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Americans are bombarded by thousands of advertising messages every day as bouncy jingles, television commercials, print advertisements and even hanging on bathroom stalls. Advertising agencies have launched a commercial war, using outrageously clever ideas and a comprehensive analysis of the market to capture the attention of a consumer for a sixty seconds. In a sense, working in advertising is like throwing a message in a bottle into the sea, hoping it will reach the right destination. It is quite an enigma then why anyone would want to work in such a challenge crossing the finger, and industry stress. For those within the industry, the answer is simple: advertising shaped the way people act, think and dream.

Produce an advertising campaign is an extremely complex process. Advertising agencies are responsible for understanding the objectives of the company, transforming it into an idea that will convince consumers to buy the product and finally choose the right media to communicate the message, a three-step process described as strategy, concept and execution. Due to the complexity of this process, advertising professionals assume very specialized roles that fall into two broad categories: the creation and business. In the service of creating ago editors, graphic designers, photographers and filmmakers working together to conceptualize, plan and produce an ad. The production department is a delight to work in research for the creation of entry-level positions that allow a good amount of networking that could lead to other careers in advertising.

The other advertising career tracks involved in the business side of advertising are account management, media and account planning. At the entry level, account managers are listed as account coordinators, administrative assistants or senior account assistant. Their duty is to ensure that ads move through the three-step process adequately and timely. Sometimes, these employees are required to conduct market research or travel to attend meetings or ad shoots customer. Account Executives liaise between the client and creative services to ensure that expectations are met and ideas are communicated accurately. From there, follow the steps of the ladder as a manager of account, account executive, management supervisor, vice president and eventually director. In the media department, most start as an assistant media planners, essentially a clerical position that involves researching consumer habits and tracing of target audiences. Media Assistant buyers purchase and monitor airtime and advertising space. Of these positions, employees move to become a media planner or buyer, senior planner or media buyer, media supervisor, vice president and director. Finally, account planners conduct insightful focus groups and research in order to qualify and quantify spending patterns.

Despite this highly efficient, organized and specialized structure, nearly half of all advertising professionals worked more than forty hours per week, spending many extra nights and weekends at the office or traveling business. Insiders say the long hours are balanced by a fun, hip, and stimulating work environment that allows employees to wear jeans on a normal day, bring their dogs in the office, and even play table football to generate inspiration. It is not difficult to see why the advertising industry is so popular among college graduates. Unfortunately, the market is extremely competitive and employers seek those who are creative, motivated, attention to detail, great with people, cultural sensitivity, stress resistance and analytical and these are personality traits. Candidates should be experienced in team play, qualified in marketing strategies and research, aware of rising technology, and accustomed to managing multiple projects and deadlines at the same time. Advertisement training may be acquired by a bachelor of liberal arts, preferably advertising, journalism, public relations, literature, sociology, philosophy or psychology with courses in marketing, statistics, economics, accounting, mathematics, and creative design. Getting an internship in the field will give you a distinct competitive advantage and some agency experience. Although the designs are recruited based on their talent, most jobs require at least a two-year diploma in art or design school, demonstrated communication skills and a portfolio of ads model. For mid-career professionals seeking to enter the market, you can expect from scratch and, in general, be prepared to jump from one branch in order to advance.

The upside is this: advertising budgets are on the rebound as more companies begin to feel the pressure to promote global competition. It is expected that the advertising industry will grow faster than average through 2012. This is good news because if you play your cards right, entering the industry will not be as difficult as in the past. However, be prepared for less encouraging paychecks. Most advertising professionals start at around $ 30,000, but move quickly with the success of their campaigns. The head of advertising industry average is about $ 70,000 per year and the top ten percent make more than $ 145,000. Rejoice a lot of upward mobility and career far from monotonous advertising.