In the world of Business and Management, one thing that’s certain is that there are many fields to choose from. For example, Accounting is an area almost everyone has heard of and more than a few people have had experience in, but there are also secretarial positions, marketing careers and even sports management jobs. Depending on your level of education and previous experiences, these different areas can have a significant impact on your starting salary – as well as which career field you are able to work in.
We know you want to be a business major — it’s burgeoning fields like marketing, management and entrepreneurship that offer the opportunities for high earning potential. But we want to make sure you’re fully informed about the job market and salary expectations for being a business major before you embark on your studies.
Average starting salary for business majors
One major in particular stands above the rest for having a high average starting salary. Business majors had an average starting salary of $46,400, which is no doubt linked to the fact that you can use your business degree to pursue any number of careers in the business sector. For most people pursuing a business degree is a safe choice when it comes to long-term goals, and if nothing else gives you a strong foundation that can be transferred to other fields.
So what about a career in business? The way it stacks up next to the average starting salary of all other majors, you wouldn’t expect business to be such an appealing field. On top of this, the skills learned through a business degree are sometimes readily available for free online, or found with only a few hours of research.
Business majors can expect a wide range of starting salaries. The highest median annual salary was $76,225, with the lowest being $44,449. The premium for business majors over the average college graduate is 33 percent.
The salary earned by a business major (a Bachelor of Business Administration) is an average of 30% higher than that earned by graduates in all other areas of study, and 15% higher than doctoral graduates. To give you an idea: Harvard Business School offers one year MBA programs that cost $450,000. Those sound expensive but the best business schools in the world are worth their high price tags.
If you have a business degree, you may find success as a professional business consultant. There is plenty of demand for business consultants, and depending on your industry experience, you could make anywhere from $60k – $100k upon entry. Consulting isn’t the only way to start a career in the business world, though; there are also many opportunities within corporate America. Business majors can work as management trainee positions, or even in the marketing and sales departments of large corporations.
