Advertising Sales Agents

Median salary

$64,820

Average salary

$80,670

Employment

91,700

Projected growth

6.4% decline

Annual openings

9,300

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

What Advertising Sales Agents Do

Sell or solicit advertising space, time, or media in publications, signage, TV, radio, or Internet establishments or public spaces.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training
Self-employed: 5.3%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 4 of 5

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Experience: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
Education: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

Sales and Marketingimportance 4.9/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.5/5
English Languageimportance 4.0/5
Communications and Mediaimportance 3.8/5
Mathematicsimportance 3.6/5
Administrativeimportance 3.4/5
Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.3/5
Administration and Managementimportance 3.1/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

Telephone Conversations5.0/5
E-Mail5.0/5
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.8/5
Contact With Others4.8/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.7/5
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.7/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products97% skill match
Fire Inspectors and Investigators96% skill match
Social and Human Service Assistants96% skill match
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products96% skill match
Farm and Home Management Educators95% skill match
Real Estate Sales Agents95% skill match
Travel Agents95% skill match
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists94% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Persuasionimportance 4.0/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.9/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.9/5
Negotiationimportance 3.8/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.3/5
Coordinationimportance 3.1/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.0/5
Systems Analysisimportance 3.0/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Social Orientation
Perseverance
Achievement Orientation
Self-Confidence
Optimism
Dependability
Initiative

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

EnterprisingHigh
ConventionalMedium
ArtisticMedium
SocialLow
InvestigativeLow
RealisticLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.