Business management

The skills you gain on a business management degree prepare you for a range of careers and enable you to have a positive and effective impact on your organisation

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Business adviser
• Business analyst
• Business development manager
• Chartered management accountant
• Civil Service Fast Streamer
• Corporate investment banker
• Data analyst
• Data scientist
• Forensic accountant
• Insurance underwriter
• Management consultant
• Operational researcher
• Project manager
• Risk manager
• Stockbroker
• Supply chain manager

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Construction manager
• External auditor
• Financial manager
• Health service manager
• Hotel manager
• Human resources officer
• Logistics and distribution manager
• Marketing executive
• Mortgage adviser
• Retail manager
• Sales executive
• Systems analyst

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Work experience

You could work in a range of business areas, within any sector or industry. Try to decide on the area you want to work in and aim to get relevant work experience.

You can gain experience while at university through extracurricular activities, such as club membership or taking a role in a society that will develop your team-building, business or finance skills. You could also try to get a part-time job and gain voluntary experience in an area related to your chosen career. Something that provides commercial skills or gives you knowledge in business functions and how organisations operate will be helpful.

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

Industries as diverse as chemicals, utilities, retail, health, agriculture and construction all require functional managers with a clear understanding of systems, efficiency and operational issues. Opportunities exist in management and analysis roles with employers in the private, public and voluntary sectors.

Graduate training schemes offered by large employers frequently focus on commercial roles. Many give experience in several departments but others encourage specialisation from the outset.

Find information on employers in business, consulting and management, accountancy, recruitment and HR and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

Studying a business management degree provides you with a broad understanding of business, linked to organisations, cultures and structures including their management and wider economic, social and environmental contexts. You will develop subject-specific knowledge in areas including marketing, finance, operations, communication, business policy, strategy, sustainability and entrepreneurship.

You'll gain many transferable skills on your course, including:

• leadership
• people management
• problem solving, critical analysis and decision making
• commercial acumen
• innovation, creativity and enterprise
• numeracy and the ability to research, interpret and use business and financial data
• persuasive written and oral communication, networking and influencing
• digital literacy and etiquette
• self-management
• adaptability
• conceptual, systemic, and critical thinking skills to understand how economic and other external changes can impact and influence business.

Further study

Some graduates choose to undertake further study in subjects such as marketing, finance, human resources, entrepreneurship, project management, computing and international business management, to develop their expertise in a particular area of business. Studying for an MBA is another option and some may offer a specialist pathway in areas such as finance, marketing, or human resources.

Those combining study with a job often work towards a professional qualification, and this is usually supported by employers. Professional qualifications popular with business studies graduates are provided by organisations such as the:

• AICPA and CIMA
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)
• Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
• Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
• Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM)

If you'd like to pursue a career in law, you can take the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see Masters degrees, search postgraduate courses and learn how to write a postgraduate business management personal statement.

What do business management graduates do?

Nine of the top ten jobs held by business management graduates working in the UK are related to business, sales and HR, including advertising and marketing associate professionals (6%), HR officers (4%), business sales executives (4%), finance and investment analysts and advisers (3%), sales and retail assistants (3%), management consultants and business analysts (2%), chartered and certified accountants (2%), sales accounts and business development managers (2%), admin (2%), and business associate professionals (2%).

Find out what other business management graduates are doing 15 months after finishing their degrees in What do graduates do?

Graduate Outcomes survey data from HESA.

Find out more

• Visit the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) for information about careers in consultancy.