Where do I start?
July 25, 2007 8:00 PM 
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How can I find out what my career prospects are in market research?
I just started a job in market research/analysis (marketing, not finance) at a small startup in NYC. So far I've been liking it so I'm wondering about career prospects. The salary and benefits are ok now, but where can I find a legitimate estimate of earning prospects down the road? I've checked salary.com but I've found them to be a bit inconsistent. I guess I'm looking for someone in the field to chime in. Also, where can a job like this ultimately lead me?
Obviously the main thing to do now is get some experience under my belt, but I'm wondering what other steps I can take to further my position. Will graduate school be necessary at some point? Or am I ok with my BA in Psych and Business? What other advise can ye market researchers bestow upon me?
One is you eventually join one of the bigmassive market research/strategy consulting firms out there like Booz Allen or Deloitte, slog your way on up to partner, then 10 years later take your golden parachute and go golfing alot. Along the way on this route, if you're serious about the market research end of things (as opposed to one of the many, many other consulting service products) you're going to need a Ph.D. so that a) you can publish and b) you can test on human subjects. Many, many universities out there have executive Ph.D. programs in research and statistics that will get you out in four years without too much trouble - you should be able to skate by with B's on just a couple hours a week.
Two is entrepreneurship. And obviously there are no real signposts on that particular trail, but in my experience it generally it takes about 10 years or so to build your brand up to the point where a) it is not totally consuming your life or b) there is an exit.
posted by ChasFile at 8:31 PM on July 25, 2007