The UK’s digital advertising industry officially passed £40bn in spend during 2025, with forecasts suggesting it’ll hit almost £45bn next year and continue growing beyond that.
And while those numbers are obviously huge from a business perspective, they also say something else.
Marketing isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
If anything, it’s becoming one of the most interesting industries to build a career in right now.
Because behind all of that ad spend are actual people. People creating campaigns, running social accounts, building brands, analysing data, filming content, writing copy, managing communities, editing videos, working with influencers, planning strategy, designing ads, and figuring out why audiences engage with certain things and not others.
It’s an industry that’s constantly changing, which can feel overwhelming at times, but it’s also what makes it exciting.
No two days are really the same.
And the best part is, there’s no longer one fixed route into it.
For a long time, marketing felt quite locked behind traditional career paths. You went to university, got a degree, landed an internship, and worked your way up.
That still works, of course. Degrees in marketing, communications, media, business, psychology, and even sociology can all be incredibly useful because marketing is ultimately about understanding people.
But it’s definitely not the only option anymore.
Some of the best people in the industry are self-taught. They learned by creating content, running accounts, experimenting online, freelancing, or simply spending time understanding how brands communicate.
Others came through apprenticeships, which are becoming a genuinely strong route into the industry. Especially now that so many businesses are looking for practical skills and hands-on experience rather than just qualifications on paper.
And honestly, one of the best things you can do if you want to work in marketing is just start.
Not perfectly. Just practically.
A lot of people get stuck waiting until they feel “qualified enough” to build experience, but marketing is one of those industries where proof of work matters more than people think.
If you want to work in social media, start managing an account.
If you want to get into content creation, make content.
If you want to learn paid ads, run a small campaign yourself and see what happens.
You learn so much faster when you’re actually doing it.
Working with local businesses is also massively underrated when you’re starting out. Small brands, cafés, salons, gyms, independent shops, local creatives - so many businesses need help with their marketing but don’t have huge budgets or internal teams.
That creates an opportunity.
Even helping a local business improve their Instagram, create better content, or organise their posting consistently can become part of a portfolio. And over time, those projects build credibility.
A portfolio matters more than people realise because it shows how you think, not just what you studied.
And marketing is one of the few industries where you can genuinely build that portfolio yourself.
You don’t need permission to start.
That’s probably one of the reasons the industry feels so appealing to a lot of people right now. It’s creative, but still commercial. Strategic, but fast-moving. And because digital platforms evolve constantly, there’s always space for new voices, new ideas, and people who understand internet culture naturally.
The rise in digital ad spend also reflects how much businesses now rely on online attention. Brands are investing more heavily into social media, creators, video content, influencer marketing, community-building, and performance campaigns because that’s where audiences are spending their time.
Which means the demand for people with those skills keeps growing too.
Of course, the industry isn’t perfect. It’s competitive, trends move quickly, and it can sometimes feel like everyone is trying to keep up with everything all at once.
But it’s also one of the few industries where curiosity genuinely helps you progress.
The people who tend to do well are usually the ones paying attention. The ones noticing why certain campaigns work, why people share certain content, why some brands feel culturally relevant while others don’t.
That interest matters.
And if you already find yourself analysing campaigns, talking about brands, spotting trends online, or wondering why certain content performs well, you’re probably already thinking like a marketer without realising it.
The industry might be growing financially, but what’s more interesting is how accessible it’s becoming creatively.
There’s room for people who come through university routes, apprenticeships, freelancing, content creation, side projects, or completely self-taught backgrounds.
There’s no single formula anymore.
And honestly, that’s probably what makes it such an exciting space to be in right now.