15 answers
Dylan
Student
Caldwell, New Jersey
1
Question
Updated
1881 views
What can I do with a business management degree?
I've been a supervisor for the last 9 years and I want to understand my options for my major. I will be graduating college this December and want to know the different paths of management that are out there #management #business #college #entrepreneur
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15 answers
John Greenwood, MBA
Strategy Director
57
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
John’s Answer
Hey Dylan,
There are 3 general categories for any job search: geography (where you want to work), industry (the type of business you want to work for), and function (what kind of work you want to do). Usually you can pick 2 as long as you are flexible on the third. Most companies want to see how your work experience is relevant to the work you want to do. For example, being a shift leader at McDonald's is different from being a Team Leader at Best Buy (but the work experience itself can be similar: managing employees, finding opportunities for improvement, managing projects, etc).
Business Management is a somewhat generic degree (meaning it isn't a specialty degree) which means you can pick and choose the venue you want it to apply to. However, you also want to shape your work experience on your resume (and when you talk in the interview) to align your skills with the job that you want. Before applying for jobs, I would recommend building your network and researching.
Once you have identified a general idea of what you want to do, find companies for which you would potentially be interested in working. Then find people you know or people on LinkedIn with interesting titles that work for that company. The goal here isn't to talk to the CEO or even a VP. The goal is to talk to people who are currently doing what you are interested in. If they are alumni of your school or friends of a friend, that's a great way to introduce yourself. Schedule some time (15-30 minutes) to chat with them. Have questions prepared for the meetings (try to make them specific to that person's job/expertise/company). These meetings are NOT to get a job, they are to learn.
What will naturally happen is you will get to know people who are in the right line of work and they will get to know you. THEN, if you decide to apply for a job with their company, let them know you are applying and ask for any advice they might have. Since you already got to know them, you are still not asking for a job, just advice/guidance. Some of these people may even help you get the job.
I recommend the book "The 2 Hour Job Search." It takes more time than 2 hours to search for a job, but the book is about how to simplify your job search and make it effective instead of overwhelming. Much of the advice above comes from the book.
Best of luck to you!
Narrow your focus (pick 1 or 2 of the 3 categories to focus on)
Find companies for which you MIGHT be interested in working
Contact people in those companies for informal discussions.
Prepare Questions
Follow Up
There are 3 general categories for any job search: geography (where you want to work), industry (the type of business you want to work for), and function (what kind of work you want to do). Usually you can pick 2 as long as you are flexible on the third. Most companies want to see how your work experience is relevant to the work you want to do. For example, being a shift leader at McDonald's is different from being a Team Leader at Best Buy (but the work experience itself can be similar: managing employees, finding opportunities for improvement, managing projects, etc).
Business Management is a somewhat generic degree (meaning it isn't a specialty degree) which means you can pick and choose the venue you want it to apply to. However, you also want to shape your work experience on your resume (and when you talk in the interview) to align your skills with the job that you want. Before applying for jobs, I would recommend building your network and researching.
Once you have identified a general idea of what you want to do, find companies for which you would potentially be interested in working. Then find people you know or people on LinkedIn with interesting titles that work for that company. The goal here isn't to talk to the CEO or even a VP. The goal is to talk to people who are currently doing what you are interested in. If they are alumni of your school or friends of a friend, that's a great way to introduce yourself. Schedule some time (15-30 minutes) to chat with them. Have questions prepared for the meetings (try to make them specific to that person's job/expertise/company). These meetings are NOT to get a job, they are to learn.
What will naturally happen is you will get to know people who are in the right line of work and they will get to know you. THEN, if you decide to apply for a job with their company, let them know you are applying and ask for any advice they might have. Since you already got to know them, you are still not asking for a job, just advice/guidance. Some of these people may even help you get the job.
I recommend the book "The 2 Hour Job Search." It takes more time than 2 hours to search for a job, but the book is about how to simplify your job search and make it effective instead of overwhelming. Much of the advice above comes from the book.
Best of luck to you!
John recommends the following next steps:
John,
Thank you so much for all your help! I find that narrowing down both the industry as well as what type of work I want to get into has definitely been my hardest of decisions. Since business management is such a broad degree of is somewhat difficult to understand what field you want to go into. With your comments help, I can now do more research on the possible directions of my majors and network myself to find out more about either a specific industry or job title. I really appreciate your comment and your steps to a successful job search. I will definitely buy the book you recommended and learn more about myself while reading it.
