Business Administration Major: Is It for You?

Attracting millions of aspiring professionals, business administration has emerged as one of the most popular majors in recent years. From corporate titans to entrepreneurial visionaries, individuals armed with this degree have successfully navigated the ever-evolving global business landscape.

Your degree will cover several related fields in an undergraduate or certification program. If you decide to pursue a master of business administration (MBA) or even a doctorate (Ph.D.), you can focus on a specific type of business and even form policies or practices in the field of business.

In this article, we'll explore a few good career choices for business administration majors, including:

• Market research analyst
• Business consultant
• Financial analyst
• Event planner
• Training and development specialist
• Human resources specialist

Let's dive into the details and explore why this field might just be the perfect fit for your ambitions.

The term “business administration” might seem very broad, but it is an exciting and engaging field for intelligent, driven, and curious people who want a fast-paced, continuously changing career.

If you're contemplating whether a business administration major is the right choice for you, we've got you covered. Here are some key considerations to help you determine if pursuing a degree in business administration aligns with your goals and aspirations:

• Unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. Dream of launching your own successful venture someday? A business administration major empowers you with the knowledge and skills necessary to turn your ideas into reality. With courses in entrepreneurship, strategic planning, and business development, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of the key elements needed to build and grow a thriving business.

• Versatility across industries. The beauty of a business administration major lies in its versatility. Whether you aspire to work in finance, marketing, human resources, or operations, this degree equips you with a solid foundation in various business disciplines. Employers across sectors highly value the wide-ranging skill set you acquire, making you a sought-after candidate in today's competitive job market.

• Thrive in leadership roles. Are you a natural leader or aspire to become one? Business administration programs emphasize leadership development, providing you with the necessary tools to effectively manage teams, inspire colleagues, and drive organizational success. From honing your communication and negotiation skills to developing strategic thinking abilities, you'll emerge as a confident and influential leader ready to make an impact.

Whether you envision yourself climbing the corporate ladder, founding a startup, or making an impact in the nonprofit sector, this versatile degree equips you with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed.

If you're wondering what you can do with a business degree, the answer is your options are nearly unlimited. With this degree in hand, you'll be equipped with the essential skills and knowledge to thrive in today's dynamic business world. Here are some of the best jobs you can get with this degree, including their median salary and future employment outlook.

While this position might seem esoteric at first glance, the job's skillset is vital for companies. You can work for an organization or start a consulting business to give clients a much-needed outside perspective into key components of their business.

Market research analysts help companies to understand their customer base, what markets they should move into or away from, what products or services they should sell, and how their core mission is used to continue to promote the business through these changes.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that this exciting role averages $64,000 a year and is growing much faster than other occupations. The BLS projects employment will grow by 19% over the next decade.

Sometimes called management consultants or analysts, this field focuses on business efficiency by examining all areas within a company. Consultants analyze how to make organizations more profitable by lowering costs and increasing revenue, which requires several approaches.

Business consultants may recommend new systems, organizational or structural changes, and use metrics to understand how such implemented changes could work.

The median pay sits just below the six-figure mark at $93,000. The BLS reports this field will grow by 11% from 2021 to 2031, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.

This position is ideal for math lovers who want to go into business for themselves or others. As a financial analyst, You will create and run financial models and make recommendations about money spent and which markets to tap into.

You can focus on a specific industry, sector, or business and deliver presentations to your company about investment options. You can help the company or your clients navigate the stock market, often raising revenue and managing benefits like 401(k) retirement plans. It's a demanding job, with most analysts working full-time and some expected to work more than 40 hours per week.

The good news is that the BLS reports the median salary for this profession is $95,000, and the need for financial analysts will grow 9% by 2031.

Working as an event planner within a company, you may plan meetings, company parties, conventions, and other celebrations. If you are a consultant, you might help companies create programs for employees to socialize around a range of holidays and also when the company finds reasons to celebrate. You will investigate food services, event locations, and entertainment options, and learn more about the diversity of employees at your company.

Data from the BLS suggests that event planners make, on average, $50,000 a year. They generally work in offices and onsite at hotels or conference centers. Some may also travel to attend events and visit meeting sites. Their job prospects will expand by 18% over the coming decade, which is much faster than other occupations.

As a training specialist, Your role in helping other employees improves company knowledge and morale. You are responsible for planning, conducting, and offering training programs. You may need to investigate outside resources, plan company outings, or bring in specialists who can impart knowledge to the workforce. You will create presentations, perform research on best practices as well as education options, interview or hire consultants, and conduct surveys to determine what areas employees want more information about.

Training specialists stand to make around $61,000, according to the BLS. Based on current data models, training and development specialist jobs are expected to increase by 8% over the next decade.

The focus of most HR departments involves managing the workforce within a company. One major tas will be recruiting, vetting, and hiring new employees based on the core values of the company and the positions needed in the business.

Another vital part of an HR specialist's role involves helping employees manage their resources — including retirement accounts, health benefits, savings plans, sabbaticals if needed, and training. You will ensure your company works within federal, state, and local safety regulations and that employees understand these rules so they can report issues that arise.

The BLS reports the median salary for HR specialists is around $62,000 a year, and their job prospects are projected to expand by 8% by 2031.

If you love the idea of guiding a company’s growth, sales management might be a good fit. As a sales manager, you'll set quarterly goals and targets and push your team to achieve them. You'll create training programs for sales representatives and constantly analyze the data to understand how consumers and trends are changing and implement best practices to reach bigger goals. Finally, you'll work with other leaders within the company to guide the business to profitability by leveraging untapped markets.

Startups, franchises, and large companies all need sales managers, whose median salary is well over $120,000, according to the BLS. Growth in this field is projected to be average for most occupations, or around 5% from 2021 to 2031.

Business degrees or certification programs originally aimed to help business owners and managers budget, understand profit and loss, and make important quantitative evaluations. This is still a core component of a business administration major, but it is far from the only part of business you will study.

If you already work in business, or you want to start your own business, you can spend up to a year in a certification program to become a certified manager or hold a related business position. Certification works well for those who already have at least a bachelor’s degree and want to add business savvy to their formidable list of skills so they can move further into the business world.

You can also get a project manager certification to lead teams in some of the largest companies. Like the certification program, this program takes about a year.

A bachelor’s degree program lasts four years, covering more than just the basics of business administration. You will get a solid humanities and sciences education as well. This enhances your business degree because you will have a good understanding of arts, research, mathematics, and other important cultural components.

When you major in business administration as an undergraduate, you can specialize in specific business fields like:

• Marketing
• Information systems
• Sports management
• Recreation management
• Entrepreneurship

Higher degrees like master's and Ph.D. programs take two or more years. They will cover additional elements of business administration like:

• Accounting practices
• Management and human resources
• Marketing
• Strategy and planning
• Technology and operations
  

After a bachelor’s degree, graduate study programs provide more broad, historical, and research-based knowledge. Rather than working directly in business, you might teach business practices to others, including in high schools, postsecondary schools, and trade schools. You may research how fields in the business world change and publish papers that examine trends in business, the effectiveness of management strategies over time, and consumers’ changing needs, among many other topics.

Many graduates can benefit from some education in business administration. Whether you’re going back to obtain a higher degree, want to get certified to enhance your resume, or want to start your own company, understanding business fundamentals is important. Those fundamentals include business interactions, their inner workings, and also a company’s financial needs, all of which will help you get far in the modern job market.

Joblist offers a variety of jobs for those looking to use their business administration degree and gain experience in business. With customizable search preferences, we will help you find a job that fits your individual needs.