A career in the business industry has always been regarded as a lucrative, promising, and successful choice, even for people with diverse educational backgrounds. With the right knowledge, skills, and experience, you can thrive and grow in the business industry, even if you don’t want to start your own business. It is where the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree comes in.
MBA is one of the most sought-after degrees, particularly in Missouri. Every year, millions of people worldwide, including Missouri, enroll in on-campus and online MBA degree programs to gain an in-depth knowledge of business and management.
Considering the high percentage of fresh graduates in every field, employers in Missouri prefer hiring individuals with hard and soft skills. It makes business graduates perfect candidates for various roles in top-notch organizations in Missouri. But what exactly can you do with an MBA degree? What are the different career paths you can choose after your graduation? If you’re looking for answers, continue reading to discover four promising career options for those with an MBA degree.
A Glimpse into MBA Degree Program
An MBA degree includes a multitude of courses encompassing all areas of a business. This degree program equips you with valuable knowledge and skills for a successful career in various industries. Therefore, an MBA degree has become one of the most in-demand degrees in Missouri and other US states.
The tough work life in Missouri often becomes an obstacle for professionals to pursue a graduate degree for professional development. But with the widespread recognition of remote learning, getting an MBA degree has become easier than ever. You can enroll in an online MBA program in Missouri alongside your job without disturbing your busy work schedule. Online MBA programs are designed for remote students and working professionals to provide maximum flexibility and convenience. An online MBA degree allows you to study at your own pace while getting all the perks and privileges of an on-campus program.
An MBA degree means you specialize in business studies and master the art of problem-solving, strategic planning, and communication. As an MBA graduate, you have a firm grip on essential organizational skills such as leadership, teamwork, organizational behavior, and critical thinking. Combined, these skills make up the characteristics of an ideal candidate for diverse job roles in various industries. To sum it up, earning an MBA degree can not only lead to a high-paying career with promising growth opportunities, but it can also equip you with the skills and knowledge to excel in your current profession or pivot to a new one.
Career Options for MBA Degree Holders
As a business graduate, you have a plethora of career options to choose from. Although your ideal career option depends on your specialization. Here are some of the best career options that you can consider with an MBA degree:
Financial Advisor/ Financial Analyst
Financial analysts or advisors are high-profile and well-paid professionals considered an asset for any organization, regardless of the industry and business type. A financial analyst provides advice on major financial aspects of any business, including investments, funding, business expansion, project feasibility, debt repayments, and more. They are responsible for analyzing financial data, market trends, economic conditions, and business strategy to determine the organization’s financial performance and provide recommendations for improvement. They also develop short-term and long-term financial goals and create plans to achieve them.
Financial advisors typically work in a project-driven environment and conduct comprehensive research to analyze a project’s feasibility and viability. As a financial analyst, you can simultaneously work for an organization or provide consultancy services to organizations operating in different industries.
Entrepreneur
Not all business graduates choose a career path where they have to work for other organizations. Many business graduates are driven by the strong desire to be their boss and convert an idea into a lucrative business. Entrepreneurship is the perfect career choice if you have a strong intuition, a unique concept, and great money management skills.
Turning an idea into a lucrative and thriving business isn’t as smooth sailing as you may believe, yet the rewards are abundant and far-reaching. As an entrepreneur, you will be the sole entity behind the business plan and its implementation, raising funds for the business, managing mundane business processes, and taking your business from survival to growth and success.
However, being an entrepreneur doesn’t always mean starting your own business. You can also work with an organization to expand its business, bring new ideas, start new projects, and drive a project to success. If you are creative and willing to take risks, employers may look for individuals like you to develop innovative products and solutions and expand their business.
Marketing Manager
Marketing is the backbone of any business, so marketing managers hold a key position in any organization. They are responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategies and deploying effective campaigns.
Marketing managers conduct thorough market research to identify target markets, potential customers, and potential business opportunities. They use various tools and technologies to conduct surveys and identify customer needs and preferences. Later, they use this data to develop productive marketing campaigns and monitor the progress of these campaigns to measure their effectiveness.
If you have exceptional communication and problem-solving skills, and a result-oriented approach, you can be fit for the role of marketing manager.
Business Analyst
As more businesses shift to online platforms and embrace digital transformation, the demand for business analysts is continuously rising, with a 25% growth in the job market by 2030. Business analysts with specialization in business analytics or data analytics are responsible for the following tasks on their job:
- Gathering data from various online and offline sources
- Analyzing data using a variety of AI-powered tools and machine-learning algorithms
- Identifying patterns and comparing them with historical data
- Obtaining meaningful insights from data and creating visualizations
- Developing performance dashboards using powerful tools such as Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, Google Analytics, R, and Python
- Preparing reports to help management make informed decisions
- Using predictive models to create financial budgets and forecasts sales, revenues, product demand, etc.
As more businesses use AI to support decision-making, the demand for business analysts is expected to remain high. A business analyst is an ideal career choice if you have strong analytical and problem-solving skills and a hands-on experience with business intelligence tools.
Wrapping Up
An MBA graduate is often called a “jack of all trades” for a good reason. Their in-depth business knowledge and soft skills make them eligible for different careers in various industries. As an MBA graduate, you can have a stellar career in the corporate sector, healthcare settings, hospitality industry, financial markets, education, technology, and whatnot!
However, the career you choose depends on your area of specialization. So before you enroll in an on-campus or online MBA degree program, evaluate your options and choose an area of specialization that aligns with your inclinations, is in high demand, and provides ample opportunities for career growth.