Dylan
Great answer and next steps John! Thanks for your very insightful answer and information shared.
Melisa Cameron
Danielle Pyszczynski
Manager AT&T Office of the President
8
Answers
San Diego, California
Updated
Danielle’s Answer
Gaining a degree in business management provides a solid foundation for many career opportunities. With nearly 10 years of supervisory experience you have gained valuable, transferable skills. I agree with others who recommended searching for management opportunities on LinkedIn and other online career sites. This will give you an idea of the varied management roles available. What is your area of interest? Are you interested in project management, data analysis, marketing, finance, operations? Some companies offer programs to continue your management development in your area of focus. There are also many resources and courses available online.
Thank you Danielle for your comment! My areas of interest in management are project management, data analysis, and finance. I am in my last year of college and it is making me think more and more about after school. Do you recommend internships and either a master's degree or specific certification towards one of those areas of interest?
Dylan
Aloke Das
Project Management
2
Answers
Dublin, County Dublin
Updated
Aloke’s Answer
There are loads of options for you especially with your experience! Look for business analyst, advisor, project manager kind of roles if you are interested in that. Another important thing would be to understand which industry or role you want to work on. There are different roles in any company - Supply chain, planning, marketing, sales, HR etc. A business major would fit into all of them depending on interest. Once you know what you want, build your linkedIn profile and start researching jobs out there in the market!
Thank you so much for your help. Your comment explained so much of what possible field of business that I am most interested in.
Dylan
Carl Mead
Sales Planning Manager at AT&T
10
Answers
Tustin, California
Updated
Carl’s Answer
Since you have 9 years of supervisory experience you are off to a great start. However you should not expect to be hired right out of college in a supervisory role. You could perhaps look for a company with an executive training program and ask about getting into that path to leverage your supervisory skills once you prove that you can advance and move ahead in that company.
Thank you for your helpful advice! I need to communicate with another company on their training program to hopefully avoid another supervision role in my career.
Dylan
Sunitha Blossom Undinty
Senior Healthcare Consultant
5
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Sunitha Blossom’s Answer
Experience is what matters the most. Since you have the experience of supervising/managing teams and projects( work) i believe you would be an asset to any organisation that recognizes your skills. Business management degree is definitely a plus and would give you further knowledge on the theory of this subject and able to map your experience to BM education. Business management is relevant to many many stream fields and applications are in variety of Industries. Coming from a Healthcare IT background i can say with confidence that a BM skill will be a great asset in IT projects. All the best!
Carl Kozuma
District Manager
4
Answers
Honolulu, Hawaii
Updated
Carl’s Answer
I have a business degree as well and just like many students, no real direction on what to do with their degree once they graduate. Many top company's will chose having a degree vs. having experience so research by asking, talking to recruiters or asking people in the industry you are interested in. While a degree is a portion of the what's needed, make sure you practice interviewing! Your first impression (interview) in my experiences as a hiring manager can make or break you. Don't be afraid to start at entry level to get your foot in the door, especially if it's a redound company. I've managed people who wish they would of worked 1 or 2 years as an entry level associate than wasting their time looking for a job that would give them some immediate status. Use your interview time to reflect that. It's okay to "take the job" you are applying for in hopes to further your career. Ensure you don't skip over the importance of the entry level job though, meaning do your research! It shows you care and really want he position vs. a "I just need a job" mentality. Lastly go after companies that have a good reputation of taking care of their employees. It's much easier being invested in your own career when you enjoy who you work for. Don't settle on a "job" because it's easy to get. Many people waste precious time once they get a job because the necessity of keeping, paying bills etc, becomes greater than enjoying what you do. Then before you know it, you may find yourself wanting to quit and having to start all over again.
Scott Babcock
Customer Experience/Safety Engineering
12
Answers
Chicago, Illinois
Updated
Scott’s Answer
The degree is the key to the room. Which room you walk into is up to you. Most people I have known over the course of my career do not exactly line up with their aspirations or their degrees. The good news for you is with a business management degree, you can branch out into a lot of different directions. My advice would be what is it you like to do or, how would you like to spend your days? Do you like long term planning, are you more task driven etc. Long term planning would be like strategy, tasks would be jobs like project management. Do you like working in groups or flying solo? Are you team orientated or doesn't it matter? Business management blends with operations. Degrees like finance, HR, marketing are specific to their discipline. I would keep that in mind when you start assessing your options. Don't limit yourself, but be realistic in your approach to what your skill and education will lead you to.
