Spotlight on Business field

Business and related subjects (such as the FAME group – finance, accounting, management and economics) are among the most popular fields of study at universities worldwide, particularly at graduate level. You might have some vague ideas about why this is the case – business graduates are in high demand worldwide, business touches on pretty much every aspect of modern human society, careers with a business degree are diverse and often highly paid – and these assumptions are likely to be largely true

Types of business degrees

Some of the areas of study likely to be covered by different types of business degrees, either directly or as supplementary elements, include:

Accounting	Management sciences	Computer sciences
Finance	Sociology	Entrepreneurship
Marketing	Law	Modern languages
Human resource management	Quantitative techniques (mathematics)	Sports management
Strategic management	Economics	Fashion management

Careers with a business degree

Business graduates go on to work in myriad different sectors, and not all of them are those you would typically associate with business in general. More obvious careers with a business degree include roles in accounting and finance departments, which take in large numbers of business degree graduates. Other sectors with high demand for business graduates include marketing and advertising, as well as retail, sales, human resources and business consultancy. If you’re unsure of how to start developing your career after graduation, you may consider joining one of the many graduate training schemes which many large and international companies run. Depending on your area of interest and the specialization of your business degree, possible careers with a business degree include:

Management consultancy	Teaching/training	Marketing
Trading	Chartered accountancy	Market research
Advertising	Retail buying	Personnel officer
Investment banking	Retail management	Public relations officer
Bank management	Sales	Distribution and logistics management
Insurance underwriting	Consumer products

Business degree salary expectations

A business degree itself does not automatically mean a high salary – though graduating from a highly reputed business school with strong grades is certainly likely to open up some interesting opportunities and perhaps a large business degree salary. You’ll still need to prove yourself, and be ready to work hard, if you want to reach your career and salary goals – and be prepared for plenty of competition.

Transferable skills gained from a business degree

You can also expect to gain many valuable transferable skills, which can be put to use in both everyday life or if you decide to take a completely different career path. The skills gained from a business degree are likely to include:

• An understanding of how organizations operate
• Strong communication skills (oral and written)
• Analytical and critical thinking
• Problem solving
• Decision making
• Logical thinking
• Presentation and report writing skills
• Numeracy and an understanding of how to interpret and use financial data
• Self-motivation, initiative and effective time management
• Project and resource management