What Can You Do with a Business Management Degree? Understanding Your Options
Sometimes taking care of your family means taking care of yourself. Your decision to earn a business degree is as much for you as it is for them. This is why you want to choose a career that will not only support the people you love, but also allow you to enjoy going to work every day.
Why seek a business management degree?
You've worked various jobs all your life, but you're ready to launch a career. You're committed to take the steps needed to establish a career in business management (sometimes referred to as business administration), where the options are vast. It's no wonder you're considering earning a degree in business management to help you achieve this goal. A business management degree is a popular choice—and for good reason.
But why seek a business degree? And, specifically, what can you do with a business management degree? Both an associate's degree or bachelor's degree in this concentration may help to provide students with the versatile training they need to build a solid foundation that may be put to use in several different business administration jobs.
The wide range of topics within business management
Whether you decide to embark on a journey towards possible business administration career success with an associate's or bachelor's degree, our Business Management degree programs might help you become a well-rounded, analytical thinker.
Business management degrees encompass a wide range of subjects, such as accounting, finance, marketing, strategic planning, customer satisfaction, project management, organizational behavior, human resources, operations management and other management positions within the domestic and international business world.
Examples of potential roles within a business career include: business manager, office manager, business consultant, financial manager, human resources manager, management analyst and other business functions.
Business management labor statistics
Earning an associate’s degree in business management has the potential to have a positive effect on your job prospects and earning potential.
In 2021, Associate's degree holders earned an average of $8,008 more annually than those with only a high school diploma, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).1
That's great to know, and certainly is a major reason to pursue any type of degree in business management. Let's start with the possible opportunities that are out there for business management associate's degree holders. We analyzed more than 155,000 job postings from the last year that called for a Business Management Associate's degree.2 The data helped us identify five common jobs seeking professionals with this credential.
The versatility of a business management degree
Another great aspect of a business management degree is its versatility. Business students—and ultimately, business management graduates—may end up pursuing careers in multiple sectors including finance, human resources, sports management, technology, retail and healthcare.
This adaptability ensures that the skills you learn are in demand—and your skill set may allow you to seek new, challenging opportunities in a competitive job market.
Let's take a closer look at what you can expect as a business management major.
What is a business management degree?
Before exploring the many potential business management degree jobs out there, it's helpful to familiarize yourself with the educational elements that help equip students for such business administration roles—from entry level positions upward to Business Management careers of all levels.
The curriculum in a business management program covers the fundamental business acumen and leadership skills often needed to succeed in this dynamic industry.
Regardless of the degree level, business management majors can expect to develop skills to learn more about business principles, organizational effectiveness, data analytics, and relationship management.
Being "business savvy" is often a trait you're born with, but a degree program in business management often helps to fine-tune that trait. So, let's take a closer look at the types of courses you can expect in a business management degree program at the associate's or bachelor's degree level.
Common business management associate's degree courses:
- Principles of Finance
- Business Analysis and Intelligence
- Human Resource Management
- Functional and Project Management
- Customer Service
Common business management bachelor's degree courses:
- Accounting for Business Managers
- Business Law and Ethical Behavior
- Financial Decision Making and Risk Management
- Dynamic Team Development
- Organizational Behavior Analysis
Possible business management jobs to consider
The courses listed above help equip business management majors with a versatile skillset that might be applied to a variety of positions in the field.
There are plenty of viable options for both business management associate's and business management bachelor's degree holders.
Let's explore some common business management graduate careers.
5 potential business management degree jobs utilizing an associate's degree
1. Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks
Workers in these realms focus on monitoring and maintaining a company's financial records.
Duties typically include coding documents according to procedure, recording and summarizing numerical data on behalf of the company and reconciling any other financial statements or discrepancies found all while complying with federal, state and company policies.
Those with an associate's business management degree can sometime progress to roles in business administration such as financial managers or analysts.
2. Administrative assistant
Administrative assistants typically answer phone calls, schedule meetings, update database information, prepare invoices and manage incoming and outgoing mail.
An administrative assistant must be organized and detail-oriented, as they are responsible for a variety of clerical tasks that keep businesses running smoothly.
3. Sales representative
These workers can be found in a wide range of industries—if there's a product or service—businesses need someone to help sell it.
