11 Career Options for Business Administration Majors
For many business graduates embarking on their professional journey, the diverse field of business administration offers great career prospects and lots of advancement opportunities.
A degree in business administration equips you with the skills and knowledge needed to help any organization’s bottom line—whether you’re working in accounts, finance, HR, or administrative services.
Pursuing Business Administration from the Comfort of Your Home
Business administration continues to be one of the most popular education programs. In the US alone, 387,900 out of 2.0 million degrees awarded to graduating college students in 2019-2020 were in business.
North Carolina bears recognition as one of the hubs of business studies in the US. The high quality of education their business schools offer is evident by their various regional as well as national accreditations.
The University of North Carolina (UNCW) Cameron School of Business, for instance, is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and stands among the best business schools in the region.
The best thing about their business studies is that they are open to everyone, even those studying remotely. The UNCW online MBA program is accessible to anyone from the comfort of their homes. For this reason, The Princeton review acknowledges UNCW as “outstanding.”
The Cameron School of Business features a faculty team composed of highly trained experts in their areas of specialization. Students are enabled to grasp the fundamentals of financial accounting, focusing on real-time decision-making, as well as the key IT concepts and challenges that professionals in the business world must deal with routinely.
In this way, they prepare their students for what lies ahead after graduation.
For these reasons and more, the UNCW Cameron School of Business ranks fourth in the list of the Top 29 Affordable Colleges for an MBA online.
Career Prospects as a Business Administration Major
The most important question to ask, without a doubt, is what kind of jobs await following the completion of an MBA.
For a business administration major, careers in various fields, including banking, finance, insurance, hospitality, tourism, commerce, government, and nonprofits, are open. Following is a breakdown of the most popular and well-paying job opportunities to look out for.
Accountant
Accountants examine the books of the business they work for or the businesses they represent. They carefully examine financial information, reports, and budgets to gauge success. An accountant may be financial or managerial.
A financial accountant assesses financial records that require to be presented to stakeholders. On the contrary, a managerial accountant’s responsibility is to overlook financial data to determine whether it is per the company’s goals.
Actuary
Actuaries evaluate the financial risks associated with corporate decisions. They examine uncertainty in areas related to insurance and retirement programs. For this, they employ the concepts of mathematics, statistics, and finance. Actuaries may work for consultancies, banks, hospitals, government-run organizations, or even the private industry.
Business Consultant
Business consultants suggest tactics to increase productivity and revenue. They collaborate with managers to implement organizational changes that lower costs, increase productivity, and boost profits. Various businesses, including franchises, manufacturing, the banking industry, and retail, employ them.
Business Manager
Business managers are responsible for supervising a company’s daily business activities. They work with business executives to guide the organization’s assets toward accomplishing its goals and objectives. They recruit and train employees, create short- and long-term plans with management, and negotiate contracts. They also monitor the effectiveness and implementation of business and sales strategies. Business managers can find work in the banking, finance, and manufacturing sectors.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
The senior-most executives in any company are its chief executive officers. They work with the governing board to develop the organization’s long-term objectives. Their primary responsibilities include overseeing all operations and assets for the company and making key business decisions. Additionally, they interact with equity investors and represent the business at important gatherings.
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Chief operating officers oversee the management and day-to-day operations of businesses. Based on the firm’s business model, COOs carry out their long-term plans.
The COO puts the CEO’s plans into action and coordinates the efforts of the different divisions with the company’s operational, financial, and cultural objectives. Various industries, such as finance, industrial production, health care, technology, and communication and press, employ COOs.
They earn an average annual salary of $131,614.
Data Analyst
Data analysts convert consumer research or revenue figures into information organizations can use. The information is then used to create strategic plans that assist these businesses in making more informed choices, including developing more in-depth solutions for frequent client problems. To find the data required for projects, data analysts use a wide range of tools and critical-thinking abilities.
Director of Operations
Directors of operations supervise and promote an organization’s expansion and cash flow. Additionally, they may be responsible for overseeing departments, managing the workforce, or producing goods. They support the company’s routine tasks and establish strategic objectives to support businesses to remain in operation.
They make an average of $93,486 annually.
Health Services Administrator
Health services administrators manage medical facilities using their knowledge of business administration. Maximizing a hospital’s performance is the administrator’s primary objective. To do so, the facility must set high standards for care, hire and retain qualified staff, and increase productivity. Aside from managing grant funding requests, health administrators also meet with the facility’s investors and board members to update them on its status.
Human Resource Specialist
Human resource specialists handle all tasks relating to personnel. They seek out, evaluate, interview, recruit, and coach qualified candidates. HR professionals administer benefits, handle payroll, and liaise between staff and management. They also implement workplace rules to comply with local, state, and federal labor laws. Human resource specialists can find employment in government, business, and nonprofit organizations.
Marketing Research Analyst
Market research analysts analyze the market environment to ascertain the potential revenue of a good or service their company is promoting. To better understand what a target audience or demographic wants, their research includes looking at members of that group. They must also consider ideal pricing strategies and prospective consumers for that product.
Conclusion
Whether or not you should pursue a degree in business administration depends on your personal goals, interests, and career aspirations. Business administration is a broad field that can open up opportunities in many different industries. Still, it is essential to research and explore the different fields to determine which one aligns with your interests and goals.
Consider factors such as your strengths and weaknesses, what you enjoy doing, what kind of work environment you want to be in, and what you want to achieve long term. It is also wise to speak with professionals in the field and to gather information about the job prospects, salary ranges, and day-to-day responsibilities in the areas of business that interest you.
If you are interested in business, enjoy problem-solving, and think you would be good at managing people and resources, then a business administration degree could be a good fit.