Our Executive Director, Ed Keller, recently wrote, “Empowering the future of market research: How investment in training improves career satisfaction,” for Quirk’s magazine based on the recent global survey conducted by the Market Research Institute International (MRII) and the University of Georgia. The survey and report, “For the Love of Learning: Career Development in a Changing Market Research Industry,” sheds light on various aspects of job satisfaction among market research professionals.
Job Satisfaction Among MRX Professionals
In the article, Ed shares that the survey shows 62% of market research professionals being “very” or “completely” satisfied with their jobs—a figure that surpasses the 51% job satisfaction rate among Americans in general. Job satisfaction in the market research industry varies by gender, tenure, and other factors, but it remains relatively high across different subgroups.
Training and Education in MRX
“Empowering the future of market research: How investment in training improves career satisfaction” shares how training and development emerged as the factors differentiating highly satisfied professionals from the less satisfied. Top areas where market research professionals believe they would benefit from more training and development are also covered in the article. These areas include data visualization, AI/machine learning, advanced analytics, text analytics/NLP and generative AI.
MRX Career Development Realities
“For the Love of Learning Report” provides insights into the careers of market research professionals, indicating that one of the most satisfying aspects of their jobs is opportunities for learning and growth. For skills development, respondents rely on various sources, including employer-provided in-house training, self-guided reading, and third-party training courses.
Lack of advancement opportunities, low levels of communication from executive management and perceptions of company executive management are the least satisfying aspects.
In the Quirk’s article, Ed emphasizes the importance of viewing training and development as an investment rather than a cost. The “Love of Learning” report findings shared in the article demonstrate that investing in employees and talent can propel the market research industry into the future.