I have found opportunities are quite often a function of what's available at the time I am looking and where I was located. Different markets or cities will offer opportunities that might not be available in your markets. Some cities are tech centers or more service economies. Good luck.
I have found opportunities are quite often a function of what's available at the time I am looking and where I was located. Different markets or cities will offer opportunities that might not be available in your markets. Some cities are tech centers or more service economies. Good luck.
Lewis Hagerman
Senior Retail Operations Manager
13
Answers
Charlotte, North Carolina
Updated
Lewis’s Answer
Know the industry you want to get into, first & foremost. Then try to apply your previous experience to that industry.
How do your current skills fit into what might be needed for this type of workplace? Do others in this company/industry have a similar path as your own? Using a networking site, such as LinkedIn will allow you to connect with persons of interest, as well as see their resume of work and path to their current career status.
With 9 years of previous work experience in a supervisory role, you can already have a start on previous management experience and can apply that to your next ascension in your interested industry (even if it doesn't involved your current work type). That would likely be a manager or asst. manager role, depending on the company's structure.
Consider what your next steps as a manager are and whether you feel you can make those steps fluidly. Are you confident you can lead a team on projects? Can you provide positive & constructive feedback to your team (especially constructive, as this can be difficult)? Are you willing to take responsibility for the success or failure of your area?
SO much is involved in management and you have to know yourself, from previous work experience to your own personality. What's your management type? What management type have you best responded to? Take all of these answers and figure out the manager you would want to be and own that, whether in an interview or once you get that next position upward.
How do your current skills fit into what might be needed for this type of workplace? Do others in this company/industry have a similar path as your own? Using a networking site, such as LinkedIn will allow you to connect with persons of interest, as well as see their resume of work and path to their current career status.
With 9 years of previous work experience in a supervisory role, you can already have a start on previous management experience and can apply that to your next ascension in your interested industry (even if it doesn't involved your current work type). That would likely be a manager or asst. manager role, depending on the company's structure.
Consider what your next steps as a manager are and whether you feel you can make those steps fluidly. Are you confident you can lead a team on projects? Can you provide positive & constructive feedback to your team (especially constructive, as this can be difficult)? Are you willing to take responsibility for the success or failure of your area?
SO much is involved in management and you have to know yourself, from previous work experience to your own personality. What's your management type? What management type have you best responded to? Take all of these answers and figure out the manager you would want to be and own that, whether in an interview or once you get that next position upward.
Melissa Wood
Communications/Program Manager
4
Answers
Lee's Summit, Missouri
Updated
Melissa’s Answer
A degree in Business Management can be applied to a wide variety of careers. With nine years of supervisory experience and a soon to be college degree, you will have the education but, in my opinion, just as important, the experience. I would recommend that you think about particular fields of interest. Project Management and data/business analyst skills are relevant skillsets across a wide-variety of industries (i.e. telecommunications, healthcare, entertainment, marketing, government, hospitality, the list goes on...). Find a field that you are interested in or maybe even passionate about and go for it!
Wow everyone on this cite is so helpful! Thank you so much for your help and helping me realize that the experience that I have can be just as important!
Dylan
Very good answer Melissa!
Sunitha Blossom Undinty
Patrecia (Trish) Rosito
Associate Director of Technology
31
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
Patrecia (Trish)’s Answer
I guess it would depend on what you want to do. With a Management degree you can do just about anything you want. Sometimes if you took a topic like Project Management, HR, Physiology, or conflict managemen you would focus on moving into a position that is focused on something that is around that area.
Thank you for your comment Patricia! I am definitely interested in both project management as well as conflict management because they are both so frequent in the business world.
Dylan
Project Management is a very acquired skilled in Business if you are looking to get into Information Technology Project Management you might want to focus on AGILE Scrum Master Skills or look into that as well or maybe even Business Analyst opportunities.
Patrecia (Trish) Rosito
Thank you for the tip! A business analyst position sounds really interesting to me. I'll have to do some research for it.
