What’s the outlook (and present actuality) for advertising jobs involving content material nowadays?
Our 2025 Profession Outlook for Content material and Advertising analysis discovered a mixture of good and less-than-great alerts. On one hand, most entrepreneurs are kind of glad with their jobs. And the generative AI boogeyman? Not stealing jobs but.
Alternatively, entrepreneurs report feeling considerably down about their job prospects and the issue of job searches. And return-to-office mandates? They’re a no-go for many.
The 700 entrepreneurs who participated within the research shared every kind of attention-grabbing details about profession targets, hiring developments, and reskilling plans. (Do you know that 22% of full-time entrepreneurs freelance on the facet?)
In addition they shared particulars about their salaries and what elements could affect compensation.
I’m sharing six key findings right here that will help you advance your profession (and never get too slowed down with AI anxiousness).
Obtain the 2025 report (registration required) to evaluate the figures, nuanced wage particulars (years of expertise, place, gender, location, and so forth.), and different findings.
1. Outlook for advertising jobs
One in three entrepreneurs tells us their firm laid off advertising staff within the final 12 months — a better determine than we anticipated.
And plenty of really feel considerably pessimistic in regards to the job market: 68% imagine discovering a job in advertising right now is more difficult than 5 years in the past. 1 / 4 say it’s about the identical, and solely 7% say job searching is more easy.
Most (75%) imagine the challenges are associated to macroeconomic elements like monetary pressures. And 69% cite heightened competitors for advertising jobs as a problem. Far fewer (33%) imagine AI is an element.
In the meantime, an undercurrent of frustration exists amongst entrepreneurs about “phantom job” postings. Quite a lot of shared suspicions and anecdotes:
- “Many job listings aren’t really actual or open. Many I encounter are scams.”
- “Some firms aren’t actually hiring. They’re posting jobs to see what’s on the market after which ghosting folks.”
- “I ponder whether some job listings I see are only a approach to seize followers on social media, and even worse, acquire knowledge about job seekers.”
On the brighter facet, entrepreneurs who have been laid off within the final two years report it took simply three months on common to discover a new function. That’s undoubtedly slower than in the course of the sizzling expertise market just a few years in the past however not as discouraging as casual chatter may lead you to imagine.
2. AI isn’t taking advertising jobs … but
Right here’s extra excellent news. The declare that AI can substitute advertising departments? Yeah, that’s not occurring but. Solely 3% of entrepreneurs report that their groups have changed staff with AI instruments.
However that’s solely a part of the story.
In open-ended responses about how AI impacts advertising careers, many inform us their employers gained’t rent to backfill positions anytime quickly. That will imply the promise of AI-driven efficiencies is quietly shrinking groups in any case.
Even so, many entrepreneurs (51%) view generative AI instruments as a internet constructive for his or her advertising careers — that’s 4 instances greater than those that name them a internet unfavourable. This bodes properly for the progressive AI-based advertising instruments hitting the market.
3. Most entrepreneurs do use generative AI (if considerably unenthusiastically)
Don’t be fooled by that “internet constructive” quantity. Many who responded appear conflicted about generative AI’s talents.
The research exhibits that entrepreneurs have a tendency to make use of generative AI primarily as a “co-pilot” — a instrument to make them extra environment friendly and inventive. And 68% say these instruments save them time.
The bulk say they use generative AI to brainstorm subjects (62%) and summarize content material (53%). Fewer are utilizing generative AI to create content material: Lower than half (44%) say they use AI to “write drafts.”
That’s seemingly as a result of most (69%) imagine that the writing output from AI instruments is mediocre — “soulless,” as one marketer tells us. One other says, “My direct report makes use of AI for outlining and brainstorming at instances, however I normally discover AI-generated content material to be unsophisticated.”
However after we checked out which AI makes use of entrepreneurs think about “excessive worth,” the record turned out a bit of completely different. The highest 10 makes use of entrepreneurs rated “excessive worth” are:
- Proofread (50%)
- Summarize content material (48%)
- Define assignments (42%)
- Brainstorm new subjects (40%)
- Write article drafts (38%)
- Analyze knowledge efficiency (38%)
- Write electronic mail copy (34%)
- Repurpose content material (32%)
- Create purchaser personas (31%)
- Optimize content material (31%)
4. Most entrepreneurs report job satisfaction — however nonetheless may transfer on
Satisfaction ranges for entrepreneurs are remarkably excessive. Most entrepreneurs (76%) report being considerably or very glad of their roles.
That proportion varies barely by place (percentages don’t whole 100 on account of rounding):
- On the director and above stage, 79% say they’re considerably or very glad, 10% are impartial, and 12% are considerably or very dissatisfied.
- Amongst managers, 79% are considerably or very glad, solely 7% really feel impartial, and 15% are considerably or very dissatisfied.
- Amongst particular person contributors, 73% are considerably or very glad, 11% are impartial, and 16% are considerably or very dissatisfied.
However don’t mistake satisfaction for complacency. Even glad advertising professionals eye find out how to develop and advance of their careers. A couple of-third of entrepreneurs (35%) inform us they’re pursuing or extremely all in favour of discovering one other job. That’s up 4 factors from final 12 months and seven factors from two years in the past.
5. Distant work just isn’t negotiable
Entrepreneurs as a bunch admire distant work. And most inform us they don’t need to return to the workplace full time.
A sizeable chunk (84%) of entrepreneurs say they work remotely or in a hybrid setup (a mixture of distant and in-office). Of that group, 68% say they would depart their job if their employer required them to work within the workplace full time.
Employers could also be getting the message. Lower than 1 / 4 (24%) of entrepreneurs say their employers are much less prepared to permit distant work than they have been a 12 months in the past. Greater than half (58%) say their willingness remained the identical, and 18% report their employers are extra prepared to permit it.
6. In terms of wage, location issues
So many elements go into how a lot entrepreneurs earn {that a} single common quantity obscures greater than it reveals.
For instance, entrepreneurs who work in massive city facilities (e.g., New York Metropolis, Boston, and San Francisco) make fairly a bit extra money than their friends in smaller markets.
Individuals who work in main metro areas earn about 30% greater than those that don’t. And that bump is even larger for director-level-or-above staff in main markets: They make 43% greater than their friends in smaller places.
The report goes into a lot extra details about:
- Salaries (by seniority, gender, and era)
- Advancing your profession
- Upskilling and coaching (desired and supplied)
- Retaining high expertise
I hope you’ll obtain the analysis after which be part of the LinkedIn dialog. Search for my publish or watch the Reside With CMI episode in regards to the findings and remark there.
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Cowl picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content material Advertising Institute
