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Advertising media buyer
Media buyer, TV, radio or digital buyer, out of home buyer
Media buyers book advert space on newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and websites.
Average salary (a year)
£21000.0
Starter
£36000.0
Experienced
Typical hours (a week)
38.0 to 40.0 hours
a week
Work Hours
9am to 5pm
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You can get into this job through:a university course; an apprenticeship; working towards this role; specialist courses run by professional bodies
University
You could get into advertising with any degree subject.
However, for this role some employers may prefer subjects like
advertising and marketing, statistics or operational research, communication and media studies, business or management
advertising and marketing, statistics or operational research, communication and media studies, business or management
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
More Information
equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
student finance for fees and living costs|https://www.gov.uk/student-finance
university courses and entry requirements|https://www.ucas.com/
Apprenticeship
You could do an advertising apprenticeship like an assistant buyer higher apprenticeship or an advertising media executive advanced apprenticeship.
With experience these may give you some of the skills, knowledge and industry contacts you need to move into advertising media buying roles.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
More Information
equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
Work
You could start in a junior position like office assistant in a small advertising agency and work your way up through training and promotion.
Volunteering
You'll find it useful to get experience before you apply for roles. It will help you understand the industry and make contacts.
You could try
work experience, internships, temporary employment
work experience, internships, temporary employment
You could get in touch with agencies directly to ask about placements, or contact companies through social media channels like LinkedIn.
Other Routes
You could study the Foundation Certificate offered by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.
To apply, you must have less than one year of experience in an advertising, marketing or communications role.
More Information
Career Tips
Employers will usually be interested in your personal qualities, like creativity, quick thinking and business sense, as well as your formal qualifications.
Professional And Industry Bodies
You could join the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, for professional development, training opportunities and to make industry contacts.
Further Information
You can find out more about a career in advertising from the IPA and Discover Creative Careers.
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
Knowledge of media production and communication
The ability to use your initiative
The ability to organise your time and workload
Patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
Excellent verbal communication skills
To be thorough and pay attention to detail
To be flexible and open to change
The ability to come up with new ways of doing things
Digital Skills Level
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
Day to day tasks
You could
work out who the audience is and where to put adverts so they'll see them, build relationships with clients and media sales companies, negotiate for the best advert spots at the cheapest rates, manage budgets and outline costs to clients, monitor campaign audience figures, analyse sales data, to judge a campaign's effectiveness
work out who the audience is and where to put adverts so they'll see them, build relationships with clients and media sales companies, negotiate for the best advert spots at the cheapest rates, manage budgets and outline costs to clients, monitor campaign audience figures, analyse sales data, to judge a campaign's effectiveness
Working environment
You could work in an office or at a client's business.
You may need to wear smart business clothes.
You can choose to specialise in buying radio, online or TV adverts.
Job profile data provided by The National Careers Service.
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