Business is a big field, of course. It’s like asking if you’d like a career in science. Well, maybe, but what kind of science? Peering through microscopes or exploring outer space? Digging for fossils or designing artificial limbs? It’d help to be a little more specific.
Or maybe you never realized that business as a concept is just as varied as the fields of science, engineering or even art. Maybe business is that career of one of your parents and you never really thought about it. Well, now that you’re embarking on higher education and your future beyond it, perhaps it’s time you knew a thing or two about a career in business and whether it’s a direction you might be interested in taking.
First off, you should know that every field in which money changes hands has an element of business associated with it. A symphony orchestra needs people to manage it just as much as a manufacturing plant does. Whether it’s an online merchandiser, a farming operation or a chain of boutique hotels, they all need operations managers, financial analysts and people to run their human resources departments.
No matter what area of business you choose, there are opportunities to apply your studies in almost every setting under the sun. Your undergraduate major doesn’t necessarily matter that much either, though it certainly helps if it’s tailored to the field in which you’d ultimately like your career to be. Once you’ve entered the working world, you can pursue an advanced degree in one of many online MBA programs that will give you the skills you need to take on a specialization. Only 34 percent of MBA candidates have undergraduate backgrounds in business-related subjects.
So, what are some of the business careers out there? They can be sorted into the broad categories of finance, management, and marketing, with an overlap in some areas depending upon the type and size of the company you’re working for.
Finance/Accounting
Within the field of finance, you’ll find jobs in corporations, commercial and consumer banking, investment banking, brokerages, hedge funds, securities firms, private equity, real estate and insurance as well as in nonprofit organizations. Some of the job titles are:
- Public Accountant: CPAs assist businesses in keeping track of their finances, preparing financial statements and providing related consulting services.
- Actuary: Actuaries, most of whom work in the insurance industry, use data to determine the statistical probabilities of undesirable events such as accidents or natural disasters and advise on how to reduce their likelihood and the financial impact when they do occur.
- Financial analyst: Analysts assess the performance of stocks, bonds and the like to provide guidance to businesses and individuals making investment decisions.
- Financial manager: These specialists are responsible for the financial health of organizations and develop plans for meeting their long-term financial goals through investments and other means.
Management
Careers in management exist in every type of business and are as varied as the businesses themselves. Overall, management is the process of managing people and resources, and positions range from the macro responsibilities at the CEO level to supervisory jobs in areas of specialization like the following:
- Operations: Operations managers control and oversee everything involved with the production of the goods or services provided by the company, making sure processes run smoothly and efficiently.
- Human Resources: Human resource specialists manage all of the human aspects of a business, from hiring and firing to administering health plans, training programs, and conflict resolution.
- Management Analysis: Working as independent consultants or internally within firms, management analysts advise organizations on how to make their operations more profitable by utilizing more efficient practices that control and reduce costs.
- Entrepreneurship: Starting and running your own business, whether a high tech enterprise or an Etsy shop, makes you perhaps the most important kind of manager because your own success depends on your ability to manage every aspect of your venture.
Marketing
When you think of marketing, you probably think of it in a retail setting. But, marketing is an integral part of every industry. Today, marketing efforts are often integrated across social media, print and TV platforms. Marketing includes:
- Advertising: Advertising takes a product or a brand, introduces it to the marketplace and creates campaigns that keep it fresh in the consumer’s mind.
- Public Relations: Public relations experts manage the face of a company as it interacts with its clients or customers as well as within the greater community and, sometimes, across the entire world.
- Retailing: This is the function that merchandises products in brick and mortar as well as online establishments.
- Market Research: Market researchers use their knowledge of consumer behavior and trends to consult on product marketing and pricing strategies, whether for breakfast cereals, cars, life insurance, or action adventure movies.
