Marketing Assistant
Marketing assistants help deliver campaigns, keep content and schedules moving, and report on what the activity achieved.
- Median salary*
- $59,800
4.4%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 3,900
0.0%vs last year
- Projected growth*
- +3%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours*
- 38/wk
−2h vs all jobs
- Shortage status*
- Not in shortage
national
Marketing assistants work inside a marketing team, most often in professional services firms, retailers, education providers and manufacturers, handling the delivery work that keeps campaigns running. The role sits below a marketing coordinator: assistants carry out the tasks, while coordinators plan and schedule the activity. Much of the week is spent in content tools, email platforms and analytics dashboards, preparing material and checking how it performed.
How much do marketing assistants earn?
The median full-time salary for a marketing assistant is $59,800 per annum, before tax, up $12,600 since 2018.
Pay moves with the size of the employer and the sector: agencies and larger in-house teams usually pay more than small businesses, where the role is often combined with admin or reception duties. Specialist skills in paid ads, analytics or design tend to attract stronger offers, and some employers pay a loading for event or weekend work.
What does a marketing assistant do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Drafting social media posts, email newsletters and brochures from a brief
- Loading content into scheduling tools and keeping the content calendar up to date
- Pulling campaign results from analytics and email platforms into reports for the marketing manager
- Updating website pages, product listings and customer databases
- Helping set up events, promotions and trade shows, from booking to pack-down
What skills do marketing assistants need?
Employers look for marketing analytics, content creation and writing, operations management, backed by Google Analytics fluency and strong written communication.
Specialist skills
- Marketing analytics
- Content creation and writing
- Operations management
Software and tools
- Google Analytics
- Canva
- HubSpot
- Mailchimp
- Adobe Photoshop
General skills
- Written communication
- Attention to detail
- Digital literacy
- Customer service
Is the job growing?
About 3,900 people work as marketing assistants in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 3% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a marketing assistant?
Here's the path most marketing assistants take, step by step.
- 1Finish Year 12 with strong written English
Most entrants start here. English, business or media subjects help, and any writing, blog posts or social content you have made yourself is worth showing alongside your results.
- 2Complete a qualification in marketing, business or communications
A bachelor degree is held by around 38% of the people already in the role, and a diploma or certificate in marketing or business is a recognised alternative that often gets you in sooner.
- 3Build a portfolio and get practical experience
Internships, part-time marketing jobs, freelance social media for a local business or volunteering for a community group all give you real examples to talk through at interview. Employers in this field ask what you have made and how it performed.
- 4Learn the platforms employers list in job ads
Google Analytics, Mailchimp, HubSpot and Canva come up repeatedly in assistant roles, and each offers free or low-cost training that you can finish in a few weeks.
Ready to apply as a marketing assistant?
Whether you're working toward becoming a marketing assistant or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a marketing assistant move to?
Moving into Digital Marketing Specialist typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $42,000 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Marketing Specialist Campaign delivery and channel knowledge carry into planning and optimising digital marketing activity. | +$42,000 | 15% | reskill |
| Copywriter Writing for campaigns and brand voice carries into crafting persuasive advertising and marketing copy. | +$29,700 | 37% | reskill |
| Content Writer Research and writing skills carry into producing articles and web content for marketing audiences. | +$29,700 | 35% | reskill |
| Marketing Coordinator Campaign support and content skills carry into scheduling and coordinating marketing activities. | +$15,600 | 40% | reskill |
| Social Media Content Creator Content creation and audience engagement skills carry into producing posts and growing social channels. | +$10,400 | 40% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a marketing assistant?
The typical marketing assistant is 25 years old; 79% are women, 53% work full-time, and full-timers average 38 hours a week.
- 25
- Median age
- 79%
- Female share
- 53%
- Full-time
- −2h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a marketing assistant?
The work runs to a campaign calendar, so the week mixes routine production with short deadlines. Assistants handle several small jobs at once and are often the person chasing images, approvals and last-minute copy changes. It suits someone organised, comfortable writing, and willing to have their work measured.
