What can you do with a Bachelor of Business

These skills are among some of the most needed by employers across all industries right now:

• Strategic thinking and problem solving
• Knowledge of market behaviour, systems and organisations
• Numeracy and data analysis
• Soft skills, such as communication, working in teams and negotiation
• Digital business and marketing skills

You could potentially pursue hundreds of jobs and careers with a business degree in hand. You could be self-employed, work for a non-profit organisation, start your own small business, or work for a big international brand. It’s just up to you.

The broad scope and wide applicability of a business degree make it a perfect choice for someone who wants to have a diverse career. However, for some students the wide array of choices can present a dilemma.

How do you choose the right career path, when you can work in so many industries?

Firstly, its good to get informed about the different options and potential career pathways you could take. Perhaps a job role you have always dreamed of (e.g., General Manager), or one you think you would be good at (e.g., Business consultant), or something that you like but never thought you could do (e.g., Advertising). Secondly, set some strategy to achieve these different options.

Finally, do some volunteer work in one of these fields if you can, enroll in related subjects, do an internship, or join some committees at your university or college, choose a major, or ask to shadow professionals in the industry: these are all great ways to develop a sense of job direction, where you want your degree to go.

Lets take a look at the typical roles that Bachelor of Business graduates usually end up in.

Finance: Financial managers, financial analysts, financial advisors, accountants and auditors, personal financial advisors, Chief Financial Officer or other senior head of finance roles.

Consulting: Management and business consultant for a large firm, freelance consultant, marketing consultant, financial consulting.

Management: Senior business administration roles including Chief Executive Officer, general managers, operations managers, management analysts, construction managers, first-line supervisors.

Marketing and Sales: Sales managers, sales representatives, market research analysts, marketing specialists, marketing managers.

ICT: Digital marketing specialist, information security analyst, computer systems analyst.

Human Resources: Human resources manager, human resources specialist or consultant.

Industries that Business Degree graduates end up working in include:

Auditing, banking, law, logistics, manufacturing, media administration, the public sector and defense, communications, aid or charitable organisations, energy and utilities, hospitality and leisure, IT, insurance, journalism, production management, public relations, risk management and tax.

As you can see there are a lot of options, and you don’t have to stick within one industry for your whole career.

Across the span of your career as a project manager, for example, you might move sideways into project managing roles from one industry to another, starting in construction, working in the public sector for some time and ending up in logistics.

Statistics about the most common jobs that Bachelor of Business graduates take within 5-10 years of graduating.

According to data from Payscale in 2022 some of the most common jobs and salaries reported by early to mid-career Bachelor of Business graduates in Australia are as follows:

• Marketing Coordinator - AU$54,003
• Accountant - AU$58,516
• Marketing Manager - AU$79,106
• Marketing Assistant - AU$49,011
• Account Manager - AU$65,864
• Operations Manager - AU$88,721
• Event Coordinator - AU$53,181
• Business Development Manager - AU$77,662
• Human Resources (HR) Coordinator - AU$58,737
• Digital Marketing Manager - AU$80,627
• Marketing Executive - AU$60,633
• Project Manager - AU$88,689

So, now you have a fairly broad picture of some of the typical roles, industries, salaries and fields that might be available to you with a Bachelor Degree in Business, Commerce or Business Administration.

But, what does it actually look like, to graduate from a Bachelor of Business and develop a career spanning industries, roles or even countries?

To help you get a sense of how the story of your post Bachelor of Business career journey might play out, here are three scenarios to think about.

Career path 1: Starting your own private consulting firm

Management consultants can work across a broad variety of fields and industries, providing advice on how to improve performance and grow business activities.

Consultancy firms offer services and guidance across diverse areas, from HR and marketing, to IT and finance. Consulting work offers an attractive variety of projects, challenges and opportunities for personal development.

1. After graduation from your Bachelor of Business, you get an internship as a junior manager at a medium sized business.
2. You enjoy the diversity of projects in the field of consulting and you’re good at your job. Within several years, you are promoted into a management role.
3. You decide to change careers, and apply for a role at a global consultancy such as Accenture, in a different city.
4. You spend several years working as a junior advisor.
5. You decide to get an MBA to support your promotion into more senior levels.
6. After several years in a mid-level and then more senior roles, building up a client base and developing your expertise, you decide you want to start your own small business consultancy.
7. You register a business and slowly build up a list of new clients, hiring staff as you go.
8. Your reputation has caught on, clients are recommending you and your new business has taken off.

Career path 2: Digital marketing specialist for an international charity

A digital marketing specialist’s job is to develop and oversee online marketing campaigns, in order to grow a business, create ongoing relationships with customers, or reach new audiences. For a charity or aid organisation, this also means finding new supporters and encouraging donation. A digital marketing specialist must analyse data to ensure SEO and use a variety of tactics to create and deliver engaging content. This role is well suited to creative types who like a challenge.

During your Bachelor of Business, you do some volunteer work for a charity, creating content for their social media account, and you decide you really enjoy working for ethical organisations and doing digital work.

1. You choose elective in your bachelor degree focused around marketing and digital subjects.
2. You volunteer for several more charities over the course of your degree, doing similar social media and content roles.
3. You organise an internship in a digital marketing or social media role in your final year.
4. When you graduate, you get a job working in a junior digital marketing role for a medium sized business.
5. You spend several years learning on the job, and advancing in the field of digital marketing in a business context.
6. You are promoted to a more senior role, running campaigns for a brand.
7. After some time in this role, you decide to pursue your passion for working for good, and begin applying for digital marketing roles at charities.
8. You get your dream role, running campaigns for an international charity that you admire.&

Career path 3: Financial analyst in a tech company

A financial analyst uses data to weigh macroeconomic and microeconomic issues, in order to help companies make business decisions, such as where to invest capital, to buy or sell a stock or other security. Financial analysts tend to work long hours but they are rewarded with some of the highest salaries in business.

1. You decided to choose a major in finance, as part of your Bachelor of Business degree.
2. An internship opportunity at a finance company opens up, and this leads to a paid junior position.
3. You decide you want to move into a financial analyst role sooner, so go and study an MBA focusing on finance subjects.
4. Two years later, you graduate from your MBA into an internship in a junior financial analyst role at a bank, training under a supervisor.
5. Within several years, you are promoted to mid-level financial analyst. You decide you want something different, and you’re interested in tech startups.
6. You apply for a senior analyst role with a new startup, and get the job.;
7. The company grows, and your role grows with it: bringing you more responsibilities but also more challenging and interesting work.

As you can see, there are many lives you can lead and careers you can have with a Bachelor of Business degree. Where you choose to take it is up to you.

See here for more information on the Bachelor of Business at Torrens University Australia.