A business degree major has a unique opportunity to learn a variety of business principles before entering the professional sector.
With a background in business, you will be prepared to work in a range of settings in government, business, non-profit organizations, and more.
Whether you want to pursue a career in manufacturing or tech, agriculture, or fashion, majoring in one of the areas of business will provide you the knowledge and skills to work in a setting that suits you best.
This makes business majors flexible, strategic, and employable job seekers.
Another benefit of choosing a business major is the earnings potential. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), salaries for many occupations related to the business were higher than those for all workers.
However, workers in some of the higher-paying professions may also spend more than the average number of hours on the job.
Job Search Tips for Business Majors
Meet with contacts you know in the industry-professors, professionals you met during internships, friends, family members, and other contacts.
Check out professional societies and organizations, noting who you know among the membership. Ask your professors and peers about industry associations.
See if you can attend a chapter event or a meeting as a guest. Then aim to make connections.
In the same way, see what your university offers in terms of alumni connections.
This can be a rich resource for networking. Be open to mentorship, informational interviews, and internship opportunities. All stand to help you learn more about what you want and what options are available to you.
Cultivate an informed sense of what positions and companies you’re targeting. This way, when you get the chance to talk with contacts in your network, you can ask specific questions.
Refine your professional candidacy package. You want to be poised and ready when an opportunity presents itself, so have your materials ready to go.
Jobs for Business Degree Majors Currently Trending
A degree in business is a significant investment. To maximize that investment, it can help if you determine in advance which areas within the business pay the highest salaries.
Let’s take a look at some of the business degrees that make the most money.
1. Management Consultant
Management consultants or management analysts carry out a process for clients, not unlike the case analysis method used in many of the classes for business majors.
They apply analytical and problem-solving skills to their projects and utilize the teamwork and presentation skills cultivated through their studies.
Consultants are experts at gathering information, organizing it, and composing reports with their findings.
Analysts are power users of technology as they process and represent data for their clients. They enlist the spreadsheet, database, and presentation tools so often applied to their class projects as business majors.
Salary: According to the BLS, the median annual income for management analysts in May 2019 was $85,260. The lowest 10% earned less than $49,700 and the highest 10% earned more than $154,310.
2. Social Media Manager
Social media managers utilize their tech-savvy and knowledge of marketing communications to coordinate their employer’s presence on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.
They enhance the business activity, establish brand identity, and get the word out about their organization.
Social media managers devise strategic plans, help develop content and measure the impact of online campaigns.
Social media managers enlist the support of staff to gather information for stories that can be placed on social media.
Like business majors, they must be team players and have the people skills to coax cooperation when they don’t possess formal authority over colleagues.
Salary: According to Pascale, social media managers earn an average salary of $50,815.
3. Accountant
Accountants help organizations to finance their operations, abide by government regulations, save money, and maximize their profits.
They tap into the financial knowledge and skills learned in college to make sound decisions about an organization’s resources.
Accountants represent and communicate business information that is used by colleagues to operate more effectively, and by investors to make sound decisions about their investments.
Accountants conduct audits and provide consulting and tax planning services. They often move on to leadership positions within the finance division of their organization or client organizations.
All types of business, governmental nonprofits, and educational organizations enlist the services of accountants.
Salary: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual income for accountants in May 2019 was $71,550. The lowest 10% earned less than $44,480, and the highest 10% earned more than $124,450.
4. Healthcare Administrator
Administrators in the healthcare sector must know accounting, budgeting, human resources, marketing, management, business law, ethics, and information technology—all subjects that are covered in the business curriculum.
In addition, the teamwork, communication, analytical, and presentation skills of the business major are also critical to the success of a healthcare administrator.
Many business majors with an interest in the field will go on to graduate work in healthcare management.
Salary: According to the BLS, the median annual wage for medical and health service managers was $100,980 in May 2019. The lowest 10% earned less than $58,820, and the highest 10% earned more than $189,000.
5. Actuary
Business majors with a strong quantitative orientation to their background can become key players in the insurance industry by working as an actuary.
Actuaries calculate the probability of risky events occurring, such as death, injury, accidents, fires, and illnesses when insurance companies would be liable to pay out claims.
They utilize knowledge of accounting, finance, and economics and carry out complex analyses of scenarios based on demographic profiles.
Actuaries, like business majors, utilize spreadsheets, databases, and statistical software to conduct their analyses.
\In addition, they must have strong writing, presentation, and persuasive skills to secure support from colleagues for their proposals.
Salary: According to the BLS, the median annual income for actuaries in May 2019 was $108,350. The lowest 10% earned less than $64,860, and the highest 10% earned more than $193,600.
6. College Admissions Representative
Business majors who are interested in working in a college environment should consider a position with the admissions office as an option.
Admissions staff draw upon the strong communication, presentation, and persuasive skills of the business major to reach out to prospective students.
They develop marketing plans to strategically promote the college and encourage applications. Admissions staff, like business majors, must collaborate with other team members on projects and to deliver programs.
A college admissions role is essentially a sales position for a college, so business majors with a strong foundation in sales and marketing, and an outgoing personality are likely to be successful in this niche.
Salary: According to Glassdoor, admissions representatives earn a median income of $39,753.
7. Financial Analyst
Business majors learn to assess the strengths and weaknesses of businesses and analyze trends in various industries.
Financial analysts capitalize on those skills to evaluate companies, industries, and associated investments for clients or their parent company.
They interpret financial statements, calculate ratios and other metrics, and write reports with recommendations for investments and the allocation of corporate resources.
Financial analysts benefit from the coursework in accounting, finance, economics, and mathematics that is traditionally part of a business major.
Salary: According to the BLS, the median annual income for financial analysts in May 2018 was $85,660. The lowest 10% earned less than $52,540, and the highest 10% earned more than $167,420.
8. Business Reporter
Print, broadcast, and electronic media all provide extensive coverage of events and developments in the business and financial sectors.
Business majors learn to analyze companies and industries and compose written summaries of their findings, just like reporters.
They develop the communications and presentation skills needed to clearly articulate content about the business world.
If you are fascinated by business, but would rather report on it than conduct business, this kind of reporting might be for you.
Salary: According to the BLS, the median annual income for reporters in May 2019 was $43,490. The lowest 10% earned less than $27,370 and the highest 10% earned more than $200,180.
9. Corporate Attorney
Attorneys who practice corporate or business law benefit from the broad knowledge of business entities and practices acquired by business majors.
The business major develops a solid foundation for areas of corporate law like bankruptcy, securities, contracts, mergers, collections, business successions, and incorporations.
The research, writing, and presentation skills developed by business majors help corporate lawyers to carry out their work.
Business majors with solid academic records and LSAT scores can gain acceptance at elite law schools.
Salary: According to the BLS, the median annual wage for lawyers was $122,960 in May 2019. The lowest 10% earned less than $59,670, and the highest 10% earned more than $208,000.
10. Business Teacher
Educating high-school students about the business world is an option for business majors who also complete the teacher education requirements.
Business majors need the broad-based knowledge gained in marketing, management, finance, and accounting to carry out this role effectively.
Strong verbal communication and interpersonal skills are required to engage students.
Planning and presenting stimulating lessons are key to success as a teacher. Business majors can draw upon the wide array of instructional approaches that they have encountered while completing their degree.
Salary: According to the BLS, the median annual income for high-school teachers in May 2019 was $61,660. The lowest 10% earned less than $40,540, and the highest 10% earned more than $99,660.
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