7 Solid Business Management Degree Jobs to Consider

illustraton of a woman thinking  and several business management degree job icons next to her

When it comes to pursuing higher education, it’s only natural to seek out a field of study that leaves you feeling confident about your potential job prospects. You have goals for yourself and your family, and you don’t want to invest the time, effort and money into a degree with limited utility. Fortunately, for anyone interested, a business management degree can be useful in a wide variety of rock-solid roles.

While the name might make you think opportunities with this degree will focus solely on managing teams of people, the reality is that a business management degree program provides a versatile foundation of business-related skills for you to grow from in your career.

So what’s potentially out there for business management graduates? We’ve compiled a list of the some of the top occupations you can apply this degree to.

7 Roles commonly seeking business management degree holders

Read on to learn more about the projected job outlook, earning potential and typical responsibilities associated with each of these business management-related jobs.

1. Wholesale, technical and manufacturing sales representative

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projected employment growth (2019–2029): 2%1

2020 median annual salary (BLS): $65,4201

Job overview: Sales representatives contact new and existing customers, explain product or service features, and answer any questions that prospective customers may have. Some sell directly to consumers, and some sell to businesses and other organizations. These professionals work to build relationships with customers and develop mutually beneficial sales agreements between groups—so excellent communication and problem-solving skills are a big plus.

While the projected employment growth for sales representatives is lower than the national average (4%) as a whole, it should be noted that certain industries are seeing a much higher growth rate projection.1 According to the Bureau of Labor Statics (BLS), sales jobs at independent agencies—rather than at single companies—are projected to grow 12% by 2029.1

2. Marketing manager

Projected employment growth (2019–2029): 6%1

2020 median annual salary (BLS): $141,4901

Job overview: Marketing managers identify potential markets for an organization’s products. They estimate the demand for those products and oversee a team that develops strategies to generate interest and maximize profits.

While parts of this job can be creative—like brainstorming ideas for an advertising campaign—many of the responsibilities involve sharp business skills. Overseeing an advertising budget, managing client relationships, guiding the development of a new product and researching market trends are just a few of the things a marketing manager might do. This role requires the ability to empathize with consumers and understand what motivates them to make a purchase.

3. Sales manager

Projected employment growth (2019–2029): 4%1

2020 median annual salary (BLS): $132,2901

Job overview: Like sales representatives,sales managers are responsible for connecting customers with products. But unlike representatives, they take a more bird’s-eye view of the entire sales process as they oversee the work of entire sales teams.

Sales managers set goals, analyze data to identify ways to improve efficiency, monitor customer satisfaction and develop training programs for the sales team they manage. Often, they are tasked with developing plans for meeting sales quotas or targets and may influence discount rates or other promotional tactics. As you might expect, this role typically requires extensive sales experience.

4. Management analyst

Projected employment growth (2019–2029): 11%1

2020 median annual salary (BLS): $87,6601

Job overview: Management analysts propose ways to improve an organization’s efficiency. They advise managers on how to make organizations more profitable through reduced costs and increased revenues. They might work with a single department or an entire company to see how different roles work together. While the details of this line of work will change from business to business, think of these professionals as the people who can take a step back from daily operations and identify redundant processes, extra steps and bottlenecks for getting things done.

This is often a contract position since management analysts usually operate as consultants that focus on a specific area of expertise. The role requires a solid understanding of business practices—but that’s not all. Management analysts need excellent problem-solving skills, an eye for detail and the ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders to understand the impact of potential changes to processes.

5. General and operations manager

Projected employment growth (2019–2029): 5 to 7%2

2020 median annual salary: $103,4502

Job overview: General and operations managers do many of the same things as other types of managers—oversee employees, set goals, address issues and so on. While other management roles in this article focus on specialized areas, like sales or marketing, these professionals tackle a broader range of responsibilities for keeping an organization running. Typically, this means they work in smaller organizations or oversee the overall operations of a branch or individual location of a larger organization—for example, a retail store manager.

While the duties will vary depending on the organization, general and operations managers are often responsible for things like reviewing financial statements, setting prices, hiring staff, making marketing decisions and more. This requires a good sense of adaptability and overall business savvy.

6. Financial analyst

Projected employment growth (2019–2029): 5%1

2020 median annual salary: $83,6601

Job overview: Financial analysts help businesses and individuals make investment decisions. To make the right recommendations, they must evaluate historical financial data, study economic trends and assess the performance of current investments.

Typically, financial analysts are divided into two categories: buy-side and sell-side. Buy-side analysts work with those who are interested in investing their money. Sell-side analysts advise financial services agents on selling stocks, bonds and other investments.

7. Financial manager

Projected employment growth (2019–2029): 15%1

2020 median annual salary: $134,1801

Job overview: Rather than focusing on investments like an analyst, financial managers deal with the overall financial health of an organization. They prepare financial reports, develop strategies for long-term financial goals and supervise employees who deal with budgeting and investing.

There are several different kinds of financial managers, including controllers, treasurers, credit managers and more. Depending on what kind of financial management you want to go into, you can focus on topics like tax law, budget processing, auditing or healthcare billing.

Make your move toward a business management career

The businesses you see every day need a large contingent of skilled professionals to keep their operations running smoothly and profitably—so why not answer the call? As you can see, there’s quite a range of jobs you can potentially land with a business management degree. This versatile business degree program is a smart option for anyone looking to develop a broad foundation of skills employers are seeking.

Are you ready to take the next step toward a career in business? Visit the Rasmussen University Business Management programs page today to learn more about what these programs have to offer.

1Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, [career information accessed March 22, 2021] www.bls.gov/ooh/. 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
2Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment Statistics, [salary data accessed March 22, 2021] www.bls.gov/oes/. 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.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published in September 2014. It has since been updated to include information relevant to 2021.

About the author

Hannah Meinke

Hannah Meinke is a writer at Collegis Education. She enjoys helping people discover their purpose and passion by crafting education and career-related content on behalf of Rasmussen University.

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This piece of ad content was created by Rasmussen University to support its educational programs. Rasmussen University may not prepare students for all positions featured within this content. Please visit www.rasmussen.edu/degrees for a list of programs offered. External links provided on rasmussen.edu are for reference only. Rasmussen University does not guarantee, approve, control, or specifically endorse the information or products available on websites linked to, and is not endorsed by website owners, authors and/or organizations referenced. Rasmussen University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

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