Marketing specialist training: Experience report from school director Rolf Schmalz on job opportunities and career options
Who are you and what have you done for a living so far?
My name is Rolf Schmalz. I was born in England, but then returned to Switzerland with my parents. Here I attended several training courses and continuing education, further training. I also gained professional experience in the service and capital goods sectors. Today I run my own school, the Art of Formation continuing education, further training WBA. We offer online lessons because we are convinced of this teaching concept. The FIT Zurich has also proven in a study that online education is just as good as face-to-face teaching for adults. We currently have 160 active pupils and students. We have a maximum of 15 students per class, with an average of 10. For us, small classes are an important prerequisite for good and successful online teaching.
For whom is training as a marketing specialist particularly suitable?
If you are interested in marketing and would like to gain initial experience in this field, I recommend training to become a marketing specialist with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education.
What are the requirements for this marketing training course?
The prerequisite for the marketing specialist apprenticeship is two years of professional experience in marketing or sales. Anyone with this and a Federal VET Diploma will be admitted to the Federal Professional Examination for Marketing Specialists.
What type of person should you be to fit into marketing as a marketing specialist?
A job as a marketing specialist requires openness, creativity and a willingness to work with other people.
Do you need specific prior training?
If you want to continue your education, further training in marketing, you should complete the Marketing Specialist with Federal Diploma of Higher Education. In my opinion, preliminary courses or training are not very useful. With the Federal Professional Examination in Marketing, graduates have something solid in their hands that they can build on. Preliminary stages such as Markom courses are no longer compulsory. This really only makes sense for people who are still unsure whether training as a marketing specialist is right for them.
What are the classic careers and positions that benefit from a degree in marketing?
Anyone who has completed the marketing specialist certificate has opportunities for further professional development in marketing or possibly sales. Those who come from the service sector in the office can switch to the marketing/sales department with this marketing training. After graduating as a marketing specialist, further specialist development usually follows. It is also possible to take on all marketing tasks in smaller companies. If you are aiming for a management career, you can then go on to become a marketing manager with a federal diploma.
Are there alternative training courses?
If you want to concentrate on marketing, the marketing specialist training is clearly the right path for you. It is a federal qualification and teaches the necessary skills for such a job. A higher technical college course is also possible in a shortened form. A possible alternative would be the Marketing Manager CHE or a marketing degree at the University of Applied Sciences. However, these courses take longer and both lead to a Bachelor's degree.
What are the best continuing education, further training courses after graduating as a marketing specialist?
After graduating as a marketing specialist, I recommend the marketing manager CHE for anyone who really wants to make a career in marketing as a marketer. If you want to take over a team or a department, you should complete the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) in Marketing Management.
How is the Marketing Specialist course structured?
At the beginning of the Marketing Specialist course, the specialist knowledge is built up. The individual fields of activity are then logically linked and knowledge is consolidated through homework. Exam preparation and targeted exam training take place three months before the federal exam. This is where you learn how to approach such an exam, how to solve it correctly and what technique to use to put your knowledge on paper correctly.
How much studying is required for the Federal Professional Examination in Marketing?
If you are training to become a marketing specialist, you should be prepared to attend around 8 lessons of classroom or online lessons per week and spend the same amount of time on self-study. The learning effort in the last three months before the federal examination is particularly time-consuming, as you have to solve 0 series for the examination preparation in order to be well prepared for the written and oral examination.
What does the federal marketing specialist exam look like?
The federal examination for marketing specialists is divided into a written and an oral part. The first lasts two days. The oral examination consists of a presentation and questioning and takes place on one day.
