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The Highest Paying Business Jobs for Undergraduates: Not All College Degrees are Useless
Monster ^ | 05/28/2024 | Venus Gentile

Posted on 05/28/2024 9:50:19 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Starting your career with a business major is a strategic move in today's dynamic job market. This qualification opens doors to many lucrative and impactful opportunities. And you'll find some of the highest-paying business jobs right here on Monster.

Trends indicate a positive outlook for business careers. The job market is robust, with a wide range of sectors such as finance, consulting, human resources, and marketing seeking business-savvy professionals. This demand is fueled by an ongoing need for graduates with strategic thinking, financial acumen, and innovative problem-solving skills.

You can carve out a highly rewarding career in these lucrative sectors with the right skill set, a proactive approach, and a keen eye on industry trends. Stay focused on developing your expertise, seize every networking opportunity, and be ready to showcase your talents - the highest-paying business jobs are well within your reach.

Finding the Highest-Paying Business Jobs

With your undergraduate degree under your belt, keep in mind that finding jobs for business majors requires a mix of strategy and action. So, start by leveraging your college’s career services and alumni network before and after graduation– these are goldmines for connections and job leads. You can also seek out industry conferences and networking events; the more people you meet in the field, the better your chances of landing your dream job.

Plus, we've rounded up some of the highest-paying business jobs, categorized by degree, to help you find your perfect match. Weve also included the median salaries for each job, but always consider your experience level, specialty, and location to get a more accurate idea of what you can earn.

Jobs You Can Get with a Finance Degree

A bachelor’s degree in finance is one of the highest-paying business majors you could attain. The financial sector values this degree for its strong foundation in financial principles, analysis, and management. As a finance major, you can often boost your income through bonuses, commissions, and profit-sharing, especially in performance-driven roles like investment banking and personal financial advisory.

Financial Analyst

A financial analyst plays a crucial role in guiding businesses in their investment decisions. You’ll scrutinize economic and business trends, assess the performance of stocks, bonds, and other investments, and analyze financial data to forecast future earnings and market trends.

This analysis helps create financial models to predict outcomes, advise on portfolio management, mergers, and acquisitions, and identify investment opportunities. In this role, you’ll typically work for banks, pension funds, mutual funds, or insurance companies.

Job requirements: Most entry-level positions require a bachelor’s degree. To become a successful financial analyst, you’ll need excellent analytical and problem-solving skills and a keen eye for detail.

Median salary: $96,220 per year

Find financial analyst jobs on Monster.

Financial Manager

A financial manager oversees a company's operations, ensuring financial efficiency and profitability, which is why it’s among the highest paying business jobs. This includes developing long-term financial strategies, conducting risk analysis, and preparing financial reports.

You'll manage investment activities, plan and execute capital-raising strategies, and manage budgeting and forecasting processes. You'll also make critical decisions regarding cash management and investment activities, ensuring that the company meets its financial obligations and maximizes returns.

Job requirements: Financial managers typically need at least five years’ experience in finance or accounting in addition to a bachelor's degree.

Median salary: $139,790 per year

Find financial manager jobs on Monster.

Jobs You Can Get with an Accounting Degree

With a bachelor's degree in accounting, you can access a variety of lucrative career paths. These roles leverage your expertise in financial principles, tax laws, and auditing standards and often offer significant growth potential. Here are some high-paying business jobs if you’re a graduate with an accounting degree.

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

If you’re a CPA, you’re a highly qualified accounting professional who has met rigorous education and experience requirements. You perform a variety of roles, which often include auditing financial statements to ensure accuracy and compliance with laws, preparing and filing tax returns, and offering tax planning and financial advisory services. You may also provide consultancy on business strategies, financial management, and internal controls to improve efficiency and profitability.

Job requirements: Becoming a CPA requires a bachelor's degree and passing a national exam. All U.S. states require CPA candidates to have completed 150 semester hours of college coursework to be licensed, which is 30 hours more than a typical four-year bachelor's degree.

Median salary: $78,000 per year

Find CPA jobs on Monster.

Tax Manager

As a tax manager, you'll oversee tax compliance, planning, and strategy to ensure adherence to tax laws and regulations while minimizing tax liability. You'll stay abreast of changing tax laws and regulations and analyze how these changes impact a company.

In this role, you'll often lead a team of tax professionals and collaborate with external auditors and consultants. Your expertise is crucial in strategic financial planning and risk management, ensuring fiscal responsibility and legal compliance.

Job requirements: In addition to a bachelor’s degree and a CPA license, you’ll need several years of experience in tax preparation, planning, and compliance.

