9 Notable Jobs You Can Get with a Business Degree
You aren’t the first—and certainly won’t be the last—person to consider earning a business degree. It’s easy to see the appeal. You can practically look in any direction and see a product or service sold by a business. That’s a great sign for anyone looking for a degree that offers plenty of options.
Business degrees are launching pads for an incredible variety of opportunities. In this article, we’ll use job posting analysis software to highlight some of the job titles seeking applicants with a business degree. But before we get into that, let’s take a closer look at why a business degree may be an appealing option.
Why should I major in business?
That’s a hard question to answer—everyone has their personal preferences and factors to weigh before deciding to pursue a degree, and while we can’t make that judgment for you, we can provide helpful information to consider.
To start, you should know that business degree jobs are still growing. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects employment of business and financial occupations to grow eight percent from 2020 through 2030—that’s 750,800 new jobs!1
Business and financial occupations also tend to offer solid earning potential—the BLS reports the 2021 median annual salary for these occupations was $76,570.1 This is much higher than the 2021 national average for all occupations—$45,760.1
But it’s not just solid employment growth and earning potential in related fields that make a business degree appealing. There’s also the versatility of business degrees and the variety of jobs you could pursue with one.
What can I do with a business degree? 9 commonly sought-after business degree jobs
It doesn’t take a long stretch of skimming through job boards to see that there’s a nearly impossible-to-capture breadth of job titles seeking candidates with a business degree. That said, you can still get a good feel for some of the most common business degree options.
To help with that, we analyzed over 1.8 million job postings from the past year that were seeking candidates with a business degree and identified some of the most common job titles.2 Read on to learn more about these roles.
1. Project manager
What they do: If you’ve ever worked on a complex project with multiple parties, it’s easy to see the value of project managers. They ensure a project runs smoothly, meeting all deadlines and goals along the way. They do this by communicating with project owners to determine needs, assigning roles and tasks to the team, tracking progress and facilitating the communication of issues or other changes. Essentially, they keep everyone involved in a project informed and working toward a clear, shared goal.
You would do well in this role if you excel at accomplishing daily work with a bigger picture in mind. If you find the right balance of daily encouragement and holding people accountable when necessary, manage competing priorities and enjoy planning (and re-planning), this career could be a good fit.
2. Human resources specialist
What they do: Roles within the human resources (HR) field are another common landing spot for business graduates. HR specialists are involved in the recruiting, screening and hiring of workers. They also are involved in the general day-to-day operations of a business, whether this is through handling employee onboarding, maintaining important records or assisting employees with questions regarding company policies.
You would do well in this role if you excel at interacting with other people. HR jobs really focus on the human element of companies to make sure each employee is working in the best conditions possible for them and the company.
3. Bookkeeping, accounting, auditing clerk
What they do: These financially focused roles are a common starting point for business professionals. These positions are focused on overseeing the financial transactions of an organization and ensuring payment information is accurately captured in accounting software. Additionally, they may be tasked with following up in order to resolve discrepancies and escalate within the organization as needed.
You would do well in this role if numbers help you make sense of things and are meticulous. These roles require an eye for detail and a little bit of an investigative spirit when records aren’t matching up as expected.
4. Operations/general managers
What they do: While the exact work will vary heavily by setting, operations and general managers are responsible for making sure the day-to-day activity of a business or site is running smoothly and profitably. They order inventory, manage staffing issues, lead teams and plan for future projects or initiatives.
You would do well in this role if you have a strong base of general business skills, organizational ability, leadership ability and a knack for problem solving. The day-to-day work and issues that may come up are varied, but much of it comes down to being an effective manager of people.
5. Business analyst
What they do: Business analysts put their business expertise to work by observing the market and business trends to create recommendations for the businesses they serve. This is a position that requires a mix of business sense, research skills, analytical thinking and excellent communication skills for presenting their findings. The work of a business analyst will vary greatly depending on the role and employer—for example, some may spend their time analyzing processes to improve efficiency while others may focus their analysis on questions like where to expand to.
You would do well in this role if you excel at problem solving. Analysts need to gather information and offer recommendations to solve problems or answer questions—big or small.
6. Account manager
What they do: Account managers focus on building and maintaining mutually beneficial partnerships between businesses and clients. What this looks like can vary from employer to employer, but typically there’s a consultative sales element to their work. They’ll spend their time communicating with clients, discovering their needs and (ideally) selling additional services to meet them. Account management roles are often a blend of sales and customer service work—they’re not just pushing for additional business. They also want to maintain a strong working relationship with existing clients.
You would do well in this role if you like building relationships, listening and probing for sales opportunities or other areas of concern that need addressing. Communication will be key.
7. Financial analyst
What they do: Financial analysts provide guidance to businesses and individuals making investment decisions. This includes researching market trends, analyzing financial statements and preparing reports for management teams. In short, their job is to make sure management teams have the information needed to make smart investment decisions.
You would do well in this role if you excel at research and communicating. Financial analysts have a way of finding that “golden nugget” of data from varied sources and then presenting their findings in a way to help convince others of their investment recommendations.
8. Sales manager
What they do: As you might guess, sales managers oversee the work of a team of sales representatives. This includes setting sales goals, preparing budgets, training sales staff and planning expansion efforts. Additionally, they may help junior sales representatives navigate customer questions or complaints, weighing in as needed for escalated issues.
You would do well in this role if you know how to keep people motivated and you’re adaptable. A big part of sales is always going to involve rejection, brainstorming and changing strategies. This is a great career for you if you are a strategic thinker who enjoys finding new ways to improve.
9. Sales representative
What they do: Maybe you are the type of person that would prefer to be out there on the frontlines, directly interacting with potential clients. Sales reps are responsible for going out and meeting new potential customers and explaining how their product or service can meet their needs.
You would do well in this role if you’re a natural at building connections with people. So much of what makes a sales representative succeed is their ability to persuade others through direct communication. The most successful sales representatives are personable enough to identify what a potential client values.
Which business major is right for me?
Business degrees can really offer you a broad field of choices. With so many options, you’re sure to find a position within that’s a great fit for you, whether you thrive on versatility or consistency, creativity or hard facts. If one or more of these managing jobs piqued your interest, but you aren’t quite sure what step of education may be best, take a peek at our article “The Beginner’s Guide to Different Types of Business Degrees” to learn more about the specialized options available.
1Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, [accessed April 2022]https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/home.htm. Information represents national, averaged data for the occupations listed and includes workers at all levels of education and experience. This data does not represent starting salaries. Employment conditions in your area may vary.
2Burning-Glass.com (analysis of 1,843,347 job postings seeking candidates with business / business management degrees, Feb. 1, 2021 – Jan. 31, 2022)
