What Can You Do With An MBA Degree?
Due to low unemployment rates and improved job prospects for business school alums, labour experts believe that MBA holders have tremendous negotiating power.
According to Evan Sohn, CEO of employment site Recruiter.com, “Everyone today is more valuable than they were two years ago, because there’s someone who is prepared to give them more money than they were making before.”
The Graduate Management Admission Council’s 2021 corporate recruiters survey found that MBA graduates who finished their degrees in 2021 and obtained job offers frequently made six-figure salaries. MBA hires received a median beginning wage of $115,000 in 2021, which was in line with the salary just before the recent coronavirus-driven economic slowdown started.
According to the business, there are now 123.5% more job listings for management positions on the CareerBuilder.com website than there were a year ago. B-school graduates should be aware that the job market is currently in their favour, which means that “they are at a place where they can truly take the driver’s seat in their career,” according to Kristin Kelley, chief marketing officer of CareerBuilder.
MBA teachers advise recent graduates to emphasise their particularly marketable skills, such as education in artificial intelligence, business analytics, change management, project management, or supply chain management, while applying for jobs.
According to Marie Gould Harper, dean of the West Virginia-based Boston School of Business of the American Public University System, “My approach would be to be very explicit as to what they would consider their initial dream job to be.” Some analysts believe that right now would be the ideal time to take the risk.
Here are seven professions that benefit from having an MBA and pay well. The majority of these roles performed exceptionally well in the U.S. News Best Jobs rankings, which analyse jobs using data on pay, unemployment, job growth, and work-life balance.
Hot Jobs for MBA Graduates
- Business operations manager
- Financial manager
- Human resources manager
- Information technology, or IT, manager
- Management consultant
- Marketing manager
- Medical and health services manager
Early in the epidemic, a lot of businesses switched from a fully onsite work environment to a fully remote one. Companies are reconsidering whether to conduct business in person, digitally, or in a hybrid fashion as COVID-19 precautions start to fade. For assistance in making these choices, many businesses employ leaders.
Businesses rely on business operations managers to solve logistical problems since consumers are buying more goods and services online. This person oversees a company’s supply chain, handles deadlines, and upholds quality standards to maximise business efficiency.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this industry will add 9% more employment between 2020 and 2030, which is a little more than the 8% average job growth rate predicted for all U.S. occupations. Managers of business operations made an average of $103,650 as of May 2020.
Financial Manager
According to information provided by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, business profits increased in 2021 despite declining in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Financial managers are trained to address cash flow issues and may work for financial institutions. They are frequently great investors. Any company that doesn’t spend money wisely risks dying rapidly. This is one of the reasons financial managers, who oversee an organization’s budget and choose where to make financial investments, are typically well-paid corporate leaders.
According to the BLS, the typical yearly salary for a financial manager in the United States was $134,180 as of May 2020. Jobs for these specialists are anticipated to increase by 17% by 2030.
Human Resources Manager
Finding and retaining employees is proving to be difficult for many firms. Human resources specialists, whose professions involve hiring and keeping talented workers, are in more demand as a result of recent labour market shortages.
Sohn asserts that “any organisation of size will have a budget allocated toward someone or some team focused on talent acquisition and retention.”
Additionally, many businesses are employing leaders with experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion as they become more cautious about these issues.
According to Sohn, there were many human resources positions that don’t exist today, such the chief people officer position. The greatest asset of a firm should be its employees, he asserts.
The BLS estimates that the employment of human resources managers in the United States in May 2020 was $121,220, and that employment in this field will increase by 9% in 2030 compared to 2020.
Information technology, or IT, Manager
In recent years, the software and technology industries have grown quickly, and businesses in other industries have become more and more dependent on programming and automation.
According to Tim Rowley, chief operating officer and chief technology officer of PeopleCaddie, an online employment platform that connects employers with temporary workers, “We’ve seen unprecedented quantities of money being put into technology startup companies by venture investors.”
One of a company’s most valuable assets is now its secured network, which it must protect from hackers.
The leaders in charge of making sure a company’s technological resources function properly and that it uses best-in-class technology are IT managers. According to the BLS, the median U.S. pay for these managers was $151,150 in May 2020. The BLS forecasts that employment in this profession will increase by 11% from 2020 to 2030.
Management Consultant
MBA-trained management consultants support businesses that are either facing significant challenges or are at a pivotal point in their development. The role of a management consultant is to evaluate the situation and offer recommendations. Executives at those companies may be seeking an outsider’s opinion on issues they are having trouble solving. Such a consultant might be employed by a management consulting business or independently.
Rowley, who holds an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in California, noted in an email that management consulting firms have consistently demonstrated their ability to thrive in prosperous times and survive recessions. Despite the pandemic, the profession “has been exceptionally robust,” he claims.
The average base salary for MBA hires at one of the Big Three management consulting firms, McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group, is approximately $175,000, according to the 2022 consultant salary report released by ManagementConsulted.com, a company that assists people looking for jobs in the consulting sector. On top of that, employees frequently earn a sizeable signing bonus, and they typically qualify for extra benefits like performance-based bonuses.
Marketing Manager
Marketing managers are required for both successful and struggling businesses. According to Harper of the American Public University System, there has been a continued need for these managers notwithstanding the recent economic crisis brought on by a pandemic.
Harper wrote in an email that “many organisations find themselves in the fight of their life by reinventing themselves, discovering new ways to conduct business, and scouring possible markets for new clientele.” “The knowledgeable marketing manager might be useful in this situation. To test the marketplace and establish which path the New Norm should take, someone must come up with ideas and develop a strategic strategy.”
Marketing managers assist in directing a company’s marketing initiatives and organising the activities of its marketing personnel. They must also determine who could be interested in purchasing a possible good or service, as well as how much demand there would be for it.
According to the BLS, the median annual salary for U.S. marketing managers in May 2020 was $142,170, and the number of employment is forecast to increase by 10% by 2030.
Medical and Health Services Manager
Health care organisations are facing enormous logistical issues as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and require qualified managers to handle them.
Medical and health services administrators oversee different kinds of healthcare facilities, and part of their duties is to balance cost and quality. They are required to keep detailed records and ensure that their organisation abides by several standards.
The BLS estimates that the median pay for these professionals was $104,280 as of May 2020 and that employment in this industry will increase by 32% by 2030 compared to where it was ten years earlier.