Median salary: $131,052 per year

Find tax manager jobs on Monster.

Jobs You Can get with an Economics Degree

A bachelor’s degree in economics opens doors to various high-paying career paths. With this qualification you can leverage skills in analysis, critical thinking, and an understanding of economic systems and trends. Here are some of the best business jobs to pursue with your economics major.

Actuary

An actuary evaluates financial risks using mathematics, statistics, and financial theory. You’ll play a crucial role in the insurance industry, but your expertise can also be applied to pension funds, government roles, and various financial services sectors.

Actuaries analyze the likelihood of events and assess the financial consequences of those risks. Their work involves designing and pricing insurance policies, pension plans, and other financial strategies to minimize risk and maximize profitability. This job is an excellent match if you’re looking for one of the highest paying business jobs where you can use your strategic foresight and problem-solving skills.

Job requirements: Becoming an actuary requires a bachelor's degree plus obtaining one or two certifications by passing several professional exams. These are administered by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS).

Median salary: $113,990 per year

Find actuary jobs on Monster.

Personal Financial Advisor

As a personal financial advisor, you help people manage their finances to achieve economic goals. This role involves understanding a client's financial situation, objectives, and risk tolerance to offer tailored advice on budgeting, investments, retirement planning, education funding, and insurance. You’ll create comprehensive financial plans, suggest suitable products, and guide clients through life changes and financial decisions.

Job requirements: To become a personal financial advisor, you'll need a bachelor's degree, and depending on the services offered, you may need a specific license as well. For example, selling insurance requires a state insurance license, while providing investment advice or selling stocks and bonds typically requires FINRA licenses like the Series 6 or Series 7.

Median salary: $95,390 per year

Find financial advisor jobs on Monster.

Jobs You Can Get with a Marketing Degree

A bachelor's in marketing is one of the highest-paying business degrees you could have. Marketing roles often offer higher than average salaries due to their strategic importance in driving business growth and revenue. These careers require skills in market research, digital marketing, branding, and strategic planning.

Marketing Manager

A marketing manager shapes and executes a business or product's marketing strategy. In this role, you'll research market trends, identify target audiences, and develop marketing plans to increase brand awareness and drive sales.

You'll also analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns using key metrics, adjusting strategies as needed to optimize results. A vital part of this role is collaborating with creative teams to produce marketing materials and working with sales teams to align marketing strategies with sales objectives.

Job requirements: You’ll need a bachelor’s degree in marketing, business administration, or a related field. To become an effective marketing manager, you’ll need strong communication and strategic thinking skills and the ability to lead and manage a team.

Median salary: $138,730 per year

Find marketing manager jobs on Monster.

Sales Manager

As a sales manager, you hold a prominent spot amongst the highest paying business jobs, and rightfully so. In this role, you’ll have the hefty task of driving business growth by leading and overseeing a company's sales activities. You’ll develop and execute sales strategies to increase sales volume and achieve revenue targets.

This involves setting sales goals, analyzing sales data, and forecasting future trends. You’ll also focus on building and maintaining strong customer relationships, identifying new market opportunities, and understanding customer needs.

Job requirements: You’ll need a bachelor’s degree and typically one to five years of experience in a sales-related role.

Median salary: $130,600 per year

Find sales manager jobs on Monster.

Jobs You Can Get with a Business Management Degree;

A bachelor's degree in business management can lead to opportunities for some of the highest paying business jobs. This degree equips you with essential skills in leadership, strategic planning, and effective organizational management, which are highly valued in the business world.

Human Resources Manager

A human resources manager serves as a vital bridge between the company and its employees, fostering a positive work environment. Your responsibilities encompass a range of tasks, including recruiting new talent, developing training programs, and implementing policies that adhere to legal and organizational standards.

You'll also handle employee relations, addressing concerns and facilitating open communication channels. Given the vast scope of your responsibilities, it's no surprise that this is one of the highest paying business jobs.

Job requirements: A bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or a related field. You’ll also need prior work experience in a related role, along with strong communication, organizational, and strategic thinking skills.

Median salary: $130,000 per year

Find human resources manager jobs on Monster.

Business Development Manager

If you’re looking for one of the highest paying business jobs where you’ll wear many hats, this could be a perfect match. As a business development manager, you’ll play a pivotal role in driving a company's growth by identifying new business opportunities and expanding the company's presence in the market.

Your efforts are crucial in driving revenue growth, enhancing brand visibility, and ensuring the business's long-term success. Business development managers are vital in fostering long-term relationships with clients and partners, understanding market trends, and analyzing sales and marketing data to inform decision-making.

