Careers with an Associates Degree in Business Management

Planning, directing, and coordinating the efforts behind a business’s activities to help achieve its goals, are the responsibilities of a career in business management. Starting with the foundational knowledge and career-building skills you develop during an associate’s degree in business management, there is a wide range of careers available to those with a degree in business management. Below we will go through a couple of those options, breaking down the responsibilities, and even the business management salary for each respective profession. 

What Responsibilities Does a Business Management Job Have? 

While each career related to managing a business is different in its own unique way, there are a few general responsibilities you can commonly see from profession to profession:

Overseeing Plans 

As a leader, a business manager not only supervises their team but must audit their performance to make sure that they are not only achieving their goals but are also establishing sustainable work habits to keep success moving in perpetuity. 

Creating Strategies 

When a business manager is well aware of the business’s goals, it is up to them to create personalized strategies that align with these overarching goals that can lead to success, both in the short and long term. 

Leadership and Supervision 

As a manager, you will usually be in charge of a team with shared goals in mind, a team you will have to work with, train, and supervise their work properly to determine if they are or are not a right fit for the company.

Writing and Presenting Reports

A crucial part of being a successful business manager is knowing how to write succinct reports that you present to clients or senior management, to inform them of progress, big wins, and what can be done to improve long-term business goals. 

These skills are entirely transferable from one profession to another, and even if you plan on switching careers entirely, they will still help you establish an impressive job application by boosting both your cover letter and your resume. They indicate to employers that you are prepared to accept responsibility, not only for your actions but for the actions of a whole team.

Careers in Business Management and Their Salaries 

Business Management is a crucial aspect of how the modern world works. Both in the private sector and public sector, business management can determine how we facilitate quality work and long-term success, both for individuals and businesses. 

Operations Research Analyst

Using a combination of marketing optimizations, data mining, mathematical statistics, and solution-oriented thinking, an operations research analyst is responsible for examining either a business or organization, assessing its current performance as well as its costs, and determining how this organization can be structured to run more efficiently and cost-effectively. Providing real-time guidance to both senior management and workers on the ground, a skilled operations research analyst can streamline a business’s workflow to maximize efficiency. 

Operations Research Analyst Salary

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an operations research analyst on average makes $83,640 annually. 

Marketing Business Manager 

By building a team and creating a marketing strategy that furthers the goals of the business, a marketing business manager is a classic professional looking for a management degree job. Combining communications, data analysis, creative thinking, and consumer knowledge, a marketing manager will be responsible for exposing the business to a much wider audience and helping to build brand awareness, both online and offline. Working closely with other teams, such as advertising and PR, a marketing business manager meets the goals of the marketing strategy. 

Marketing Business Manager Salary

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a marketing business manager on average makes $156,580 annually. 

Project Management 

Focusing on day-to-day success in organizations, a project manager is responsible for the development of a single project from its incubation to its completion. This means you’ll be usually in charge of an entire team full of individuals you will delegate to, assessing their performance as they relate to the rest of the team, and you will report on the status of the project to senior management to ensure everyone is aligned on a single shared goal. 

Project Manager Salary

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a project manager on average makes $98,590 annually.

Logistician 

Primarily working in the supply chain sector, a logistician is an overseer of purchasing, transportation, inventory, and warehousing of massive quantities of goods, equipment, or even consumer products depending on their employer. As they survey the entire shipping process, they make sure to monitor and manage any issues that occur, from insufficient storage to a lack of product availability. 

Logistician Management Salary

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a supply chain manager on average makes $79,400 annually.

Stockbroker 

As a financial professional in charge of analyzing the stock market and predicting the highs and lows of certain stocks, a stockbroker can work for a variety of companies. They can be a registered representative who advises others on how they should invest their money and where, or they can work for a brokerage firm, handling transactions on behalf of both individuals and organizations. 

Stockbroker Salary

According to Indeed, a stockbroker on average makes $78,278 annually.

Where Do I Start a Professional Career in Business Management? 

As with any promising career, a job in the business management field starts with the skills you acquire from an associate’s degree in business management. In such an academic program, you’ll learn how to prepare financial statements, develop a knowledge of the basic theories of economic and market growth, and the relationship between technology and business. These foundational skills can prepare you to either graduate and start a professional career, or help you on the next step of your career towards receiving a bachelor’s or an MBA. At St. Augustine, our unique approach to higher education is made to prioritize you and your potential for finding a job, either as a career in business management or not, after graduating from SAC.