What people like
- You can see what your work did. Campaign results show up in the numbers, so a post that performs or an email that gets opened gives you feedback within days rather than months.
- Broad exposure to marketing. Assistants touch social, email, events, design and reporting, which is a useful way to work out which part of marketing you want to specialise in.
- A field that values portfolios. Employers look at what you have produced, so a solid body of writing and campaign work can open doors even when your formal experience is short.
- Entry without a long pathway. Diploma and certificate routes exist, and some people start from short courses and a portfolio rather than a degree.
What people find hard
- Production work repeats. Scheduling posts, resizing images and formatting emails take up much of the week and rarely change from one month to the next.
- Approvals slow things down. Copy and creative often wait on a manager, a designer or a client, which can mean reworking something you had already finished.
- The role can be squeezed between marketing and admin. In small businesses, marketing assistant duties often sit alongside reception, admin or customer service, so only part of your week is marketing.
- Deadlines cluster. Campaign launches, end-of-month reporting and event weeks stack up, and assistants absorb much of the last-minute work.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ marketing assistants?
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services employs the largest share of marketing assistants, followed by Education and Training.
Top employing industries
- 1Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
- 2Education and Training
- 3Retail Trade
- 4Wholesale Trade
- 5Manufacturing
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 38% | |
|---|---|---|
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 24% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 20% | |
| Postgraduate | 10% | |
| Other | 8% |
Will AI replace marketing assistants?
Marketing assistant work sits at a moderate level of exposure: the drafting, resizing and reporting parts are increasingly automated, while coordination and the judgement about what to publish are not. Tools such as Canva, Mailchimp and AI writing assistants now turn out a first version quickly, which shifts the job from making everything by hand to selecting, editing and checking it. The role still needs someone to keep campaigns on schedule and explain the results to the people paying for them.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Writing and scheduling social and email contentAI tools draft captions and newsletter copy in seconds, so the work becomes editing for brand voice and choosing what actually goes out.30%high
- Coordinating briefs, approvals and timelinesChasing approvals, sourcing images and keeping a content calendar current depends on people and timing that software cannot resolve.25%low
- Building creative assets and event materialsTemplates in Canva and Adobe tools speed up resizing and formatting, though choosing the right image and keeping a brand consistent is still hands-on.25%moderate
- Campaign reporting and analyticsPlatforms now summarise performance automatically, but someone still has to decide which numbers matter and explain them to the team.20%moderate
Common questions about becoming a marketing assistant
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a marketing assistant earn?
Marketing assistants earn a median of $59,800 per year before tax. Pay depends heavily on the size of the employer and the sector, and specialist skills in analytics, paid ads or design usually lift an offer.
How do you become a marketing assistant?
Most people enter with a diploma or degree in marketing, business or communications, then build a portfolio of writing, social posts or campaign work. Internships, part-time marketing jobs or running social media for a local business all give you something concrete to show.
Are marketing assistants in demand?
Marketing assistants are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 3% over the decade to 2035. Openings appear across professional services, retail, education and manufacturing, though marketing teams are usually small, so roles are advertised one at a time rather than in batches.
Will AI replace marketing assistants?
AI already drafts social captions, resizes images and summarises campaign performance, which covers a fair share of the routine production in this job. What holds up better is the coordination around it: getting briefs right, keeping a schedule on track, and working out what the numbers mean for the next campaign.
What can a marketing assistant move into?
Marketing coordinator is a common next step, where campaign support and content skills carry into planning and scheduling, and pay is typically $15,600 more. Copywriting, content writing and social media content creation are also regular moves, because the writing and audience skills overlap closely.
Do you need a degree to be a marketing assistant?
Around 38% of the people in the role hold a bachelor degree, but it is not the only way in. A diploma or certificate in marketing or business is widely accepted, and employers also weigh up your portfolio and any hands-on campaign experience.
Related roles
- Marketing Coordinator
- Social Media Content Creator
- Digital Marketing Specialist
- Copywriter
- Content Writer
- Typist
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