Job requirements: As well as a bachelor’s degree you’ll typically need work experience in business development, sales, marketing, or a related field.

Median salary: $117,666 per year

Find business development manager jobs on Monster.

Jobs You Can Get with an Operations Management Degree

A degree in operations management can help you land some of the best-paying jobs in business services. This degree focuses on optimizing efficiency, improving processes, and overseeing the production and provision of goods and services. The roles are often well-compensated due to the critical nature of operations management in ensuring the smooth and efficient running of business processes.

Operations Manager

An operations manager ensures the smooth and efficient running of a company's daily operations. You'll oversee production, quality control, and the overall operational process in this role. This involves managing and optimizing supply chain logistics, inventory control, and material resources.

Additionally, you'll lead, supervise, and coordinate with various teams, ensuring that operations align with the company's objectives and goals while maintaining compliance with industry standards and regulations. This is one of the top business jobs that pay well, where you can use your problem-solving, leadership, and analytical thinking skills to excel.

Job requirements: A bachelor’s degree and typically several years of experience in a related field or in lower management positions within operations.

Median salary: $97,526 per year

Find operations manager jobs on Monster.

Compliance Manager

A compliance manager ensures that an organization operates in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies. You'll play a crucial role in mitigating legal and regulatory risks by developing and implementing compliance programs and procedures.

You'll also monitor changes in employment laws, assess the organization's compliance status, and guide HR staff and management on compliance matters. If you excel at analytical thinking and love dissecting complex information, this is one of the top business major careers.

Job requirements: You’ll need a bachelor’s degree in business administration, law, finance, or a related field. To succeed as a compliance manager, you’ll need excellent analytical, problem-solving, and leadership skills.

Median salary: $99,478 per year



TOPICS: Business/Economy; Education; Society
KEYWORDS: business; college; degree; undergraduate; wboopi
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1 posted on 05/28/2024 9:50:19 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Nothing but an ad


2 posted on 05/28/2024 9:52:28 AM PDT by George from New England (escaped CT back in 2006)
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To: George from New England
All these jobs are in the financial "industry".

How is that "financialization of the economy" working for us? The Rust Belt has been hollowed out and good jobs replaced by opiod addicts. We can't make enough bombs, etc. to keep up with that nation we call "a gas station with nukes". We are now dependent on China, our main challenger for global supremacy, for cheap goods because our spending/inflation is out of control.

3 posted on 05/28/2024 9:59:04 AM PDT by who_would_fardels_bear (Kafka was an optimist.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I’ve never gotten a job where I had to deal with HR. I’ve never not gotten the job where I dealt with the techies.


4 posted on 05/28/2024 10:06:36 AM PDT by ComputerGuy (Heavily-medicated for your protection)
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To: George from New England

I agree an ad - although I followed the sort of same advice which came from a stepdad 30 years ago: undergrad in bus admin and then masters in computer science. Seemed to do ok with this approach. Thought about a PhD, but was just burned out on more degree work (unless I could have someone else to cover the costs).


5 posted on 05/28/2024 10:13:52 AM PDT by AlanSC (As Andrew Wilkow has said of AOC: she has the body of a lingerie mannequin and the brains to match)
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To: SeekAndFind

Students who gradute with a degree in logistics or supply chain management are getting multiple job offers.

Students graduating with degrees in marine engineering are earning at least $80,000 a year for a three month on three month off schedule, and of course room and board is provided-tax free!


6 posted on 05/28/2024 10:14:16 AM PDT by Maine Mariner
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To: SeekAndFind

“Plastics!”


7 posted on 05/28/2024 10:21:56 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: AlanSC

In most STEM fields I think it works better the other way around: an undergraduate degree in the STEM discipline and then an MBA. Or (if feasible) both an M.S. in the STEM field and an MBA.


8 posted on 05/28/2024 10:22:58 AM PDT by Alberta's Child (“Ain't it funny how the night moves … when you just don't seem to have as much to lose.”)
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To: George from New England

True, but if you think about what is coming out of our universities of late, not all of them, but the majority are brainwashed socialist little communist. And the thought that they’re going to someday be in position of power brings chills down my spine. But one thing I am thankful to God for is that I am near the end of my life, and that there is some graduates with integrity who love this nation and wanna be successful and live the dreams this country has to offer! There are still good people out there with extreme good intentions for this nation. I hope it’s more of us than them though.


