Business management careers provide high salaries and growth opportunities. Your best chances of rising to the top come from working in key roles such as finance and marketing or taking the risk of becoming an entrepreneur.
Here are the top 10 business management careers for anyone wanting leadership responsibilities. Let’s explore roles, along with education requirements and skills you’ll need.
1. Financial Manager
Median salary: $156,100 per year
Outlook: 792,600 jobs, with 16% growth over 10 years
Financial managers track and analyze a company’s financial health. They advise on spending and investment decisions. Their goal is to ensure money is used wisely. Expenditures must support the company’s strategic plan.
Education: A business degree in accounting or finance. Certifications, like CPA or CFA, can enhance job prospects. Experience in financial analysis and budgeting is also highly valued.
2. Information Technology (IT) Manager
Median salary: $169,510 per year
Outlook: 557,400 jobs, with 15% growth over 10 years
An IT manager is typically an experienced IT professional who has advanced to an administrative role within a company. They make decisions regarding business software and information systems, procuring ICT services, and recruiting and training support staff. They need the knowledge to meet a company’s IT needs.
Education: A bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, or a related field. Many IT managers also hold an MBA or a master’s degree in information systems.
Related: Is Information Technology Hard to Study?
3. Sales Manager
Median salary: $135,160 per year
Outlook: 554,700 jobs, with 4% growth over 10 years
Sales managers oversee a company’s sales department. In retail businesses, they are also called retail managers. They provide sales consultation, instruction, leadership, and mentoring to the sales team. They hire sales employees and develop effective sales strategies.
Education: A degree in business or marketing is often required. Experience in sales and leadership roles is highly valued.
4. Business Development Manager
A Business Development Manager is charged with the responsibility of growing an existing business, particularly by looking for new clients and identifying growth and brand promotion opportunities. In this job, salesmanship and business development skills are key components, plus you may also need to have a deep understanding of how the industry works and develop personal connections with other players.
5. Product Manager
Product Managers are charged with ensuring the success of a product-line that’s been launched into the market. They help in maximising the profits of a product by checking that it’s produced to the highest quality standards, which meet both the industry requirements and customer needs. To succeed in this career, you should have business acumen and technical skills as well.
6. Team Leader
A team leader provides direction and supervision to various departments within the organization, and is usually under the watch of a general manager. The role of a team leader in a business depends on how large the staff is and the amount of supervision needed. In places where management duties are heavy, they may take up functions such as task delegation, staff development and quality control.
7. Construction Management
Industries such as construction, building and facilities create construction management jobs. To succeed in this career, you’ll require technical knowledge as well as business management aptitude in communication, accounts and even leadership. You may be given the role of overseeing construction / engineering projects, properties, facilities like schools or hospices, and even design projects.
8. General Manager
A General Manager holds the position of determining the strategic direction of a company and providing leadership. They usually don’t get involved in day-to-day decision making since they delegate such tasks to their juniors. The best thing about General Manager positions is that the skills are transferable, meaning you can easily cross from one industry to another and still remain relevant. An MBA is a highly relevant qualification.
9. Entrepreneur
Usually, an entrepreneur starts a business venture from scratch and labours towards seeing its growth and success. They oversee the development of their startups, making all sorts of decisions about how the business can grow, such as who to partner with, where to get funding, hiring of employees and so on.
10. Operations Manager
Operations Managers are mainly involved in daily business activities that ensure smooth flow and coherence within the organisation. They may oversee the production process, delivery of service, or the running of a facility like a theme-park. While you’ll require a deep understanding of the industry in order to succeed as an operations manager, other qualities such as self drive, passion for the job, leadership and good rapport with the staff are also important.
Futher reading: These jobs together form part of a list of careers in business management you could contemplate after earning a business degree.
Leave a Reply