Creative and energetic students of all ages choose to earn a degree in business for good reason. The degree builds a platform from which graduates can advance to higher levels of achievement, and opportunities for rewarding careers exist in diverse areas. Entering the corporate world with a business degree provides the opportunity to find areas that allow advancement. Building on an undergraduate degree with a master’s in accounting, human resources or information systems provides career paths that reach upper management. See the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Branching into Accounting
The financial position of a company is a key to the strategic management and planning of a business, providing a career path for graduates that lead to mid level and senior level positions. An MBA in accounting provides opportunities to serve as a senior accounting manager or senior internal auditor in jobs that utilize knowledge acquired in a business degree.
Good communication skills learned in business school help translate the meaning of complex financial statements into clear language for senior management. A solid understanding of company budgets, tax returns, internal controls and monthly financial reports makes a business graduate an essential member of a management team. Avenues open to more responsible positions such as controller or director of finance.
Leading a Human Resources Department
Experience in the human resources division of a company is usually regarded as a advantage, giving a business graduate an opportunity to work with a company’s most valuable resource: its people. Managing is a difficult job, and having the ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously requires knowledge and patience. The adage that holds that “experience is the best teacher” overlooks the importance of a degree in business, but it is true when academic preparation is included in the concept.
An aptitude for motivation and leadership is enhanced with an MBA in human resources that prepares a business graduate to advance to management positions. Human resource directors contribute to the financial success of a company by holding an influential position in a company’s organizational structure. Recruiting practices, hiring, orientation, and employee benefits programs direct the course of a company’s progress, and serving as director of a human resources division builds directly on the basis of an undergraduate business degree.
Guiding Management Information System Development
Business graduates who focus on the management information systems (MIS) of a company manage the production of critical data that directs the outcomes of budgeting and planning decisions. All aspects of a business depend on data produced through information systems, including budgets and resource allocation, strategic planning, production, marketing and human resources.
Earning an MBA in information systems broadens a business graduate’s knowledge of technology and opens avenues to achieving leadership positions at the highest levels. Managers direct all computer related functions in a business, using technology to help a company achieve short and long term goals. Producing relevant and accurate data and having the ability to communicate its importance is a valued skill at the corporate level.
Building on an undergraduate business degree with a master’s in accounting, human resources or management information systems enhances a graduate’s career path. Challenging jobs at the senior management level bring personal and financial rewards.
