Business Graduate Job Outlook
A degree in business not only prepares one for jobs in a related industry, but the core basics of the degree program, including management, human resources, accounting, and finance, provide students with the building blocks needed to be successful within a variety of sectors and industries. Business majors should not be restricted in their search for a job based purely on whether an available position is focused toward one of their core fields of study. From consulting to public relations, accounting to management, business related fields have a far-reaching scope spanning many different career fields in the current job market.
Industries across the board are continually looking for degree-holding applicants to fill business or business related positions. From healthcare to hospitality and manufacturing to consumer staples, all companies need managers, accountants, auditors, and analysts. In management alone, there is a broad spectrum of available fields. The list is almost endless. Store managers, hotel managers, restaurant managers, information systems managers, telecommunication managers, are but a few of the management positions available to a recent graduate. Now, with the proliferation of information technology, the need for analysts and consultants is exploding as well, not to mention the recent tightening of restrictions on financial markets and the expansive institution of Sarbanes-Oxley requirements increasing the need for auditors. And just try finding a business that doesn't need an accountant or at least accounting services.
According to jobweb.com, in 2007-08 accounting majors topped the list of bachelor degree graduates most in demand, with business administration/management and technology/engineering highest for those with associate degrees. Many firms these days will readily accept graduates with a business-accounting degree with plans of furthering the new hire's career by paying for continuing education courses, sometimes even to the point of acquiring their CPA certification.
While the job market in general appears increasingly bleak, and unemployment reaches a 14-year high with no end in sight, those with a business degree will have a leg up on the competition. While employers in all sectors look to be cutting back, jobs will become more difficult to find, with more competition for those available positions. With the exception of the financial industry, which is currently shedding a large number of jobs, most other business related fields seem to be holding their own when it comes to job retention and stability in an economy facing a possibly prolonged recession. Nevertheless, graduates holding business degrees will find themselves with a diversified educational background, providing a vast array of career options, even in a poor economy.
Sources:
http://www.jobweb.com/studentarticles.aspx?id=1219
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/csearch/majors_careers/38370.html
