If you are beginning your Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree program this fall, you may be wondering what are your mba career options you could have after college. You are not alone. While a Master’s in Business Administration may be a great degree to earn, you should already be plotting how best to jumpstart your career now.
According to Steve Dalton, senior associate director of daytime MBA student services at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, the MBA may be seen as “the tofu of graduate degrees because it takes on the taste of whatever sauce you add to it”. [i] In other words, while you may know that you plan on earning your Master’s in Business Administration, you should give some serious thought as to what you plan on doing afterwards—before you dive into your grad level classes this fall.
Here are some potential careers you might have after earning your Master’s in Business Administration:
Financial Manager
Financial managers are all about making the most of strong communication skills, overseeing employees in charge of budgeting, analyzing market trends, and prepping financial documents. The median annual pay for financial managers is $109,740 or $52.76 per hour. [ii]
Marketing Manager
A marketing manager’s main job is to promote a service or product. He or she may do things like meet with clients, oversee marketing staff, organize marketing campaigns, or come up with marketing plans such as print, radio, online, or television. The median annual pay for marketing managers is $115,750 per year or $55.65 per hour. [iii]
IT Manager
If you consider yourself a tech person who enjoys being a leader, then becoming an IT manager might be a great occupational fit. IT managers—also known as computer and information sy
stems managers—could negotiate with tech vendors, direct the installation of computer hardware, analyze the costs and benefits of a given project, and deal with security concerns all in a day’s work. The median pay for IT managers is $120,950 or $58.15 per hour. [iv]
Management Analyst
Management analysts often serve as a type of management consultant for organizations. Many of them travel frequently to meet with clients so that they might better assess their clients’ needs. They may meet with other managers to make sure implemented plans are working, perform on-site evaluations, come up with solutions to management issues, or look at financial data. The annual median pay for management analysts is $78,600 per year or $37.79 per hour.[v]
Before you begin working on your Master’s in Business Administration, assess possible mba careers down your employment road. This way, when selecting coursework that you have some control over, you may choose electives that could enhance your degree and your future mba career path.
[i]usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/articles/2013/03/27/6-great-jobs-for-mba-grade | [ii]bls.gov/ooh/management/financial-managers.htm | [iii] bls.gov/ooh/management/advertising-promotions-and-marketing-managers.htm | [iv] bls.gov/ooh/management/computer-and-information-systems-managers.htm | [v] bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/management-analysts.htm