Market research executive
Market research executives help clients find out about people's views on consumer products or political and social issues.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
In your day-to-day duties you may:
- meet clients to discuss research projects
- create plans or proposals and present them to clients
- manage a budget
- design questionnaires, discussion guides and organise surveys
- give instructions to interviewers and researchers
- do desk research like online or print publications
- monitor the progress of surveys
- analyse data and present results to clients
- advise clients how they can best use the research
Working environment
You could work in an office or at a client's business.
Career path and progression
You could move into people or project management, or become a self-employed market research consultant.
You could also work in advertising or marketing promotions.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- analytical thinking skills
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- maths knowledge
- the ability to use your initiative
- customer service skills
- excellent written communication skills
- business management skills
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- a graduate training scheme
- specialist courses run by professional bodies
- an internship
The type of subjects you can study depends on whether you're interested in quantitative or qualitative research. Quantitative research involves collecting numbers and facts. Qualitative research is about gathering impressions, opinions and views.
For quantitative market research work, you may find it useful to get a degree in:
- maths
- statistics
- business
- management
- economics
For qualitative jobs, you may find it helpful to have a degree in:
- psychology
- sociology
- geography
- social sciences
- anthropology
Degrees in English or marketing are usually useful. A science or engineering subject may help for some specialist industrial jobs.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
More Information
You could do a college course which would teach you some of the skills you need in this job. Relevant courses include:
- Level 3 Diploma in Marketing
- Level 4 Diploma in Professional Marketing
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
- 1 or 2 A levels, a level 3 diploma or relevant experience for a level 4 or level 5 course
More Information
You could do a Market Research Executive Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship, or a Social Researcher Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.
These can take from 1 year and 6 months to 3 years and 6 months to complete.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 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
You could work as a market research assistant or interviewer without a degree. You’ll still need to be very good at:
- communicating
- numbers
- IT programmes
You could also start as a research assistant in an agency and get promoted to executive or account manager as your experience grows. You’ll usually be expected to take further qualifications.
You could get your first job as a market research executive through a graduate training scheme. Some larger employers run training schemes for new recruits.
You could also do specialist courses through professional bodies, like The Market Research Society.
You may be able to get a paid internship with a company where you're given a project to complete. This will allow you to develop your skills and show an employer what you’re able to do.
Career tips
Being able to speak different languages could be an advantage for international work.
Whatever your qualifications, you’ll find it useful to have experience in:
- marketing
- sales or advertising
- interviewing for market research
Further information
You can find out more about market research careers from The Market Research Society.
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