Best Online Business Management Degrees

In short, yes, a business management degree is worth the investment of your time and money. In today’s competitive job market, even employers prefer to hire candidates with a bachelor’s degree even for entry-level positions — but not all bachelor’s degrees are created equal. Studies show that many respectable degree types have unfortunately high rates of post-graduate unemployment, such as liberal arts and English literature.

Business management degrees, on the other hand, yield low levels of unemployment and are especially good degree options to pursue. Business management allows you to work in a wide variety of industries and provides long-term job security. All kinds of businesses need leaders to guide their companies to financial stability and success, so the demand for your skills will never become obsolete.

A bachelor’s degree, assuming you attend school full-time without taking any time off and don’t have to retake any classes, will most likely take four years to complete. If you want to finish faster, you may take accelerated courses (not recommended for those who struggle with a work-life balance or are first-time students). A master’s in business will add an additional two years on to the total completion time.

With all of that being said, remember that earning your degree is about you and what works for your life. If you have the time to devote to full-time school, you’ll probably finish in the aforementioned timeline. But you should also consider these additional factors that will impact the amount of time you spend in school:

• The eligibility of transfer credits from another school
• How long it takes you to meet prerequisite program requirements
• Whether or not you’re switching from another major
• How much work experience you have in the field
• Whether or not you have to work to support yourself in school and take some part-time semesters
• Whether or not you take summer classes to progress more quickly
• Whether or not you take competency-based education courses

The types of people who usually succeed in business management programs are usually those who have strong leadership qualities and a brain for mathematics. These programs involve statistics, calculus, accounting, and economics, which are used in the field to solve everyday problems within organizations. If you don’t like math or you prefer to follow rather than to lead, you may want to consider looking into a slightly different program. For instance, if you like the math side of business but you don’t want to be in leadership, perhaps a finance program would be a better fit for you.

The classes needed for a business management degree vary from school to school. Just as it is with any other type of degree, however, you will start out taking a number of general education requirements and introductory-level courses in economics, accounting, entrepreneurship, communication, business statistics, and so forth. As you progress, you’ll come to find what area of marketing interests you most and choose upper-level classes centered around those interests as well as your long-term goals.

Depending on the school you attend, you may have the option to choose a concentration (specialization) within a particular area of study of the business management major. Having a concentration in one of the following can prepare you for a business management career within that field:

• Finance
• HR
• Accounting
• Marketing
• Health care administration

Findings from Indeed show that business management majors tend to become:

• HR representatives
• Data analysts
• Budget analysts
• Business consultants
• Market researchers
• Directors of operations
• Finance and sales managers

Having a business management degree increases your earning potential significantly. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median salary for business and financial occupations is around $72,000 per year. This could be more or less depending on the specific job in which you end up. Figures from the BLS show, for example, that as a tax collector and revenue agent, you’d make less — around $55,600 per year — and as a personal financial advisor, you could make upwards of $90,000. It’s important to remember, however, that starting salaries matter less than potential for advancement and promotion if you commit to working hard. Salary potential in this field is unlimited and tends to increase over time as you gain relevant work experience.

According to data from Indeed, business management graduates tend to make the most money in the dense, urban areas of California, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington DC with salaries reaching as high as $187,000 per year. Sparsely populated states like Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota have relatively few work opportunities for business management graduates and pay poorly for this kind of work. So, if you’re seeking the highest-possible salary after graduation, your best bet would be the Silicon Valley of California — the epicenter of bustling tech startups providing abundant opportunities for business management.

Admission requirements are different for every school. In most cases, you will need to provide an official copy of your high school transcripts. Some schools have specific high school GPA minimums you must meet to be accepted — usually between a 2.0 and a 3.0. For a master’s program, you will need to provide a college transcript showing that a bachelor’s degree in business management was conferred.

You may also be required to write an essay along with your application and/or provide letters of recommendation. Be aware that many institutions also require an application fee which usually costs between $30 and $100. Check with the schools you’re interested in to find out what they require. You will need sufficient time to collect the required documentation from your previous schools.

According to College Tuition Compare, which has taken the average cost of all 2,645 universities in the United States offering business management degrees, tuition and fees cost $6,299 for residents and $19,689 for non-residents. Many public schools are supported by local taxpayers, so it is less expensive to attend a school in your home state. Remember that tuition rates are subject to change over time and that part-time students tend to pay less per term but more over the course of the degree. If you have to take any prep courses, you will pay a little more for those as well.

Some schools only admit a limited number of students into their business management program each year, and in order to get accepted, you need to meet their minimum requirements. For example, you may need to take an intro to statistics class, a finance class, or other related general education classes and pass with a certain grade before you can apply. The school may also require that you have a minimum GPA for admittance.

If you’ve read through all the information above and determined that a degree in business management isn’t right for you, perhaps you’d be better suited to a similar program. If you want to work in business but you don’t want to manage, you could also look into a degree in economics, finance, accounting, marketing, communications, or computer science. These programs would allow you to pursue a career in business while narrowing the focus down to a subfield you’re passionate about.