Written By: Ellie Anderson

If you’re a college dropout scrolling through the internet to determine why learning digital marketing is worth it in 2023, look no further than this article. 

This isn’t some cheesy sales pitch or a magic one-size-fits-all solution to answer all the “what’s next?” questions you’re facing right now. 

It is a bullet-pointed list, short and sweet, of the potential benefits of learning digital marketing from one college dropout to another. 

Learning Digital Marketing Will Provide You With a Variety of Skills

When I decided to drop out of college early last year, I felt a bit at a loss. 

I was confident in my decision that pursuing a college education wasn’t for me, but I didn’t know much beyond that. 

I wanted to be able to pursue my interests, and I didn’t want to be forced to commit to a career field, not knowing whether or not I would genuinely enjoy it. 

One of the aspects of digital marketing that piqued my interest was that it is a broad field with many opportunities to specialize.  

Learning digital marketing allows you to develop many skills and encounter different aspects of the job, such as copywriting, search engine optimization (SEO), social media content creation, basic design skills, and more. 

If you enjoy creative content creation and communication, learning digital marketing would be a fantastic way to get exposure to various specialties until you find your niche to thrive. 

But what happens if you take the time to learn digital marketing and you don’t like it?

The kinds of skills that you learn as a digital marketer are in high demand across a variety of disciplines. 

Think of it as laying the foundation of your career. 

You may decide to build a mansion instead of the villa you initially envisioned, but the foundation you lay now by learning digital marketing will remain the same. 

The skills you will learn in digital marketing will make you a high-demand job candidate – even as a college dropout. 

Companies are looking for individuals who can copywrite, create and optimize content, and develop strategies for success. 

With the skills you learn in digital marketing added to your career foundation, you’ll open the door to many opportunities.

Expect a High Salary When You Learn Digital Marketing As a College Dropout

Once I knew I wouldn’t be wasting my time learning digital marketing, I wanted to understand what I could expect in return for my investment in terms of salary. 

Naturally, I turned to statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics’ most recent annual report stated that the average salary of marketing specialists in the U.S. was $76,080. 

Which sounds like a pretty good deal, right?

However, this report should have considered the experience levels of each marketing specialist, so this average salary is likely too high to expect immediately.

I dug a little deeper to find the specific statistics for entry-level positions in digital marketing contrasted against the average salary one could expect to have at any entry-level position across the board. 

According to ZipRecruiter, the national average salary for an entry-level position is $33,216. 

Now let’s compare that average entry-level salary with the salaries of digital marketers at that same experience level. 

The average entry-level marketing salary on ZipRecruiter is $43,234, Glassdoor lists it as $53,277, and Payscale states it is $52,588. 

As you can see from the numbers, the financial prospects of entry-level marketing positions are significantly higher than average, with the largest discrepancy being a difference of approximately $20,000 a year. 

Keep in mind that these numbers will grow as you strengthen and develop your skills in the field – especially as you become more specialized. 

You Don’t Have to Go to College to Learn Digital Marketing

You’re probably thinking the high pay and versatile skills sound great and all, but is it actually attainable without a degree?

The answer is yes. Absolutely yes. You can learn digital marketing as a College Dropout.

In today’s day and age, information is always at our fingertips. 

You have access to everything you need to become successful at digital marketing online. 

The enormity of the information available is the internet’s biggest strength and also its greatest weakness.

With an Everest-like mountain of information and many differing opinions and experiences, it can be overwhelming and difficult to sift through all the noise and get to the basics. 

This is where programs such as Course Careers are designed to step in. 

Course Careers acts as a professional guide, helping you break down the mountain into small actionable steps and find a climbing route used successfully in the past. 

The value of having a mentor like this is incredible. 

Instead of spending hours sifting through videos and articles to learn what you need to do to learn digital marketing, Course Careers and programs as it gives you those first handholds to start climbing. 

Of course, Course Careers is not the only course you can take to learn digital marketing.

There are similar programs that can help you get started in digital marketing with different skills taught and a variety of price tags. 

If you’re not ready to invest money in learning digital marketing, a free course from Google, LinkedIn Learning, or Copyblogger would be a great way to start. 

An intermediate step would be to subscribe to sites like Udemy or Coursera and choose one of their course offerings. 

When you’re ready to commit, you’ll want to choose a more intense program that will give you the highest return on your investment. 

A range of prices is attached to these kinds of programs, but most end up being pretty expensive regardless. 

Some examples include Cornell University’s digital marketing certification course, priced at approximately $3,699, and CareerFoundry’s course, priced at $6,900.

As a college dropout, I didn’t have that kind of money to spend but knew I needed more than free tutorials or a course subscription. 

That’s where Course Career’s digital marketing course stood out because it offered similar value to these more expensive courses and was much more affordable, with lifetime access through a one-time payment of $500.

I actually got $50 off of that price because I used a coupon code from one of the review videos I watched. You can also get $50 off using my affiliate code coupon, HOLVJEBI7V, if you want to purchase the course. 

If you decide to enroll in Course Career’s digital marketing course, are an aspiring digital marketer, or are just someone looking to see if learning digital marketing as a college dropout is worth it, I’d love to connect with you through my website or LinkedIn. 

I’ve been where you are, and it was still a sacrifice for me to invest in the course, but I have found it to be one of the best decisions I’ve made for my career.

At the end of the day, how and if you choose to learn digital marketing is up to you. 

You may choose a different program to get you started or decide to scale the mountain of information yourself. 

Whatever path you choose, it is possible to become a digital marketer as a college dropout in 2023. 

And, in my estimation, it is well worth the effort.