They offer expertise on merchandise, answer customer questions and process transactions. Many of these positions have the potential to earn commission, which can give you a nice boost to your earning potential if you find the right situation and pay structure.
4. Customer service representative and call center representative
It's right there in the title—customer service associates are all about serving the customer.
Whether it's listening to a customer or business consultant's questions or concerns, placing orders, providing information about products and services or recording details of customer contact information, these business professionals make sure customers and clients are seen to.
Patience and understanding go far in this position, because customer service associates are often listening to customer complaints and working to solve them.
Some representatives work in a call center, fielding problems and inquiries from an organization's clientele.
5. Personal banker
A personal banker handles a client's entire relationship with a retail bank. From loans and personal accounts to trust funds and investments, these bankers have a wide range of knowledge about the products and services a bank offers.
They can provide great customer service by answering clients' questions and helping them make the right decision for their finances.
What can you do with a bachelor's degree in business management?
The career opportunities may be higher for those with a business management bachelor's degree. While a bachelor's degree is traditionally a four-year investment, there are options available to earn your Bachelor's degree at an accelerated pace.3
Since job opportunity and salaries tend to be higher with a business management bachelor's degree, this option is a great choice if you can invest the time in your education upfront.
Our job analysis found more than 1.3 million job postings that called for a Business Management Bachelor's degree.4
5 potential business management degree jobs utilizing a bachelor's degree
1. Marketing manager
Marketing managers estimate the demand for products and services that an organization, and its competitors, offer. They identify potential markets for the organization's products and oversee market research for a team that develops strategies to maximize profits. Additionally, marketing managers often interact with operations managers as well as a company's human resources manager.
2. Sales manager
Sales managers are the professionals responsible for setting the strategy behind sales initiatives, business strategies and goals.
A sales manager often resolves customer complaints, prepares budgets, monitors customer preferences to determine the focus of sales efforts and analyzes sales statistics.
Most sales managers direct the distribution of goods and services by assigning sales territories, setting sales goals and establishing training programs for the organization's sales representatives.
This may also involve recruiting more project managers or business managers and hiring new sales staff and evaluating their performances.
3. Business analyst
Business analysts—sometimes referred to as management analysts—spend their work days gathering data concerning problems or procedures within a company.
They then analyze the collected information to conclude possible solutions or alterations. New procedures are designed based on interviews conducted with employees, on-site observation and close study of company documents.
4. Financial analyst
Financial analysts conduct qualitative analyses concerning the market trends and a company's finances and investments.
They compose charts, graphs and spreadsheets; forecasting business, financial management industry and economic conditions through analysis of financial information.
They also determine the prices at which a company should offer its product to the public market and prepare investment plans that capitalize on their financial analysis.
5. Account manager
Account managers act as organization's personal representative to a client. They foster client relationships, work with sales and marketing teams to find new clients, prepare presentations and sales pitches and communicate client agendas to the rest of the company.
Depending on their employers, these professionals may work with individual customers or clients who represent an entire company. Monitoring budgets and explaining cost factors to clients are also part of this role.
Where will a business management degree take you?
It's obvious that a degree program on your resume is a positive addition. But what can you do with a business management degree? What potential will you gain toward a possible business management career? As you can see, there are plenty of answers to those questions. It all depends on your personal interests and which degree level in business management you can commit to. Business administration is a perpetual career, and our Business Management program offerings might be a great match for you.
Investing in a business management degree might open doors to numerous career paths, while also helping to provide you with the necessary knowledge and tools to navigate the complex world of business. With a wide variety of degree programs available, there's never been a better time to take charge of your future.
You can learn more about your educational path ahead by visiting our Business Management program page. Alternatively, you can request more information to hear more from a Rasmussen University admissions advisor who'll be able to help answer any questions you may have about any aspect of our Business Management degrees.
1Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, [accessed May, 2023]. 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 155,856 job postings preferring candidates with an Associate's degree in Business Management Jan. 01, 2019 – Dec. 31, 2019).
3Time to complete is dependent on accepted transfer credits and courses completed each quarter.
4Burning-Glass.com (analysis of 1,371,906 job postings preferring candidates with a Bachelor's degree in Business Management Jan. 01, 2019 – Dec. 31, 2019).
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published in 2015. It has since been updated to include information relevant to 2023.
