took the leap to full time freelancing. I had a couple small clients but nothing even close to enough to be able to pay my bills. But with a few months savings, the risk was more than worth it. I'm still not at the same income as I was at my last full-time job, but becoming my own boss was one of the best decisions I've ever made and the salary cut is more than worth it.

How important was networking to landing your position?

Networking was extremely important to land my agency positions—I was offered both jobs based on people I knew recommending me. Once someone a company trusts says you're the best for the job, the interview process is so simple. For freelancing, I network all the time when I'm looking for new clients. To be a freelance designer, you really need to feel comfortable talking to people.

Life on the Job

---

What is a typical day (or week) for you like?

Being my own boss, no two days are ever the same—which I love. Some days I focus on my blog (myurbanfamily.com), some days I focus on design work. Others are split between the two. There are days when I spend most of my time on Skype with clients and there are other days when I lose 6 hours in a design and realize I skipped lunch. Because every hour I put into my job directly translates to income, I also adjust my hours based on need or how busy I am that week. Some weeks are slow and I'll take a day off. Others I end up working 8-5 and then again 10-1 am.

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

Yes. This may sound generic, but when you have clients, some tend to not feel your opinion weighs as much because you are a woman. Which always makes me laugh because design is such a visual concept and those types of clients are usually the ones who will also admit that their wife decorates their home because that is a feminine thing to do. Sometimes the correlation is lost.

What is the best thing about your job?

Making my own hours and being (mostly) in control of how much or little I make at a given time.

What is the worst thing about your job?

Ha, same as above. Not having a 401k, health insurance, and set vacation days can be a downside as well.

How demanding is your job?

Dealing with clients is the most demanding part mentally. And if you're working in an office environment, you generally don't have as much of a hands on experience there.

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

In the agency world, you generally move from entry-level designer, to senior-level, and then to creative director if you're looking for another step up. Many designers are happy to stop at the senior-level though. For freelancing, you really have full control of how and when you want to grow.

Advice for You

---

What are the skills, characteristics, or talents that are most important to be effective in your position?

Having an open mind, creative instinct, and knowing how to communicate with others is very important. Also, clients can't always tell you very clearly what they want until they see something visual. Being open to criticism and having dialog back and forth is important.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about pursuing a career like yours?

If you're going the freelance route, make sure you have some savings to fall back on in the start. It's an uphill climb, but so worth it.

If you could do it over again, would you still pursue the same career?

Yes!

Follow Up

---

Want to learn more? Check out Alexandra's site here. Want to read later? Pin me -->