What jobs can I expect after a Bachelor’s in business administration? –
Job and salary prospects with a degree in business administration
What job can I expect to get with a degree in business administration?
Even though business administration is a generalist course, during your studies you will specialize in one thematic focus area – and this will usually determine your later career choice. The following areas are usually relevant for career entry:
- Accounting
- Controlling and auditing
- Marketing and sales
- Human resources management
- Production and logistics
These areas are found in both small and large enterprises. With these skills you can expect to work in a wide range of industries: Automotive, IT/technology, banking and other financial institutions, e-commerce, tourism, or logistics and trade. You’ll also find business administrators in the areas of public administration, unions, and media companies. Hospitals, research and educational institutions, and associations also need to consult business administrators. As a result, you have a wide variety of jobs to choose from after studying Business Administration. That’s why specializations and in-depth modules are such important parts of any degree.
You should gain practical work experience during your time at university. In particular, this will help you to decide in which direction you want to go, and makes it easier when it comes to entering employment later. For example, at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, one of Germany’s top business schools, you are required to complete two internships, at least one of which must be abroad. The study schedule at WHU includes a semester abroad at one of WHU’s 200 partner universities in the fourth or fifth semester. You will be thoroughly prepared for that through the extensive provision of language courses.
What exactly can I expect?
Business administrators are either hired directly by a business as junior staff or trainees for management positions, or work as external consultants. The work involves analyzing and optimizing structures and processes, while also planning and managing projects. Business administrators also look for areas of possible savings and manage the company’s equity. A business administrator’s range of duties also includes the development of marketing strategies and creation of new sales channels. Another task, at a later point, might be to recruit new employees.
In order to prepare you for the various corporate divisions and to give you a holistic perspective of economic processes, WHU offers a comprehensive selection of elective, foreign language, and advanced courses across all academic fields. The spectrum of courses ranges from issues of corporate tax law and philosophical considerations to business ethics and the development of leadership skills.
What tasks do I take on in marketing and sales?
One of the areas of concentration within the WHU Bachelor in Business Administration is the subject of marketing and sales. In this division, your tasks for the business involve developing marketing concepts and sales strategies.
You are responsible for planning, organizing, managing, and monitoring projects, and you support the senior management in decisions related to marketing.
Your daily business consists of analyzing customer needs, negotiating with agencies and other service providers, and coordinating the processes and collaboration between individual departments. At the same time, you must always monitor current market conditions and ensure that your concepts are aligned with them.
What do I do in accounting?
In contrast to the more creative concentration in the field of marketing, accounting is more strategic and complex. In the field of accounting, business administrators have the task of safeguarding a company’s financial accounting. This involves calculating and interpreting a company’s key performance indicators. Daily work processes also include investment calculations and cost accounting in order to assess the company’s profitability and business growth. This might mean preparing individual target–actual comparisons or highly complex strategic business analyses. These then serve as the basis for pointing out possible areas of improvement. Here too, you serve as a consultant and support the management in decisions that need to be made.
Your daily business consists of establishing systems of indicators and calculating the company’s key performance indicators such as return on sales, return on investment, productivity, and liquidity. You also conduct analyses on weak points in the business and prepare recommendations for improvements, which you are then also responsible for implementing.
What are the career prospects with a degree in business administration?
Your qualification prepares you for a broad spectrum of jobs in companies in any number of industries. To stand out from other applicants, not only is your expertise in economics important, you must also demonstrate additional knowledge e.g. in legal matters and soft skills. At WHU, you can take a number of specializations, electives, and supplementary courses to enhance your profile. You also have numerous opportunities to develop your ability to work in a team, and to explore solution-oriented working and related strategies. And – thanks to the highly international nature of the WHU campus – you acquire international competence almost in passing.
Where you ultimately find a job will depend partly on the areas of concentration that you have chosen during your studies and partly on the experience you’ve collected from internships, volunteer work, periods abroad, or side jobs, as well as your personality. Going beyond subject-specific expertise and the degree certificate, all these building blocks allow you to succeed as an administrator or entrepreneur.
WHU also recognizes how challenging the leap from university to your first job can be. In addition to providing a thorough education, WHU therefore also offers its students opportunities to establish links with prestigious companies. Each year, a large number of well-known companies take part in WHU’s annual Career Day and answer the questions of students and network. By now, the university’s relationship with the world of business has become so close that some companies recruit directly at WHU or advertise internships specifically at WHU. Furthermore, WHU’s student advisory service is the only one of its kind in Europe; the WHU Career Center is there to advise and support you, and will draw your attention to opportunities that will surprise you and help you up the career ladder.
How much does a business administrator earn?
When it comes to salaries, of course, major factors will include the size of the company, the industry you’ve chosen, and your career experience. Still, we can provide you with an idea of what you might reasonably expect to earn.
Graduates with a Bachelor's degree in business administration usually start within the scope of a trainee program or as a junior manager. The starting salary ranges between €2,500 and €3,500 (gross) per month. In the finance industry (banks and insurance companies), you could even start on €3,800.