What Can You Do with a Business Administration Degree?: Jobs & Salaries
Today’s ever-growing and competitive global business environment constantly seeks out a workforce that is prepared to comply with the demands and nature of this field of work. Students who choose to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration can expect just that, seeing as these programs have established a reputation for preparing graduates in the best way possible to enter the job market with a wide range of skills.
If you are considering your options and wondering “what can I do with a business administration degree?”, the possibilities are endless. Further, you can read about the careers that this degree prepares you for and the various job roles you can land upon graduation.
Types of Business Administration Careers
The multidisciplinary programs that this degree offers include insight and knowledge on various fields, starting from management to leadership, economics, accounting, finance, human resources, project management, marketing, and many more related areas of interest for jobs in business. These courses will prepare you with skills needed in various business career paths and roles such as financial management, marketing, human resources, operations management, and other similar paths that may be of interest to you.
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Business Administration Jobs
A degree in business administration will qualify you for numerous job opportunities, which typically tend to be supervisory and management positions in various organizations, establishments, and industries. Some of the most frequent jobs that many will land upon graduating from this degree include the following:
Account Manager
An account manager is responsible for establishing and nurturing relationships with clients, as well as serving as a representative or link between clients and a company’s sales teams.
Duties and responsibilities
As an account manager, some of your duties will include the following:
Serving as the main point of contact for clients in matters of account management,
Negotiating contracts and closing agreements in favor of the client’s profits,
Keeping up with recent trends, new developments, and analyzing competitor actions to create better business strategies for the client,
Issuing and communicating monthly or quarterly progress reports to clients and the company’s management,
Working closely with sales teams to explore growth opportunities,
Developing and monitoring account metrics such as sales results, expansion revenue rate, annual forecasts, etc.
Salary
According to Payscale, the average salary for an Account Manager is $55,707.
Budget Analyst
A budget analyst’s role is to help organizations plan and manage their finances through preparing reports of their budgets and monitoring their expenses.
Duties and responsibilities
A budget analyst’s duties typically consist of the following:
Collaborating with program and project managers in developing a budget for the organization,
Going through budget proposals and requests for funding and reviewing whether they are complete, accurate, and in compliance with laws and regulations,
Tracking the company’s expenses to ensure they are within budget,
Consolidating program and department budgets into a single organizational budget,
Estimating and determining future financial needs.
Salary
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BSL), in May 2020, the median annual wage for budget analysts was $78,970.
Management Analyst
Management analysts—often referred to as management consultants—are in charge of improving an organization’s overall efficiency by recommending ways to reduce costs and increase revenues.
Duties and responsibilities
As a management analyst, it would typically be expected that you will:
Collecting, organizing, and analyzing information about problems and coming up with solutions or alternative routes of action,
Determining methodologies, equipment, and the staff that will conduct work within a project,
Analyzing various financial, revenue, and expenditure data, as well as employment reports,
Suggesting new systems, procedures, or changes that will benefit the organization,
Providing recommendations to management through reports or presentations and ensuring that changes are positively contributing to the company’s efficiency.
Salary
According to the BLS, the median annual wage for management analysts was $87,660 as of May 2020.
Procurement Officer
Within organizations and companies, someone in this role is in charge of assessing products and services, evaluating suppliers, and negotiating contracts. They are also responsible for the quality assurance of purchases within the organization.
Duties and responsibilities
As a procurement officer, your duties would typically be to:
Estimating and setting purchasing cost parameters and budgets,
Establishing and nurturing relationships with vendors or suppliers,
Keeping records of the company or organization’s purchases, pricing, and similar data,
Reviewing and evaluating vendors, suppliers, supply, and pricing options and negotiating the best deals,
Making sure that the purchased products and supplies meet quality criteria,
Maintaining lists of suppliers, delivery times, and evaluate prospective suppliers.
Salary
According to Payscale, the median annual salary for procurement officers is $58,652.
Financial Analyst
Financial analysts are responsible for a company's or corporation's financial planning, analysis, and projections.
Duties and responsibilities
Some of the duties that financial analysts typically have are to:
Recommending individual and collective investments,
Evaluating financial data be it current or past,
Studying current trends in business and economy,
Establishing and evaluating profit plans,
Examining financial statements of the company in order to determine its value,
Providing financial models and forecasting.
Salary
According to the BLS, in May 2020, the median annual wage for financial analysts was $83,660.
Human Resources Manager
A human resources manager is responsible for the planning, coordination, and management of the administrative functions within an organization. Most often, their tasks include handling employee relations, compensation, benefits, and training.
Duties and responsibilities
Human resources managers’ duties usually include the following:
Identifying employment needs together with the employers,
Coordinating and supporting the recruitment process and interviewing applicants on their experience, education, and skills,
Researching and determining fitting salaries and remuneration,
Partaking in the hiring process or referring qualified applicants for the employers,
Conducting or assisting in the employee orientation process and developing training programs when needed,
Managing employee records and processing paperwork.
Salary
The median annual wage for human resources specialists reached $63,490 in May 2020 (BLS).
Marketing Manager
Marketing managers are the people in charge of a company’s marketing initiatives, who identify potential customers and markets for the company’s products and services.
Duties and responsibilities
As a marketing manager, your duties and responsibilities will include to:
Developing pricing strategies that focus on maximizing the company or organization’s profits and market share,
Working with relevant departments to discuss budgets, contracts, marketing strategies, and advertising options,
Planning promotional and advertising campaigns and events,
Initiating market research and analyzing findings in order to determine how customers are responding to a certain product or service and exploring growth opportunities for businesses,
Overseeing and leading daily activities of marketing teams and staff.
Salary
According to the BLS, the median annual wage for marketing managers was $142,170 in May of 2020.
Market Research Analyst
A market research analyst studies market conditions with a focus on data such as consumer demographics, preferences, needs, and buying habits, in order to determine potential sales of a product or service.
Duties and responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities for market research analysts will typically include the following:
Monitoring and forecasting sales and marketing trends,
Evaluating the results and effectiveness of marketing campaigns and strategies,
Coming up with appropriate data collecting methods such as surveys, questionnaires, and opinion polls,
Collecting consumer, competitor, and market conditions data,
Analyzing the data and presenting it as digestible information to present to clients and management.
Salary
According to data from the BSL, the median annual wage for market research analysts was $65,810 in May 2020.
Sales Manager
Sales managers are in charge of the sales teams within an organization, with whom they work to reach sales goals. They hire new employees, provide guidance for them, develop training programs, and set sales targets.
Duties and responsibilities
Sales managers’ duties and tasks typically include the following:
Recruiting, hiring, and training sales team members,
Setting sales goals and providing sales forecasts,
Analyzing sales statistics and monitoring customer preferences in order to determine sales strategies,
Addressing and resolving customer complaints that concern sales and service,
Preparing the sales budgets and approving expenditures,
Assessing processes within the sales team and identifying any areas or points that can be improved.
Salary
According to the BLS, the median annual wage for sales managers was $132,290 in May 2020.
These were some of the many career paths that you can explore after obtaining a degree in Business Administration. The possibilities are endless, and this degree will surely prepare you with many skills that you can directly apply in the real world.