Dylan
shane eversole
manager
14
Answers
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
shane’s Answer
Even though you have professional experience you have an opportunity to rethink you career with your new career.
One very insightful way to think about starting your career is through a Japanese life philosophy known as Ikigai. This is finding your satisfaction and meaning or your reason for being. This thought is not only for living a long and happy life, but for setting yourself up for a long and happy career. The questions you should ask, be honest with yourself, and write down are:
- What you love (Passion and Mission)?
- What you are good at (Passion and Profession)?
- What you can be paid for (Profession and Vocation)?
- What the world needs (Mission and Vocation)?
Where this intersects is Ikigai or a well-balanced. happy life/career. This is a great place to start and and a great direction to head.
One very insightful way to think about starting your career is through a Japanese life philosophy known as Ikigai. This is finding your satisfaction and meaning or your reason for being. This thought is not only for living a long and happy life, but for setting yourself up for a long and happy career. The questions you should ask, be honest with yourself, and write down are:
- What you love (Passion and Mission)?
- What you are good at (Passion and Profession)?
- What you can be paid for (Profession and Vocation)?
- What the world needs (Mission and Vocation)?
Where this intersects is Ikigai or a well-balanced. happy life/career. This is a great place to start and and a great direction to head.
Hi Shane! Great start to this answer/response to Dylan.
Since with a Business Management degree, you can go into any industry - any further advice you might have on what the intersection would look like once the student chooses an industry/passion and meets it with their Business Management degree?
Jordan Rivera, Admin
COACH
Jal Chen
Product Manager
1
Answer
Palo Alto, California
Updated
Jal’s Answer
As far as I know, your career options are varied. Try to find out what industry you want to dig in is important. Business Analyst is a major starting position from what I observed. Some other can be data analyst, HR officer, project manager, marketing executive, sales, account manager. There are many many options.
BX Wang
BA @ Cisco
3
Answers
Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Updated
BX’s Answer
IT management is an option.
I graduated with a bachelor degree in business management and then took a master degree in IT managment.
If you have strong interest in the tech world, this is an option.
I graduated with a bachelor degree in business management and then took a master degree in IT managment.
If you have strong interest in the tech world, this is an option.
Thank you for your recommendation! IT definitely did cross my mind but I am not too familiar with tech. I was thinking more along the lines of logistics and or supply chain management.
Dylan
Austin Frazer
Marketing Manager
2
Answers
Denver, Colorado
Updated
Austin’s Answer
You have many different options. Take your interests and look for an industry that aligns with those interests. I graduated w/ a business degree not really know where it would take me. I landed a job as a manufacturing supervisor and then went into production planning. I've since gone into supply chain management and most recently marketing. Business degree can take you into many different industries and roles. I've worked for a consumer products company and recently a medical device company and held various roles over my career. Good luck w/ your career search.
Catherine Bartok
Sr Specialist - Technology Development
12
Answers
Updated
Catherine’s Answer
Hello,
Great that you have experience as a supervisor. This positions you to be able to apply to manager opportunities in fields/companies you are interested.
If you are interested in staying in the area that your supervisory skills were acquired maybe there is a career path or track that you can try to apply for. Can check with Human Resources or Personnel Department.
If you are interested in different areas, can search on line for corporations that may have opportunities or can possibly apply for an intern position that can get your foot in the door and once in can network with others you meet on your assignment for other opportunities or career paths.
Best of luck!
Great that you have experience as a supervisor. This positions you to be able to apply to manager opportunities in fields/companies you are interested.
If you are interested in staying in the area that your supervisory skills were acquired maybe there is a career path or track that you can try to apply for. Can check with Human Resources or Personnel Department.
If you are interested in different areas, can search on line for corporations that may have opportunities or can possibly apply for an intern position that can get your foot in the door and once in can network with others you meet on your assignment for other opportunities or career paths.
Best of luck!
Thank you Catherine! I definitely have to work on my networking skills a bit, I have a career fair coming up which is great practice as well as finding a possible job opportunity. Do you recommend any good career paths that tie into management?
Dylan
Hello, Management Skills can be applied in Advertising, Project Management, Human Resources Area, Marketing, Vendor Management, Customer Service Manager of a Call Center, to name a few. Best of Luck
Catherine Bartok