Pursuing a career in marketing and communications can give graduates the opportunity to promote a wide range of products and firms - and maybe their own interests.

That has been the experience of Derek Koenig, who has worked his way up from a copywriting job to become senior vice-president and chief marketing officer for Vail Resorts.

Mr Koenig started out in marketing writing ads for companies including Ford, McDonald's, Pillsbury and Proctor & Gamble.

He went on to work for the Discovery group, overseeing the promotion of their TV brands including the Learning Channel and the Military Channel, as well as taking on the marketing for the Discovery Pro Cycling Team featuring Lance Armstrong.

In his new role with Vail, Mr Koenig said he will combine two of his "great passions" - marketing and the resort group's skiing slopes.

According to the Department of Labor, marketing requires creativity and a high standard of communication skills.

In 2006, the profession held around 583,000 management positions and this figure was expected to grow by 12 per cent in the ten years to 2016.