Undergraduates considering earning a Master of Business Administration might wonder what type of job they can land with the degree. The career choices remain diverse and continue to broaden since an MBA provides one of the most versatile specialty degrees.
In the US, those in business management encompass a wide range of fields from agriculture to economic development, manufacturing to sports. Any field that interests you probably requires managers with a Master’s degree. Perhaps you have not yet decided what you would like to do for a career. Here are the most common applications for the Master of Business Administration degree. Each has a starting salary of $60,000 to $155,000 annually with a maximum of about $155,000.
Sports Operations Manager
Forget the notion of boring business meetings or conferences with financial drones. Imagine yourself as the Director of Football Operations (DFO) of an NCAA football team or an NFL or XFL professional football team. You would earn a median salary of about $95,000 and combine your sports knowledge with business acumen to help lead the front and back offices of the team. You might choose an MBA program that specializes in sports management like FNU.
Procurement Officer
Combine a love of shopping or an existing career as a buyer with an MBA to become a procurement officer or purchasing officer. You research and analyze products needed for essential business operations, then negotiate to purchase them. You often purchase in bulk. People skills contribute to success in this career since you need to establish working relationships with vendors and negotiate contracts. In a manufacturing setting, you would also procure raw materials for production.
Advertising Executive
You can add an MBA to a Bachelor’s degree to supervise the promotional work of an advertising agency. Some ad execs focus on business degrees only. The ad copywriters and graphic artists handle the creative parts while the ad exec use their organizational and analytical skills to manage the business end of the campaigns.
Market Research Analyst:
Another career in marketing and advertising that requires an MBA, market research analyst, analyzes customer data to develop customer personas, determine new product needs, product improvements, and the best promotional methods. Their market research reports to management help businesses grow and expand their product lines by better serving their customers.
Office Administrator
Probably the most traditional MBA career, an office manager combines knowledge of databases, office suite software, people skills, organizational skills, and multitasking to manage a large office or corporation. They may specialize in managing a specific unit of a business such as finance or human resources. These administrators must have strategic planning skills, as well as payroll knowledge, as well as training, and compliance savvy.
Getting Started
You likely knew a few of these potential careers, but hopefully a few surprised you. An MBA provides diversity in career development. Other ideas for careers include municipal administration, franchise manager, business consultant, and entrepreneur. With these ideas in mind, explore the top schools for MBAs in the US to determine where you might attend to pursue your career.