9 posted on 05/28/2024 10:24:09 AM PDT by RoseofTexas
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To: SeekAndFind

HR…ffs…


10 posted on 05/28/2024 10:27:00 AM PDT by bigbob
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To: SeekAndFind

The DEI bubble may be deflating a bit but I’d still recommend a degree in Grievance Studies. Sorry, guys, but if you happen to be a white male you gotta find a boyfriend. Rules are rules.


11 posted on 05/28/2024 10:27:30 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: SeekAndFind

Notice that ROI isn’t mentioned.


12 posted on 05/28/2024 10:35:14 AM PDT by Ford4000
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To: ComputerGuy
Really? The main function of HR is to enforce political correctness, sort of like the commissars in the old Soviet Union.

I was lucky enough to retire from a company with an old school HR guy who actually stressed what the title of the position suggests.

13 posted on 05/28/2024 10:44:40 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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To: SeekAndFind
Meanwhile...

These are real majors that NYU students are going into debt for. This is not satire.

You can bet that Deep State is delighted to see that.

14 posted on 05/28/2024 10:44:40 AM PDT by mewzilla (Never give up; never surrender!)
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To: Alberta's Child

My thought process was when young and starting out in work life (after short military service out of HS) a business degree had more applicability across multiple fields/sectors and wasn’t necessarily going to put me only in a CS job as the first CS degree most likely would. Also, with the way tech changes, I wanted the CS degree to be as near current tech as was available when I got it. My first boss (or dept mgr who was my boss’s boss) had a MS in CS from what was then nearly 25 years in the past at that point and hadn’t really kept up with tech and most of his knowledge was old and it was sort of obvious he wasn’t really keeping up with his dept and just marking time until he could retire. But all that said, if I did it over again and suspected my entire career would be in some flavor of IT which it has been, then you are right and a CS in both undergrad and grad might be best while also adding mba and pm certs much later.


15 posted on 05/28/2024 10:46:07 AM PDT by AlanSC (As Andrew Wilkow has said of AOC: she has the body of a lingerie mannequin and the brains to match)
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To: SeekAndFind
Based on recent experience, be very wary of recent accounting graduates. One young fellow with a master’s in accounting from a P5 school, demonstrated zero skills in the 8 months he was with us. He would ask me to review his work prior to sending it to our boss. He assured me it was ready, lol. I found major errors in the first five minutes, took me two days to unwind his work.

He did not know how to write a check, there was no decimal point after the dollar amount.

Median salary leaves out the hours to be worked, too. It’s not a 40 hour a week job…start at 50, and go from there. I love where a work, and I understand the term “exempt”, but my definition no longer includes 15-20 hours a week of OT.

16 posted on 05/28/2024 10:46:37 AM PDT by Night Hides Not (Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! Remember Gonzales! Come and Take It!)
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To: SeekAndFind

certainly not all degrees are useless or worthless

not by a long shot

but we will never ever hire from any college that has condoned, permitted, facilitated, enabled, or promoted the sickening pro-terrorist mob scenes of recent weeks
(no hiring from the likes of Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, UCLA, none of them... the administrators should be fired immediately and replaced with moral, decent Americans)

we’d much prefer hiring from any of the many “less prestigious” colleges that maintain safe, civil campuses where their students can attend classes without threat or intimidation or having to be insulted by all the lying pro-Fakestinian communists, Nazis, and Useful (hired) idiots


17 posted on 05/28/2024 10:47:02 AM PDT by faithhopecharity (“Politicians are not born. They're excreted.” Marcus Tillius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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To: Alberta's Child

Similar to what I did - I have a major in Physica and a minor in business. Thankfully it worked out for me, over the years I’ve gotten jobs due to the value that someone with a STEM degree brings - Problem solving, etc. I also learned the folks that understand that connection usually end up being good bosses! Business side was useful once I was already in the position and helped me move up. (Currently in a procurement-related field and loving it)


18 posted on 05/28/2024 10:52:50 AM PDT by same old song
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To: SeekAndFind

Chelsea Clinton’s degree got her a high paying job.


19 posted on 05/28/2024 11:07:45 AM PDT by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again," )
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To: Alberta's Child

My 25 year old son has a BS in Biotechnology. His employer is paying for Masters in Engineering Management from UMass. He works for a major pharma corp in MA. They would not pay for an MBA.

Most of the jobs listed are not entry level jobs. You do not become “Sales Manager” unless you were a sales person to start. In most cases the Peter Principle was applied. At lest that has been my experience in my industry.


20 posted on 05/28/2024 11:19:50 AM PDT by woodbutcher1963
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