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Boston Career Explorer

Sales and Related

Advertising Sales Agents

Sell or solicit advertising space, time, or media in publications, signage, TV, radio, or Internet establishments or public spaces.

Also called: Advertising Account Executive, Advertising Account Representative, Advertising Consultant, Advertising Representative, Advertising Sales Representative (Ad Sales Representative), Directory Advertising Sales Representative (Directory Advertising Sales Rep)

Median pay in Greater Boston
$83,470
$40.13/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
1,100
Massachusetts 2024–2034
−7.6%
180 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Moderate-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$45,330$61,920$83,470$126,990$135,140

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Explain to customers how specific types of advertising will help promote their products or services in the most effective way possible.
  • Prepare and deliver sales presentations to new and existing customers to sell new advertising programs and to protect and increase existing advertising.
  • Obtain and study information about clients' products, needs, problems, advertising history, and business practices to offer effective sales presentations and appropriate product assistance.
  • Provide clients with estimates of the costs of advertising products or services.
  • Maintain assigned account bases while developing new accounts.
  • Recommend appropriate sizes and formats for advertising, depending on medium used.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Higher exposure85 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 79
  • Language-model AIOE 79
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 98

Observed AI use today: Some (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure is higher for advertising sales, though observed AI use is still limited. Federal projections say buying and selling ads is increasingly automated, and Massachusetts jobs are expected to shrink 7.6% by 2034. Estimates and research on clients can be helped by tools. Building trust, presenting ideas, and keeping accounts happy rely on people.

Likely to change

  • Buying, selling, and pricing ads with automation
  • Researching clients and preparing cost estimates

Still relies on people

  • Building trust with new and existing clients
  • Presenting ideas and keeping accounts happy

What federal projections say

“Capital/labor substitution - share decreases as the ad buying and selling process is increasingly automated by technology, reducing the need for advertising sales agents.”
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, factors affecting this job (U.S.)

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

1 program near Boston

Related occupations

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